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I was in my local WH SMITH's yesterday and, not seeing it on display, I asked whether they had The BEANO 75th BIRTHDAY SPECIAL. "It never came in today, although it was supposed to - it'll probably come in tomorrow", was the response of some disinterested assistant. That meant, of course, that it was sitting in the back shop, waiting for someone to extract the digit and put it out on sale.
I was in again today and there it was, so I ventured to ask about The LAST EVER DANDY SUMMER SPECIAL as I dug out some dosh to make my purchase. "They don't publish The Dandy anymore" I was told in response to my query. "Yes, I know - but this is a special bookazine called... etc., etc.," I explained, rapidly losing the will to live. "I'll ask one of my colleagues if she knows," he replied, and, with me in tow, made his way over to where she was.
We'll be here all night if I relate the back-and-forth dialogue that ensued - did I mean The Beano? They don't publish The Dandy anymore, blah, blah, blah - so I'll cut to the chase. Eventually the woman said: "I'll take a look in the back because, if we might have it, I know where it'll be kept." A few minutes later she returned, holding half-a-dozen copies of the aforesaid publication that, according to her and her colleague, hadn't existed a mere five minutes before.
If I hadn't asked about it and not taken no for an answer, I can't help but wonder if it would ever have made it out to the shelves, or simply sat in a corner somewhere in the back shop until being returned to the distributor. What a way to run a business. WHS staff seem to regard most of their magazines as a nuisance, forgetting the fact it's one of the primary reasons for the company's existence.
Anyway, I finally purchased the two Specials, and in the main, they're worth the dosh. One thing I find irritating about DCT's reprint books and magazines however, is the way they 'busy' up the pages, instead of just having plain and simple white margins 'round the strips as they were originally published. They often have something obscuring part of the strip or simply adding clutter to the pages and it drives me up the wall. Are you listening, Dundee publishers? Stop ruining the strips at once! (Having said that, these two mags aren't as bad as on previous occasions.)
Clearly, the two publications should be similarly priced at £5.99, but DCT seem to have have shaved £1 off The Dandy Special (£4.99) and added it to The Beano one (£6.99). Perhaps they knew WHS would be hiding the former in the back shop and this was a way of cutting down on their losses? (Yes, I'm joking!)
Anyway, two Specials that every Beano and Dandy fan should have in their collections. The Dandy is marked #2, following on from last year's, so no doubt there'll be more in the future. (Probably not with the word 'Summer' in the title though.)
17 comments:
Kid, I noticed that someone just paid £26.56 for those two specials on ebay.
(Jake)
Madness. He could've got them from WH Smith's for £11.98.
I wasn't even aware that these books were out there, although not a Beano/Dandy fan I do like the older stuff so before I have to go through waht you did in WH Smiths could you let me know if the Beano bookazine contain any Baxendale, Reid, Holroyd art (basically 60s early 70s reprints). I also share your displeasure of the cluttered page and I really miss the white border on each page as well but even US comics are like that . Have you read the new Dennis Magazine would be interesting to get your thoughts on that ? McScotty
Yup, McScotty, the bookazine contains all these artists and more. Got the new Dennis comic, but it's a bit hit and miss I think. It comes with a toy every issue, and I don't want to be cluttering up my house with tat I don't need, so I won't be buying it regularly. You should check it out for yourself 'though.
Thanks for that Kid I will pop out later and have a look for it if Baxendale etc are in it - I did pick up the Dennis Megazine yesterday in the Co-op of all places. I could hardly see it in amongst all the other comics packed with kids toys - I hope it does well and I'm sure it will. I was hoping for some Davy Law Dennis reprints in it but no luck, The main strip was well drawn and Nook Noodle (never heard of him before) was in a nice presentation booklet but not sure the style would appeal to kids as its more a grown up style (although I thought it was one of the better in this style - actually liked it) Im not a readier or collector of new kids comics so wont be picking it up again either especially at £3.99 - McS
I'll probably get the next two issues as I always like to have the first three of a new title. After that, it'll depend who's featured in the collected booklet.
Incidentally, on refelection (and a quick look), I'm not sure that Bill Holroyd is featured after all. Baxendale and Reid are definitely there 'though.
Nuke Noodle is all reprint from the recent Dandy McScotty.
Kid, my local WH Smith has the Beano special, but no Dennis comic or Dandy special. But, it still has the final issue of the Dandy on the racks, as it has now for months.
(Jake)
Jake, betcha The Dandy Special is still in the back shop. Your local supermarket should have the Dennis Megazine.
Very excited to see on E-bay what I think is the fabled give away Beano #1 selling at £389. (Listed as Beano 0).If only that pesky lottery ticket would come up tonight! Is it the free comic that was given to children in Dundee prior to the launch of the Beano? If so then I doubt if we will ever see another one for sale again.
Ken.
Ken, I could be wrong 'cos I only glanced at it, but I think it's just the flyer that was in other DCT comics the week before The Beano made its debut.
Kid, after spending a few moments in WHS looking through the Beano bookazine, I decided it was not for me. The only part I found interesting was the final section featuring the first appearances of some of the main characters. To me most of the other pages were visually cluttered, full of superfluous graphics, obscuring the actual comic pages. I suppose I would have preferred something on the lines of a slimmed down Taschen book (75 Years Of DC Comics). Why make the pages so busy? Did the editor think that the old comic pages could not stand up on their own merit? Or did the graphic designer need something to do with his/her time?
(Jake)
Many of the Dandy/Beano hardback books were ruined by this practice, Jake. Some pages were made to look as if they had pencils, erasers, ink-blotches and bits of tape on them. To my way of thinking, it puts up a barrier between the reader and the pages. Why they can't just leave well enough alone is beyond me.
Agreed, all those ink blotches and bits of tape look stupid!, honestly, could you see any other company reprint vintage material doing that?.
Another thing that annoys me is when they overlap one strip with another, obscuring the one underneath. It absolutely spoils it.
On my travels and I noticed that both the Beano and Dandy Specials that were out in June are now back in a number of WH Smith outlets and stores. It's now almost mid-september, are these reprints or have they just put unsold copies back on the shelf?
I'd noticed that my local WHS had replenished their shelves with more copies of both titles, but as to whether they're republished copies or from a pile in the back of the shop, I really don't know. Either option is entirely possible.
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