It’s a sobering thought that DC Thomson has been producing comics of one sort or another for well over a hundred years. Think about that for a second. Think about all those words, pages, drawings and characters that one company has produced. Think of the writers, editors, artists and letterers that have worked on that stuff, not to mention generation after generation of readers enjoying it all, year after year, decade after decade.
The thought alone is incredible. And then add to that how enduring many of the Thomson’s line has been over the past century and how many comics and characters have come and gone. Some should have stayed and others shouldn’t have appeared in the first place, but even when considering the failures at DCT you can’t ignore the huge number of outright successes.
(the Beano’s Bash Street Kids by Leo Baxendale, (c) D.C. Thomson)
Although I personally left the likes of Dandy and the Beano behind long ago, I still see them on the racks of the supermarket and newsagents and though the printing and paper quality improves every few years, I still see Dennis the Menace snarling at me from the cover of the Beano, just as he did when I was a kid. No-one has ever been able to improve on him.
A list of DCT publications and titles would run too long for this blog, but who could ever forget The Beezer, Black Bob, Desperate Dan? Jackie, Bunty, Judy? Then, if that wasn’t enough, The Victor and Warlord. Every angle, corner and base (that’s American – aaargh!) is covered by the people up in Dundee (it certainly filled a huge chunk of my younger comics reading years, still recall the Beezer in the big, broadsheet format which encouraged you to read it lying on the floor forcing adults to step over you – Joe).
(cover to Crikey! issue 6, on sale in July from the Crikey! site and your local, neighbourhood FPI store; the immortal Dennis the Menace (c) D.C. Thomson)
Crikey! issue 6 will be a bumper DCT special issue and, yes – Dennis is on the cover and inside we celebrate Super Cats from Spellbound, The Sparky and some very unusual (and decidedly un-DCT) Dudley Watkins.
I’ve seen it – but you’ll have to wait until July for that one. Believe me, it’s our best yet and well worth waiting for. So, for of you who remember those great iconic characters and comics from yester-year, don’t despair! If you can’t find the real ones, you can read about them in Crikey! 6 this July!
Sat, Jun 21, 2008
Comics and cartoons, Crikey! It's Saturday!