The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

The final issue of the DFC seems to have everyone talking over the weekend, with Facebook, Twitter and blogs all lamenting the sad loss of what had become, to it’s subscribers and creators, a much loved Friday moment.

Sarah McIntyre has a lovely, bittersweet blog post over at her live journal where she’s sharing the story of the origin of Vern & Lettuce and has roped in some of Vern & Lettuce’s bunny friends to help her say farewell and point out that there’s a new DFC creators blog:

Garen Ewing has a nice tale to tell of his involvement in the DFC from the start. Sadly, his strip never saw print, but the tale is good nonetheless. And don’t forget, Garen’s great Rainbow Orchid comes out from Egmont later this year. Over to Garen:

I didn’t think The DFC was going to end – I always believed in it, right from when I saw the dummy issue. Yes, I was fearful it might end, but didn’t really think it would. The DFC didn’t fail, it’s just bad timing. As far as I understand it, Random House were quite prepared to give The DFC at least a couple of years to grow its roots, to find its avenues, but were not prepared for the economic slump that saw them having to return to core business in order to ride the storm.

A lot of people, while being supportive, have criticised the subscription system. Personally, I think it was a great idea. It was the idea that made The DFC possible, that meant it could subsist on a budget that would not get eaten up by newsagent distribution, and meant it did not have to contain adverts, licensed characters or stick free plastic rubbish to its cover. And I’m a great believer in the power of the internet, which would be its starting base. People asked why wasn’t it in WHSmith, why wasn’t it in comic shops, why wasn’t it in schools? It would have been – eventually. It couldn’t do everything at once – it was going to be a slow yet sturdy grower.

I’m sad my own strip didn’t get to appear, but I have at least had The Rainbow Orchid to work on and look forward to. But when that red and yellow striped envelope plops through my letterbox later today, it’s going to be unbelievably sad. I don’t mean for me, I mean for everyone, the David Fickling team, readers, creators, and British comics in general. The DFC was – is – a brilliant brilliant thing.

So, is it the end? To be honest, I can’t believe it is. The DFC has been put out into this world and has quickly become more than just a weekly comic. The idea has been made real, and I think we’ll see the title back – maybe in a few months, maybe in a few years, but there’s no way it’s gone forever.

(Garen Ewing’s as yet unpublished strip that would have been in the DFC at some point; Charlie Jefferson and the Tomb of Nazaleod. Maybe someday?)

Last word goes to Sarah McIntyre, I hope there’s some truth in this eventually: