The Dandy lesson: speed needs direction

The Dandy has always treated timing as part of the joke. A punchline that arrives late can miss its audience, while a panel drawn with indecision loses the momentum that makes a strip funny. Lessons from The Dandy are practical: deadlines teach you speed, but only when that speed serves the joke.

My work in The Dandy, including George vs Dragon, Boo!, Carrotty Kid and Bad Grandad, exists in that pressure-cooker environment. A weekly publishing rhythm means the finished pages cannot wait for inspiration. The useful response is not blind haste, but a repeatable process for making decisions quickly and drawing them cleanly.

That lesson travels well to Australia, where cartoonists often balance creative work with other jobs, commutes and a market spread across newspapers, independent publications, conventions and social media. The machinery differs, but the need for a clear plan and a firm turnaround remains the same.

Speed starts before the pencil moves

The quickest way to begin is to remove vague choices. Read the brief, decide the panel count, establish the character’s size on the page and identify the central gag. A few thumbnail sketches can settle the whole sequence before the final drawing becomes expensive to change.

Preparation is not administrative delay. Ten minutes deciding what happens between two panels can save an hour of erasing, redrawing and second-guessing. Speed begins with knowing what must appear, what can be left out and which single visual deserves the reader’s attention.

Small panels demand fast decisions

George vs Dragon depends on physical action, yet a crowded fantasy scene can slow a strip to a crawl. The solution is visual economy: strong silhouettes, a readable background and poses that explain the conflict without requiring a miniature set. Boo! works differently, using small-panel surprises to keep the reader moving.

Carrotty Kid and Bad Grandad show another side of speed. Character-driven humour relies on facial expression, posture and timing rather than elaborate scenery. The artist must recognise the funniest reaction and draw it immediately. Every unnecessary detail steals energy from the sequence.

Humour needs a quick landing

Fast drawing does not guarantee fast comedy. A joke may contain everything needed to work, but weak pacing can bury the punchline. Panel-to-panel momentum matters: the setup needs enough space to register, and the payoff needs enough clarity to land.

Australian readers recognise the value of understatement. In Australian speech, a small problem can be “no worries”, while a questionable plan may be declared “she’ll be right”. Used carefully in a gag, that kind of casual confidence can deliver a satisfying contradiction between the words and the situation.

The lesson extends beyond dialogue. A deadpan face beside an enormous disaster, or a calm character reacting to a dragon, creates humour through contrast. Recognising that mismatch faster gives the cartoonist more time to refine the linework.

Speed is a design constraint

A deadline should shape the drawing rather than interrupt it. That means choosing a simplified background, reusing established shapes and allocating extra minutes to the final gag, not the first panel. A weekly turnaround rewards decisions that can be executed cleanly at speed.

Different working methods produce different kinds of speed:

Working method	Speed gained	Main risk	Useful safeguard
Blank-page start	Freedom to explore	Blank-page panic	Make thumbnail sketches first
Prepared poses	Less searching for shapes	Repetition	Change the viewpoint or prop
Rapid inking	Strong panel rhythm	Illegible detail	Read the lettering aloud
Quick revision	Fast corrections	Overworking	Step away before making marks

The safest approach is often the least dramatic. Preparation, reusable poses and disciplined revision reduce the number of choices required during the most pressured part of the schedule.

Tools that keep the hands moving

Fantasy comics can tempt an artist into drawing every buckle, blade and piece of armour. My drawing armour and weapons notes are a reminder to simplify: a few convincing shapes communicate more than a catalogue of details. The reader needs to recognise the weapon, not inspect its construction.

Technology helps when it removes friction. Separate layers make lettering easier to adjust, while a reliable scanner preserves clean artwork without sending every revision across town. On a crowded train from Sydney’s Central Station, a deadline still demands the same decisions, even when the working space is tiny.

The destination also matters. A printed mini-strip competing for space on a newsagent’s rack in Brisbane needs immediate readability. The same work viewed through a social feed may need a different opening beat, but the core drawing decisions remain unchanged.

Collaboration makes the schedule work

The Dandy also teaches that speed is rarely a solitary achievement. Editors identify which gag is working, letterers solve crowded panels and fellow cartoonists provide the professional pressure that keeps a weekly schedule moving. Good feedback arrives as a clear priority, not a long discussion after the deadline.

The Australian market offers several routes to readers, including newspaper syndication, convention programmes, independent anthologies and social accounts. Each route carries different expectations, so a creator who understands the format can shape the work accordingly. A strip built for a small printed page should not depend on effects that disappear on a phone.

Make the next deadline a rehearsal

Speed becomes manageable when it becomes habitual. Keep a sketchbook for character poses, collect awkward words for lettering tests and identify the panel where the joke must land. A production schedule then feels less like an emergency and more like a series of familiar problems.

Explore the comic strips, drawings, written work and television projects on Andy Fanton Dot Com, then follow the creator’s social links or use the contact details to propose a collaboration. Read the work, set the clock and let the next deadline teach your hands.