A Plum Job
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SO, it’s been just over a month since the last ever issue of The Dandy came out , and what have I been up to since then? Well, happily, I’ve been far from idle, and have now joined the ranks of The Dandy’s sister publication, The Beano !
YES! Starting with this week’s issue, you’ll be able to read some Little Plum strips wot I dun writted, like, after having been asked to do so by Beano HQ! It’s a thrill to work on a character created by the legendary Leo Baxendale (one of my heroes!) and now drawn wonderfully by Laura Howell (one of my heroines!)
I’ve done about seven or eight of these so far, and it’s been a hoot. I’ve kept to some faithful Little Plum tropes (you’ll find smoke signals, totem poles and a guest appearance from another Baxendale great), and I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been like writing for some great celebrity or film star or something, except better as Plum doesn’t answer back, get stroppy, and hide in his trailer.
There’s been talk of some more Beano-based script work in the future, so watch this space! And remember: ‘Everyone we know, loves The Beano!’
- Fanton.
The Beano issue 3667 is out NOW for two of your British pounds.
This week’s issue sees one of my personal favourites in the current run of Bad Grandad , as I not only really liked the script but was really pleased how it came out. I had slightly changed my drawing technique with this strip, switching to thinner pens to allow for a slightly finer line and a bit more detail – not a huge shift, but something very eagle-eyed readers might notice!
Talking of Bad Grandad, I sat down and recorded myself drawing the geriatric japester for The Dandy’s YouTube channel last week. So if you want to learn how to draw him, enjoy the eight excellent minutes of video below! (WARNING: contains traces of my FACE).
Elsewhere in this week’s comic, there’s another episode in the life of the world’s worst ninja, Iykan Si-Yu , plus Mega-Lo Maniacs , a new series from everyone’s second-favourite Jamie (after the Jamie out of Jamie and his Magic Torch ), Jamie Smart . And then there’s Not So Wise Owl , a new mini-strip by the fabulous Laura Howell . WHAT A FUN-PACKED ISSUUUUUUE!
The next issue of The Dandy won’t be out until Wednesday 18th April , so I’ll meet you back here in thre weeks. Deal? Deal.
CHRISTMAS has come early here at Fanton Towers, with the arrival of the brand-new Dandy Annual! Hooray!
Well, I say ‘arrival’. It didn’t just magically turn up at my door, I had to buy it off the internet. We artists and writers don’t get complimentary copies, alas. We don’t even get uncomplimentary copies, copies that turn up at your house and mock your hairstyle or tell you that you’re looking a bit haggard these days. No, I had to order it off Amazon , like a NORMAL person. Tsk. It’s an outrage, I tell you!
Anyway, enough of my griping – the arrival of the annual is VERY exciting indeed, as it heralds the first annual to feature some of my very own work in it, for there are a whole FIVE pages of George vs Dragon larks within! WHOOOOOP!
The first story is a two-page tale, which is the first (and only, thus far) GvD story I didn’t write myself. This one was penned by Dandy HQ, and features George, Dragon, some fish and a bottle of ketchup. INTRIGUING!
The other strip is something a bit different, and something I’m really rather proud of – a three-page George vs Dragon tale told via the medium of SEWING, in a story which parodies the look of the infamous Bayeux Tapestry :
That strip is one of my favourites to date, as I wanted to do something a bit different for the annual, something a bit special and I like to think I did so. There’s lots of little details in the borders (you’ll find Dandy characters old and new lurking there) and it’s pretty funny, to boot. Even if I do say so myself. Which I do.
The rest of the annual is a curious mix of old and new. Fans of Jamie Smart – who played a large part in The Dandy’s redesign last year – may be disappointed to see that there’s none of his strips inside – no Pre-Skool Prime Minister , no Arena of Awesome , and Desperate Dan is drawn (excellently) by Nigel Parkinson instead. Jamie DOES do a fab job on the inside covers though, featuring the blue blob creatures from the weekly, so at least something of his is inside. HURRAH!
The only other new Dandy strip aside from GvD to make it into the annual is Kid Cops , by legendary Lew Stringer . Bananaman and Korky the Cat both feature, both drawn by cheerful Chris McGhie .
The rest of the annual is a mix of characters from the Dandy Xtreme days ( Cuddles and Dimples by nifty Nigel Parkinson , Ollie Fliptrik by kooky Karl Dixon and Agent Dog 2 Zero and Jak and Todd , both by wondrous Wayne Thompson ), and classic characters reworked by some of The Dandy’s current creative talent. These include smilin’ Steve Beckett’s take on the Tom Paterson tale Brain Duane , laughin’ Laura Howell’s version of Bully Beef and Chips , nimble Nik Holmes brings us another Paterson classic with Fiddle O’Diddle , while notorious Nigel Auchterlounie brings us his version of Puss ‘N’ Boots , and Corporal Clott . And then there’s the unexpected return of one of my old faves, Strange Hill School , by daring Dave Mostyn .
So there you go, a heady brew of old and new (hey, that rhymes) which fits in nicely with the fact that the annual is labelled as being a ’75th Birthday Special’ (which makes me feel even more honoured to be inside, I can tell you). It’d have been nice if a bit more had been carried over from the weekly, but then again these things are prepared so far in advance, I guess it was inevitable that not much more could be ported over. At any rate, it’s a cracking annual, and well worth either picking up online or waiting for it to pop up in the shops or – better yet – in your stocking on Christmas morn.
Well, that’s 2012 sorted. Now to get to work on my pages for the 2013 book…
Merry Christmas!
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All work © Andy Fanton 2012, except where otherwise stated. Anyone caught thieving anything will have their kneecaps whacked with a shovel.
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