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Stolen from Wikipedia but still remains true: This article is about the comic. For the men placing particular importance upon physical appearance, see Dandy.
After a previous love affair betwixt the pages of Beano, a publication featuring the OTHER Denis the Menace of the UK, friend and partner-in-comic-reporting Matthew Murray sent me a stack o’ comics. The big square-bound and shiny book that caught my eye was of course another comic put out by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd., DANDY. It featured some of the same characters as Beano like Desperate Dan the Cowboy and Beryl the Peril, who must be one of the ugliest characters to ever be pushed out of a pencil and had the ink placenta washed off of her.
The whole she-bang was framed by a cute conflict betwixt Desperate Dan and a contender merely called A Bear. As we all know, bears are naturally attracted to cartoonists or cartoons even if it is to inflict pain. The inside front cover warns you to keep them peepers peeled for Desperate Dan (and the Bear) inside Dandy.
That was no problem. Many of the comics inside Dandy were made for a young audience, appealing to their love of things that look, sound or smell gross. Characters sporting haircuts influenced by manga teach you how to pull pranks worthy of the Klutz books and late great Nickelodeon Magazine (rest in peace). Dandy integrates that other child-like desire of deconstruction while creating; allowing the reader to draw on the pages to help out characters.
But the harmonious quality of the Desperate Dan comics just sing off the paper. Whether he is convincing a hermit that loneliness is for suckers or eating a cowpie, which would be one of the minor language differences across the pond, I couldn’t help put flip forward to find the next comic with that big-chinned cowpoke.
Jamie Smart of Bear (the comic) fame was instrumental in this annual. Smart made the many Desperate Dan comics complete with the gumdrop-shaped Greek chorus of townspeople AND adhered to the Three Laws of Eyeball Comedy:
1-Wall-eyed (facing opposite directions)
2-Different sized pupils
3- Squinting with only the lower eyelids
Even if you are not Britisth, I highly recommend these Dandy Annuals to leave a smile on your face. They are perfect for a house-warming gift, airplane ride gift or let’s go wait for that awful dental procedure gift. Otherwise, you’ll just have to visit the Schulz Library’s World Section for excellent comics.
