One of the new ones is the revamped Dinah Mo, using an old name but with a totally new character. Meet Dinah Modise and her family in four new two-page stories in the book. The character was created by the Dandy editors and assigned to me to write and draw her adventures.
This is the 14th consecutive Dandy Annual I've contributed to and I won't be in the next one but it's been a pleasure and a privilege to work on the books. It's actually been 60 years this Christmas since I had my first Dandy Book (as it was called then) and I still remember unwrapping it and reading it on that happy day of long ago. (Yes, I still have it). For some readers, The Dandy Annual 2025 will be their first annual, and I hope it also gives them happy memories to last a lifetime.
4 comments:
That's good value, but I bought my copy back in the summer. As a kid I used to look forward to snapping up bargain discounted annuals betwixt Christmas and New Year, but now I'm older, fatter and uglier I feel I should support the books properly, lest there be no more due to poor sales, and leave the bargains to the kids (and families) who might struggle to pay full price. The DC Thomson shop usually offers some nice bundles anyway. Those save a bit of cash but also let me feel smug about giving the money direct to the publisher.
Don't recall what comics I was reading in December '64, though I'm sure I was watching Dalek Invasion of Earth on the telly. Earliest comic memories are all of TV21, but that didn't launch until the following year (or 2065 if you prefer). I must have been reading something - maybe PlayHour or Teddy Bear Weekly. Bright, cheerful, wholesome and harmless - but they were the gateway drugs that made me the man i am today. From Andy Pandy to John Hicklenton in a few short steps.
14 consecutive annuals is impressive but, to quote Pat Mills, I don't think it too many. Disappointed they haven't signed you up for 2026. I have no idea how publishers decide what works and what doesn't in a book that only comes out once a year.
Too many damn memories at Christmas. Once the last Prog of the year hits the shops, I go offline for a couple weeks for the sake of my mental health.
Therefore, I'll take this opportunity to wish you well for the holidays and whatever challenges you face next year. You've said in the past that it's not a season you particularly enjoy. I respect that, but your work has brought pleasure to many of us for a long time, so thanks and all the best !
Didn't I recall you saying in previous posts that you were plotting some more Dinah Mo stories for the next Dandy annual?
Unless the DC Thompson editorial team changed their minds about those plans or something? Ah well, your contributions were always a treat to see in these books (or any comic you contributed to, really). Hoping you find more work in the future...
I'm afraid that because of my illness slowing me down I didn't complete all the stories for the 2026 book so they're moving them to the 2027 annual. I'd done two out of three and will do the third asap.
Thanks Tony, and to you too Callum. I quite like Christmas by the way. It's just not a big deal now I have no family. Not that it ever was a huge thing really because at most there were only five in my family, and for most years less than that, so it was always quiet and not the big stress-fest that some people have to endure.
I'll be seeing friends over Christmas though.
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