The Dandy Goes Digital.

LONDON, Tuesday 4th December 2012: The Dandy, Britain’s longest-running comic, takes on a whole new dimension with the launch of a new digital edition on the publication’s 75th anniversary.

The comic’s iconic characters will leap from the printed page into a new digital format, propelling Desperate Dan and Keyhole Kate into the 21st Century.

Using market-leading technology, The Dandy enters a new era with an interactive motion comic featuring gameplay.Meet the comic’s much-loved characters and get fresh new content free at www.Dandy.com.

Issue zero of the digital Dandy launches as the last printed edition hits the newsstands, and will be available online (PC / Mac) and later via tablet and smartphones.

Craig Ferguson, Editor of the new Dandy said, “We all know how popular digital devices have become with children so we’re drawing on our traditional heritage and updating our product to make it relevant for today’s children.“With this weekly digital edition, The Dandy is once again blazing a trail by launching a unique, interactive, motion comic. We’re giving The Dandy a whole new dimension and bringing a new lease of life to our characters.”

Household names have been lovingly redrawn and appear in the new format. Desperate Dan, Bananaman, The Numskulls, Keyhole Kate, Blinky and Brassneck all appear in the first issue. The digital Dandy also features some new characters as well as Retro-Active – a superhero team first for DC Thomson, publisher of The Dandy. This element revives the traditional Dandy adventure serial, providing an up-to-the-minute twist.

Each original comic strip allows readers to click through at their own pace. The panel-by-panel format ensures the enhanced comic remains close to its comic roots. Each week there will also be fun interactive games embedded within the stories. The launch issue includes a Bananaman game and Dandy Dollop – a digital pet that you can feed, dance and play with!

The comic is available initially from www.Dandy.com and later, Issue One will be downloadable online and as an app for tablet and smartphones.

David Bain, Head of Digital Development, said, “The ‘Digital Dandy’ will pave the way in a new era for comic books in the UK, utilising the latest technological advancements and bringing the much-loved comic to a new generation of fans with technology that will work across different platforms.”

In addition to the comic, there will be a joke shop, and a Dandy TV Show with game reviews, celebrity interviews and a ‘News at Dan’ round-up presented by television presenter and comedian Chris Cohen.

As The Dandy goes digital, the final print issue hits the shelves with a fond farewell from Sir Paul McCartney. In 1963, McCartney (then aged 21) was asked by music magazine NME to name his personal ambition. The response, of course, was to appear in The Dandy! Nearly 50 years later, and after a personal letter from the man himself, that wish has come true. The last ever Dandy is a 100-page spectacular starring 75 of the comic’s greatest characters, and includes a pull-out edition of the very first Dandy, from 1937.

For 75 years, The Dandy has delivered boisterous and anarchic fun. For many, it is an essential and beloved part of British childhood and The Dandy Annual forms a traditional part of Christmas.

The Dandy will now be available throughout the world – once again blazing a trail by launching a weekly, unique, interactive motion comic.

Visit www.Dandy.com to meet the characters and get your hands on fresh, new, FREE content with issue zero.

10 ‘Fun Facts’ About The Dandy

1) The Dandy is Britain’s longest-running comic – celebrating 75 years, this year. The first edition was published on 4th December 1937.
2) The peak sale of 2,035,310 copies was achieved in April 1950.
3) The Dandy continued to publish its fun-filled pages during the dark days of the Second World War to brighten the days of millions of young readers. The Dandy reflected the times by adding a dash of patriotism to the normal mixture of laughs and adventures.
4) Dandy stories that have hit the headlines include; Desperate Dan temporarily leaving the comic in order to run-off with The Spice Girls, the banning of cow pies due to Mad Cow disease and Dan temporarily losing his gun and becoming ‘PC.’
5) Desperate Dan Pie-Eater’s Club started in June 1978, gaining nearly half a million members by 1980.
6) The Dandy went full colour in September 1993.
7) A giant bronze statue of Desperate Dan, striding across Dundee city square, was commissioned in 2000.
8) In October 2010 Harry Hill starred in his own regular strip.
9) Famous faces to have appeared in the comic in recent years include The Queen, Jeremy Clarkson, Stephen Fry, Cheryl Cole, Wayne Rooney, Gordon Ramsay, Lord Sugar and Simon Cowell.
10) The first editor was Albert Barnes. The current editor of the print edition is Craig Graham. Celebrated artists have included Dudley D. Watkins, Charles ‘Chic’ Gordon and Fred Sturrock and Jamie Smart.

Press Contact: Taylor Herring PR