Bellamy's Back!

Several hours too late, I've finally found the time to celebrate the return of GARTH in the Daily Mirror. The Mirror alone amongst Britain's dailies has always supported  comic strips and it's nice to see it presenting a brand new strip from today, 'Simon's Cat' and a welcome return (in reprint form) of a classic 'Garth' by the legendary Frank Bellamy, the ultimate comic strip stylist. Above is part one, but I won't be doing this every day so if you want to see more, it's the Mirror for you.

And this week...

There's been consternation by some commentators on the ol' internet that the Dandy missed an obvious easy method of promotion by not advertising in The Beano. Not sure if Harry's remarks in today's issue will explain why that didn't happen till this week, but who knows. Incidentally, this story was written, drawn and sent off to the Dandy the day before the identity of a mystery TV character was revealed, way back last summer! We had to wait until now to be able to run it!

Celebs in Comics.

Back on this page and this page
I showed some pages from the past with TV stars who had wandered into the world of comic strip. Here we have three more, all from Buster in the 1962-5 era.

Left is Benny Hill as drawn by Reg Parlett.
Lower left is Charlie Drake, and I can't quite remember who drew it but it could be Roy Wilson. Excellent brush and penmanship, anyway.
Below is Whacko (Jimmy Edwards) again by Reg Parlett, which was remade in colour in the 1970s and made it in TV Comic that time, drawn by Bill Titcombe.
Let's just enjoy them.

Just Not Good Enough

More from the ever-growing, dispiriting and glowering Reject pile. It just gets bigger all the time. This (very) rough was done last year but has sadly gone nowhere. Shame.

Epic Dandy

This week's DANDY is epic! Lots of new stuff, and a 12 page Harry Hill adventure that ranges far and near with a huge cast of known and unknown extras! A three-eared joke-hating alien and a back-packing award-winning comedy star are but two of the added attractions and yet they charge only £1 more! Subscribers, however, are exempted from this surcharge! See what you're missing by not subscribing? And by direct debit it's even less costly!
Click here to find out more
These panels are from this week's story, co-written with Sean Baldwin, drawn by me and coloured as usual by 'H.H'.
And next week's Dandy is another epic, so instant subscribing may be the best way to tackle this purcahse too!

Don't Forget to Vote!

Like my Harry Hill cartoon strip in the Dandy? Then let the editor know by VOTING for him!! Hooray!! This week's Dandy (the one in the post here with this picture on the cover) has a Reader's poll in it and you don't even need a stamp to post it! Or you can avoid cutting out a page of the comic by filling in the poll online AND VOTING HERE
It may be something you feel able to contribute to? I don't know, just pointing it out. Just don't say I didn't tell you, this is your chance to let them know what you like in the 'new' Dandy.

Tools of the Trade

In response to a record number of requests (4) I am prompted to reveal the equipment I use daily. 

As far as pencils go, I don't use them much. A pack of 12 HB from Tesco has served me well for about 2 years.

Top: Staedtler pigment liner (black). .02 and .03 usually, sometimes a .05 and a .08 for lettering. I'd like a .1 but they only seem to sell it overseas.

Middle: Pentel Sign Pen A lot of the drawing I do with this, nice thick ink, variable line and a sturdy nib -usually! For some reason, the Pentel sign pen comes in either 'firm' or 'squishy' types but there's no indication which is which on the barrel or the box. (Never leave the cap off like this, though, unless you want to kill it).

Lower: Pilot 'V' Sign Pen Lovely thick black ink and a great line - almost like using a brush.The flexiblity of this one is excellent, just making it the favourite.


So these are the main three pens I use- mainly for speed and efficiency - you don't get a beautiful-looking piece of artwork  to hang on the wall like you do with dip-pen and ink and brush, but for turning out the work as fast as possible, avoiding issues like smudging, drying time, bleed time etc, they can't be beat.

Of course the right pens need the right paper and I use bleedproof Layout paper for preference, generally 45 gsm. Nice and thin and smooth and flat. It takes pencil well and these pens are excellent on it. Marker paper is OK too.

These items are available online but if possible I buy from The London Graphic Centre, Covent Garden or Cowling & Wilcox in nearby Broadwick Street, which has the advantage of being the location where in 1966 Peter Cook and John Lennon filmed this swingin' satire!

Dandy News

This week's Dandy has new stories like 'Yore!' and 'Boo!' and more, plus tons of regulars and a special 2 page cut-out-and-post Reader's Survey! Harry Hill starts a new career as a Celeb Photographer and meets Postman Prat AND the Queen!! Yes, in the same story!












And then, start saving up because NEXT week's BUMPER Dandy is £2.50 with EXTRA pages and a "free gift"!
And Harry Hill embarks on a twelve-page epic that sees him meeting Dr Who (all of 'em!), Miranda Hart and a joke-hating alien. It's all in a special 'Hooray we're six months into Our New Look' issue. Here's an EXCLUSIVE preview!!

SMASH's Birthday

Britain's Brightest Comic it proclaimed, and it was. Almost every week something new would appear to intrigue, thrill, amuse and delight it's audience. And I should know, it was 'my comic' in 1966! This week is the 45th anniversary of it's debut, on the magazine shelf at Greens' newsagents, Queens Drive, where I first saw it and knew it was for me! Leo Baxendale did the first few covers, none finer than this one!