WILL YOU ALWAYS KEEP A DANDY HANDY?

A more polished version of Jamie Smart's Desperate Dan

As regular readers will know, there are certain aspects of the new DANDY I'm not too keen on. JAMIE SMART'S DESPERATE DAN strip has come in for a bit of a kicking elsewhere on the internet, and I have to admit that I'm not its biggest fan either. It's all just a little too rushed-looking and roughly-finished to suit my tastes. (Although NOT in the above pic - read on.)

However, intrigued by those who claim to like his artwork, I had a look at his website - http://www.fumboo.com/ - and I was surprised to see that his style seems less jarring on characters I haven't seen before, and even has a certain rough-hewn charm. In fact, even his Desperate Dan strips on his site appear to have had a bit more care and attention lavished on them. (The illustrations on this page are "borrowed" from over there. Let's hope he won't mind.) 

So I had another look at the first couple of issues and - guess what? That's right - they STILL didn't work for me. Perhaps he was under pressure and had to produce his Dandy pages in a hurry; perhaps he's experimenting with a rougher, more organic look - who knows? He does, but he's hardly likely to tell me.

Another slightly smoother look

What I will say, however, is this. To all those old-timers who aren't too keen on his Dandy pages, take a look at his website. Divorced from traditional, familiar characters we all know and love (and let's face it - who - with the possible exception of KEN H. HARRISON - could compete with DUDLEY D. WATKINS?), his pages don't seem as jarring and as shocking as they do in DCT's relaunched comic.

If DAN had to have a new look, I think I would have preferred to see TOM PATERSON or HUNT EMERSON (I liked his LITTLE PLUM - ooer, missus) have a go at him. I still don't think Jamie's style (or, to be more precise, the version of his style that he uses on DD) quite works. However, if he just shaved off some of the rougher edges from the strip and it had a more consistent lettering font, I feel that much of the criticism it has received might be dissipated somewhat.

I'm sure Mr. Smart cares not a jot for my opinion - and that's perhaps how it should be. However, I'm also sure I'm not the only one who hopes that he may yet see the wisdom in aiming his strips not only at new readers, but the older ones as well. That way everybody's happy. Have a look at his website anyway.