Children’s comic The Dandy goes on sale in print for the last time this morning on its 75th anniversary – and also launches its new digital edition.
The 100-page, 75-story print edition is the 3,610th Dandy to be printed and features a pull-out version of the first issue. It is on sale for £3.99.
In addition to the weekly digital edition, which will be available for £1.49 per issue or £29.99 a year online, www.dandy.com is also launching with free access.
Editor Craig Ferguson 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.”
The Dandy was launched on 4 December 1937 and at its peak in April 1950 sold 2,035,310 copies.
But in recent years the magazine’s popularity had been in decline, dropping to 7,489 when it was last audited by ABC in July 2011.
It was announced this would be the title’s last print edition in August, when owners DC Thomson confirmed the news after an “internal leak”.
Today's edition features Sir Paul McCartney as its special guest, after he declared his personal ambition to feature in it in 1963.
Although it will no longer have a print magazine, The Dandy Annual book will continue to be offered in December each year.
The new digital edition will aim to feature more content than the print issue, while the website features a number of interactive games.
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.”
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