75 Years of the Dandy
an exhibition in the Lamb Gallery, Tower Building, University of Dundee
1 December 2012 - 12 January 2013
(closed for Christmas 23 December – 2 January)
Mon-Fri 09.30-20.30 Sat 09.30-16.30
This free exhibition celebrates the 75th birthday of the world’s third-longest running comic, The Dandy, created by Dundee publishers D C Thomson.
The first issue of The Dandy was dated 4th December 1937 and it was an instant success. At its height of popularity in the early 1950s it was selling an astonishing two million copies a week.
The exhibition features original artwork from DC Thomson’s collections dating back to the earliest years of the comic, much of which has never been shown in public before. All the classic favourites are here, including original Desperate Dan pages by Dudley D Watkins, Korky the Cat artwork by James Crighton and Charlie Grigg, as well as Winker Watson by Eric Roberts, Black Bob by Jack Prout and many more. Whether you're a fan of Brassneck or Bananaman, Corporal Clott or Cuddles & Dimples, you’ll find them all in the Lamb Gallery!
The exhibition has been created as part of an on-going partnership between DC Thomson & Co Ltd, the University of Dundee Museum Services and the newly established Scottish Centre for Comics Studies based at the University.
Click here to see some of the artwork on display.
Special Event!
On Saturday 8 December the University is hosting a special event looking to the comic's future, giving an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse at the creation of the new Digital Dandy. The discussion will be led by Dr Chris Murray of the School of Humanities, with contributions from former Dandy editor Morris Heggie, new Digital Dandy editor Craig Ferguson, Digital Production manager Mark Hunter, writer Dan McGachey, long-time DCT artist David Sutherland, and one of the artists who is very closely involved in the direction of the Digital Dandy, Stephen White. All are welcome for what promises to be an informative and engaging series of talks about The Dandy’s history and its future.
The event takes place on Saturday at 2pm in the Baxter suite, room 1.36 (on the first floor of the Tower Building). Admission is free.