Britain's oldest comic, The Dandy, could be shut after 75 years on sale.
According to the Telegraph, publisher DC Thomson is launching a review of its magazine business after sales figures for the magazine have continually fallen.
The major difficulty comics have is their distribution, kids have other things to spend their time and money on these days like playing computer games and things like that.
The Dandy launched back in 1937 before hitting its peak in the mid 1950s when it sold more than two million copies a week; in contrast it now shifts only 8,000 a fortnight. In a bid to halt this decline, DC Thomson has revamped the comic several time over the years, introducing contemporary figures like Simon Cowell and Jeremy Clarkson alongside the old favourites of Desperate Dan, Bananaman and Korky the Cat.
The most recent revamp came in 2007, when the comic was rebranded into a fortnightly publication called Dandy Xtreme. Discussions are apparently ongoing with industry insiders about the comic's future, but the possibility of characters including Desperate Dan moving to the pages of sister title The Beano apparently hasn't been ruled out.
The 75th anniversary of the title is due to be commemorated in October with an exhibition at London's Cartoon Museum. The museum's curator Anita O'Brien said that whilst the magazine's potential closure was sad, it was a grim inevitability of the digital age.
"The major difficulty comics have is their distribution, kids have other things to spend their time and money on these days like playing computer games and things like that,” she said.
“We do workshops and lots of kids want to create their own stories and do enjoy reading them, but there are definitely challenges."
A spokesman for DC Thomson confirmed the publisher was debating closing the magazine, but emphasised that the most popular characters wouldn't disappear.
"We're confident that future generations will continue to enjoy our much-loved products and characters," he said.
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.
Source : ign[dot]com
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