Dandy - the last issue

The last-ever printed edition of one of the world's longest-running comics has gone on sale.

The Dandy, which features characters such as Desperate Dan and Korky the Kat, was first published 75 years ago. But its circulation has plummeted to about 8,000 copies a week in recent years, from a peak of two million in the 1950s.

Publisher DC Thomson has now launched the comic online, and as a smartphone and tablet app. The final print edition coincides with the title's 75th anniversary, and will include a pullout reprint of the very first edition of the comic from 4 December 1937. 'Stocking filler' DC Thomson confirmed at the weekend that Sir Paul McCartney would appear alongside Desperate Dan - fulfilling a lifetime ambition of the former Beatle, who said in 1963 it was his dream to appear in the comic.

The edition is expected to become a collector's item, with several newsagents saying they have been inundated with pre-orders from nostalgic fans. Des Barr, who runs Sinclair Barr Newsagents in Paisley, believes the final Dandy will be the biggest single sale of any publication since he opened his shop more than 20 years ago. He said: "I have never known a demand for a comic like it ever before and by the time Tuesday comes around I reckon I will have about 1,000 orders. "People are buying the comic to send to relatives and friends all over the world and many people are saying they will use the historic last issue as a stocking filler at Christmas. "I think there is a huge nostalgia thing going on here. Since it was first published in 1937, millions of people will have grown up reading The Dandy.

It will have been part of their childhood." Dundee-based DC Thomson announced in August that the weekly children's comic would make the transition into cyberspace following dwindling sales in recent years. The website will feature old favourites Desperate Dan, Bananaman and Korky the Cat in new animated strips, with voice overs and sound effects. Users will also be able to play interactive games, watch videos and create and care for their very own virtual pet, the Dandy Dollop.


Dan caused more controversy when he gave up eating cow pies during the BSE outbreak, and a revamp two years ago saw some traditional characters replaced by celebrities including Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole.

A bronze statue of long-standing cover star Desperate Dan stands in Dundee city centre alongside Minnie the Minx, from The Dandy's sister title The Beano.

A book celebrating 75 years of The Dandy was launched at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August and the comic will also feature in exhibitions at the National Library of Scotland and the Cartoon Museum.