Back in the 1950s however, The Dandy sold an incredible two million copies a week; that's an incredible 4% of the population purchasing the comic (22% of 6-14 year olds). Magazines struggle to get close to those figures today, even with a larger population pool. TV Choice is the best-seller, shifting 1.3 million a month; What's on TV is the only other magazine to top a million. Magazines and comics aimed at children sell far fewer with Moshi Monsters, the best-seller on the kids' market, clambering close to a quarter of a million. Back in the '50s, it's obvious to say that entertainment was a far narrower field, but that doesn't take away from the fact that The Dandy was absolutely huge, bigger than Bing Crosby in its day.
I kind of wish that comic books still held such a prominent position in our culture; in recent years, I have rediscovered a love for the comic, regularly reading graphic novels, but children's magazines are a different beast now, mostly linked to a TV series. Back in the day, it was the other way round: did you know that Bananaman moved from the pages of The Dandy (where he still remains) onto the screen? It's weird that I'm lamenting the loss of an age that I never lived through and the reality is that all I really want is for the things that I love to be a bit more universally loved, but then again, I'm not sure I want to like what everyone else likes - I'd feel a bit sheepish - so perhaps it's best as it is. Let me conclude by recommending five cracking graphic novels: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang; Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the the Geeks by the same person; Maus by Art Spiegelman; Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and American Elf by James Kochalka (www.americanelf.com).
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