Dan's not so Desperate after a PC makeover

FOR decades, he gave not a jot for political correctness or cholesterol levels by encouraging his horse with jaggy spurs, six-gun at the ready and consuming live cow pies. Alas, the good times are over for Desperate Dan.

The children’s favourite is the latest recipient of a makeover for more politically correct times.

Dan is retaining his starring role in the Dandy, as he has since 1937, but the "new" DD is part of the legendary comic’s first revamp in nearly 70 years by its publishers, DC Thomson.

Dundee’s most famous cowboy will even be required to lose weight to reinforce the fashionable healthy-eating message.

Gone too is the pistol, which was said to promote gun culture. It used to be seen poking out of the top of Dan’s holster but has now disappeared - although the holster remains.

Also axed are the spurs and Dan’s dramatic method of preparing his dinner by tearing cows apart, both of which are regarded as too overtly cruel to animals. The comic has been "reinvented", in order to capture a more politically-correct generation.

The revamped Dandy, will appear on 7 October and feature its first ethnic minority character, an Afro-Caribbean boy detective called, wait for it, Dreadlock Holmes. The new comic will also feature Jak, a modern-day Dennis the Menace who causes mischief, but with a "sense of responsibility".

The decision to create a political friendly Dandy is as much economic as cultural for the world’s longest-running magazine which first appeared on 4 December, 1937.

Its readership of seven to 11-year-olds grew to a high of two million a week in the 1980s, but went into decline as children turned their backs on comics in general. The readership is now 400,000 and DC Thomson of Dundee decided to relaunch.

The publishers insist they are not bowing to cultural pressure, merely trying to win back readers lost to television and computers.

Morris Heggie, the editor for 20 years, said: "The new Dandy is about putting the humour back into children’s lives.

The first of three new characters is Dreadlock Holmes who lives with his mum, dad and sister and is always on the trail of mysteries that do not exist.

His creator, Craig Graham, said: "Having our first black family is not a matter of being politically correct. It’s a natural progression."

A second new character is Jak, a caring scamp who only causes mischief for a good cause.

Ben Gray, the executive manager of the publisher, said: "He’s not like Dennis [the Menace]. Jak has a reason to cause mischief, like to put right a wrong."

The final new piece is Office Hours, a behind-the-scenes look at the running of a comic office, inspired by The Muppets.

The publishers promise that the other old favourites will still be in until they "fade away" through popular opinion.

At 1.20, the new look Dandy will also be nearly 40 per cent bigger with 44 glossy pages replacing the old newsprint.