'A work of art' ... The first edition of the DFC comic
Hats off to Phillip Pullman, David Fickling and co. The DFC arrived in its red and yellow stripy envelope, direct from the secret DFC story factory. I am now up to speed on the adventures of John Blake, the Super Animal Adventure Squad and Kirk Bergman - the dog detective, and am counting down the hours until next Friday's edition pops through the letter box.
The DFC is a work of art, beautifully written and illustrated, and conceived with the noblest of intentions - to entertain children, to draw them in and drip-feed their imaginations, without trying to sell them anything, be it tacky merchandise or vacuous notions of adulthood. According to its website, the initials DFC stand for whatever you want them to - Dracula's Favourite Cardigan, Dreadfully Flatulent Cat etc - do feel free to try a few of your own.
Sadly, my daughter, for whom it was intended, has as yet, failed to fall for its old world charm. The idea of a magazine - the word comic is anathema to her, not featuring Barbie - is unimaginable. Perhaps she's too young - it is aimed at eight-to-12-year-olds, she's not quite seven, but I thought it worth the risk; and if the truth be known, I think I knew that it would be more for me than her.
Perhaps it could benefit from a bit of advertising without losing integrity. Kids need to know where to buy itching powder, fart powder and X-ray spex. A free sachet of space dust on the front cover wouldn't have come amiss either - although it's probably against the law now.
Apart from being a cracking good read, The DFC has all the makings of a classic collectors item - to be auctioned in years to come at Sothebys - complete with original envelope of course, for enough cash to buy a hip replacement.
Anyway I am going to persevere with it - and my daughter. She WILL love Vern The Lettuce and Mo-Bot High. I'd Do Anything ended on Saturday night - thank D-F-ing-C - so there is an awfully large vacuum to fill. Perhaps a strip about a superficial blond doll who is actually a monster from the centre of the earth could be the thing to win her over, or a TV talent contest where the judges are actually witches and the winner ends up in a pie. Anyway, good luck to the DFC - I really hope it succeeds. It is Dad's Favourite Comic.
