Dandy & Company

Dandy & Company is an American webcomic that was created and produced by cartoonist Derrick Fish, who has also produced the comic book Scarred World: The Chronicles of Aegis and currently co-produces the Half Moose Media titled Tails to Amaze alongside writer Marc Hammond.

The webcomic has been updated on its own site consistently since October 11, 2001. It chronicles the lives and adventures of a cairn terrier named Dandy, his owner Bernard, and their family and friends in the suburban neighborhood of Loudonville, Ohio. Dandy usually spends most of his time with Bernard by pulling pranks on him, having watergun fights, and in the more fantastical storylines, dealing with extraterrestrials or evil doppelgängers. The humor is a mixture from the likes of Calvin and Hobbes, Looney Tunes, and general science-fiction and geek culture, all presented within the context of the irreverent stories and with a sarcastic tone. Readers of the strip often remark on its vibrant, high-energy artistic style which would lend itself well to becoming an animated feature, much like PVP: The Series.

Aside from the webcomic itself, Derrick has made an assortment of bonus material, including side stories, guest comics, web accessories, printed collections, and even some short animations featuring the characters.

History

The strip and its core characters (Dandy, his younger brother Mistake, Dandy's human owner Bernard and his father George) were originally created by Derrick in 1982 at the age of 8 as part of a grade school art project. He continued drawing new strips and growing the cast and universe on and off for years before starting the current web comic. The official continuity of the current strip began with strips Derrick created while attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1994. These short stories and strips were collected in a series of 6 self-published "fanzine-style" comics under an earlier title of "Dandy and Friends".

In March 2005, Derrick was approached by a fan of the comic interested in helping to bring it into the 21st century with a brand-new website powered by the WordPress content management system which would heavily automate the comic posting process. Until then, Derrick had been manually editing and updating the website for each new comic every day. The new website went live on May 2, 2005 and was one of the first webcomics to use Wordpress as a comic publishing platform.

Dandy & Company experienced a moderate hiatus between December 5, 2005 and July 3, 2006 due to personal reasons, during which time Derrick re-ran strips from the beginning. On March 19, 2007, Derrick announced another hiatus , although this time much shorter than previously. Four months later, strips began reappearing on the site and Derrick made a statement that he would finish the current storyline beginning August 24 after which the webcomic, and the site, would undergo a "rebranding" to bring all of his projects together under one roof. After successfully tying up the loose ends from before the last hiatus, the strip has continued forward and has now returned to a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. Originally slated to end October 11, 2010, fan support encouraged Derrick to continue the comic "indefinitely".

The original website for the comic is down until further notice (presumably due to financial problems). As of July 16, 2011, a new website, hosted on Blogspot, has appeared as a temporary home to the strip. The first post by Derrick states that, if possible, he would like to resume the strip in the fall.

Main cast

DANDY Q. DOG

   * Full name: Danforth Quentin Dog VI
   * Breed: Cairn Terrier
   * First appearance: October 11, 2001
   * Originally created in: 1982

He is the Star of the Show and he knows it. As a matter of pure technicality, he *is* a dog and thus the property of the Brooks family – but he also talks up a storm, has opposable thumbs, and a commanding run of the house thanks to an attitude that doesn’t know when to quit.

BERNARD H. BROOKS

   * Full Name: Bernard Horatio Brooks
   * First Appearance: October 11, 2001
   * Originally Created In: 1982

Bernard is naive, optimistic and friendly…all traits that constantly leave him on the receiving end of Dandy’s frequent pranks and jabs. And worse yet, he forgives and forgets, leaving himself the ever willing target for another attack!

MARYWEATHER McKIMMSON

   * Full name: Maryweather McKimmson
   * First appearance: October 23, 2001
   * Originally created in: 1996

Maryweather’s the perfect dog next door and the frequent focus of Dandy’s misguided affections. While they have shared a relationship in the past, Maryweather broke off all ties to her friends and family to go on a soul-searching sabbatical from which she has just recently returned a changed dog. And while Dandy may never stop pining for her, they're currently just friends.

AUDREY L. McKIMMSON

   * Full Name: Audrey Louise McKimmson
   * First Appearance: August 10, 2002
   * Originally Created In: 2002

She lives down the street from the Brooks family, and is the owner of Maryweather. She is prone to impulsive behavior and always follows her heart, even when a cool head might be in order. Audrey is a lover of the arts and can often be found pestering the level-headed Maryweather into helping her with her latest artistic endeavor.

MISTAKE

   * Full Name: Mistake Monteque Dog
   * First Appearance: November 4, 2001
   * Originally Created In: 1982

Mistake possesses near supernatural levels of unstoppable cuteness and cheerfulness. He is so cheerful, he isn’t even aware of the mean-spirited jabs and verbal assaults thrown at him by his beloved "Big Brudder". It’s a cheerfulness that infuriates Dandy to no end. In recent months, it has been revealed that in spite of his childlike naivete, he possesses a genius-level mechanical and technological intelligence.