PPA Scotland visit to DC Thomson in Dundee

PPA Scotland visit to DC Thomson in Dundee - Artwork for the Obstinate Donkey circa 1940


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Plaque at the Courier Building in Dundee
As members of PPA Scotland we have occasional meetings where we discuss the future of publishing in Scotland and all that. Yesterday’s meeting had an extra gloss however, as the venue was the hallowed DC Thomson offices in Dundee. The building itself reminded me of the Scotsman offices in North Bridge, Edinburgh – lots of floors, tiny offices, wood panelling, labyrinth-like corridors and even little fireplaces in some rooms!

Once all the business of the day was over, we were treated to a tour of the Dandy and Beano comics. We met some of the staff and left with huge smiles on our faces, along with Dennis the Menace goodie bags!

The most interesting part of the tour was seeing the archive. Every drawing and piece of artwork is retained by the company – going back to some of the earliest characters – some familiar, like Korky the Cat, and others not so, like the Obstinate Donkey, or Splodge, the living jelly!

I was a big Victor fan, and had hundreds under my bed, until one day I came home from college for the holidays and my mum had tidied them all up – into the dustbin.

They might not have been worth that much, but seeing bound copies of the comic from the seventies yesterday brought the memories flooding back.

Another amazing thing about our visit to DC Thomson yesterday was the real passion that all the staff seemed to have about the comics and characters. This was underlined by the fact that turnover is low at Thomsons. We spoke to people who had been there for 27, 38 and 47 years – an incredible vote of confidence in the company.





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