Bug Pond Comics Bring Web Comics "Out of the Doghouse"
Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2004
By: Darren Schroeder
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (January 9, 2004) – Derrick Fish has been writing and drawing the adventures of his talking dog "Dandy" every day for two years now. "Dandy and Company" is one of the fastest growing comics strips out there with thousands of readers every day, but you won't find it in your local paper. Fish is one of many artists out there cutting their teeth on the infinite playground of the internet.
"Webcomics tend to be categorized broadly by video-game themes and amateur art, but I hope to help add to the growing list of creators out there dispelling that stereotype." says Fish of the perception of Web Comics today.
Dandy and Company, Fish's pet project from his grade school days, finds it's heart in the basic story of a boy and his dog, but turns it on it's ear in with dashes of high action, animated illustrations and even dashes of romance to make a comic strip that's more than just another "Gag-A-Day" snore.
Fish adds, "Comic Strips have an incredibly rich history of detailed, elaborate art and winding stories. This has been all but lost in the last 20 or so years though, with reduced printing and an emphasis on throwaway content. I like to try and bring as much of that flavor into 'Dandy' as is possible, with winding plotlines and exciting adventures on top of good, old fashioned humor."
In 2003, Derrick Fish began his mission of taking "Dandy & Company" beyond the confines of it's internet home with the first of two, 128 page, printed compilations of his popular strip. The first, "Dandy & Company: Out of the Doghouse" experienced brisk and promising business through online, retail and convention sales and all but guaranteed a follow-up. That follow-up, a Christmas gift for readers called "Dandy & Company: Running with the Big Dogs" is also available now on Fish's website and is continuing to impress readers and vanish from store shelves.
"It's an instant classic. Readers of the first volume eagerly awaited the second and beyond. (Upon receiving signed copies of the second book in stock) The book was gone 10 minutes after (Fish) left the store.", says Mark Hammond of ACME Comics, Card and Collectables in Longwood, Florida.
Derrick Fish is continuing the online adventures of Dandy & Company, with plans to release another Compilation this upcoming fall, and a Bi-Monthly comic book of new short stories and existing material culled from the website. The Comic Book will be graced with all new covers by a variety of comic book professionals, the first of which is DECOY artist, Courtney Huddleston.
The new comic book will premier, along with the existing two collections at this years Orlando MegaCon Comic and Science Fiction convention at the Orlando Convention Center, march 5th through the 7th.
Derrick Fish is 29 and lives in Orlando with his wife, Melissa who oversees the technical aspects of the website. Fish attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art in 1993 and the Orlando International School of Visual and Entertainment Design. When he's not drawing the Adventures of Dandy and Company, he's a Graphic Designer for Orlando-based agency "Brand Architecture" and an illustrator for Mainstay Studios Comics.
Contact: Derrick Fish
Big Pond Comics
Phone: 407-314-1863
E-mail: fishworks@cfl.rr.com
Internet links of note:
http://www.mainstaystudio.com
http://www.dandyandcompany.com
http://www.bigpondcomics.com
http://www.megaconvention.com
http://www.courtneyhuddleston.com
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