| Desperate Dan | |
|---|---|
| Comic strip character(s) from The Dandy | |
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Stars in | Desperate Dan |
| Creator(s) | Dudley D. Watkins |
| Other contributors | Peter Davidson Ken H. Harrison Tom Williams David Parkins Trevor Metcalfe Anthony Caluori John Geering Steve Bright Jamie Smart |
| Current/last artist | David Parkins |
| First appearance | Issue 1 (4 December 1937) |
| Last appearance | Final issue in 2013 |
| Also appeared in | The Dandy Annual |
| Current status | Was ongoing in the comic until the comic's online demise |
| Schedule | Weekly |
| Spin-offs | Desperate Dawg Danny and Katey (c.1970 – c.1989) Aunt Aggie |
| Main Character | |
| Name | Dan |
| Alias(es) | Desperate Dan |
| Family | Aunt Aggie Danny (nephew) Katey (niece) |
| Characters | |
| Regular characters | Aunt Aggie, Dawg, Little Bear, Danny, Katey, Sheriff, The Mayor, Zeke, Hoss, Dangerous Dan |
| Crossover characters | A famous cameo from The Beano's Dennis the Menace |
Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the now-defunct Scottish comic magazine The Dandy. He made his appearance in the first issue which was dated 4 December 1937 and became the magazine's mascot. He is apparently the world's strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. The pillow of his (reinforced) bed is filled with building rubble and his beard is so tough he shaves with a blowtorch.
The character was created by Dudley D. Watkins, originally as an outlaw or ‘desperado’ (hence his name), but evolved into a more sympathetic type, using his strength to help the underdog. After Watkins’ death in 1969, the cartoons were drawn by many other artists, principally Ken H. Harrison, though the Watkins canon was often recycled. When the Dandy became digital-only in 2012, the Desperate Dan strips were drawn by David Parkins.
There is a statue of Dan in Dundee, Scotland, where his publishers, D. C. Thomson & Co. are based.