Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn The Beano. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn The Beano. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng

Thứ Năm, 3 tháng 9, 2015

The Beano makes history again!

I haven't had time to go into town to pick up the latest Beano yet but as Peter Gray revealed on his blog last Saturday, apparently it's a record breaker as the longest running weekly. It's also issue 3800, which is no mean feat either! 

Over on The Beano's Facebook page there are photos of long-time Bash Street Kids artist Dave Sutherland making a visit to The Beano office to unveil a plaque celebrating the significant record-breaking issue. Dave has been drawing The Bash Street Kids since 1962, which is surely a record-breaker in itself? (Longer than Percy Cocking's 43 year run on Weary Willie and Tired Tim for Chips.) 

The Beano has now been running since 1938 and long may it continue! 

Visit The Beano Facebook page to see the above photos enlarged:
https://www.facebook.com/TheBeanoComic

The Beano website:
https://www.beano.com/

Thứ Năm, 30 tháng 7, 2015

Happy birthday, Beano!

It's The Beano's 77th birthday this week and it's still going strong! Issue 1 was published on Tuesday 26th July 1938. There's the cover above drawn by Reg Carter; a photograph of the actual comic in great condition, taken from the phil-comics Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/phil-comics-auctions/156116677784593

I thought I'd have a crack at drawing Big Eggo myself, so here he is. The Beano's first cover star is long gone now but perhaps he'll return one day. who knows? 

Never Be Without A Beano! On sale every Wednesday.

Thứ Ba, 2 tháng 6, 2015

New exhibition of Jim Petrie's work

Scanned from THE BEANO SUMMER SPECIAL 1966.

A new exhibition of the artwork of the late Jim Petrie opens tomorrow (June 3rd) at the Lamb Gallery at the University of Dundee. It runs until 19th September. 

Here's the info:
This special exhibition celebrates the work of artist Jim Petrie, who died in 2014. A former student of Dundee College of Art (now Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design) and Dundee Training College (now the University’s School of Education, Social Work & Community Education), Jim later became a popular art teacher at Kirkton High School but is best known as the man who drew the "world's wildest tomboy" Minnie the Minx for 40 years in DC Thomson's famous comic The Beano.

To find out the full details, visit the website here:
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/comics/petrie/ 

Here's my tribute to Jim Petrie which I posted last year:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/jim-petrie-1932-2014.html

Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 2, 2015

Andrew Hutton R.I.P.

Dramatic 2 page spread from The Beano Book 1967.
I'm sorry to hear of the passing of artist Andrew Hutton who has died aged 91. He illustrated many stories for DC Thomson and is probably best known for his work on the popular adventure strip The Q-Bikes for The Beano in the 1960s.


The Q-Bikes were a team of children who set off on their push bikes in numerous adventures of heroism and rescue, often resulting in catching crooks. Most artists hate drawing bikes but whether Andy Hutton relished it or not he was certainly up to the task and proved to be an ideal illustrator for the series.

The strip was briefly renamed The Q-Karts in 1969 to reflect the growing popularity of motor karts. Again, Mr.Hutton proved more than worthy for the task, producing dynamic and exciting pages.


My condolences to Mr.Hutton's family and friends at this sad time. For more information on the artist's life and career, see John Freeman's excellent tribute on his Down The Tubes blog:
http://downthetubes.net/?p=19835

Thứ Tư, 14 tháng 1, 2015

Danger! Len At Work (1950)

Here's an obscure little strip from the past. Danger! Len At Work appeared in The Beano from issue 386 (3rd December 1949) to No.410 (27th May 1950). It was drawn by Bill Holroyd, many years before he illustrated Screwy Driver, Brassneck, Spunky and his Spider, Jack Silver and others for The Dandy. Good, solid cartooning from one of the best! 

This example is from The Beano No.398 (4th March 1950). Click to see it larger.

Pansy Potter in Wonderland!

Pansy Potter (The Strongman's Daughter) is one of DC Thomson's oldest characters, dating back to The Beano no.21 in 1938. That first series ran until 1947, but when she returned to the comic in 1949 the series had a twist. Pansy Potter in Wonderland was the strip's new title, which began with Pansy finding a set of steps outside a wishing well which led her to Wonderland where her adventures became even more surreal, meeting characters from nursery rhymes and suchlike.

The artwork for Pansy Potter in Wonderland was by James Clark. The Wonderland theme ran until November 1953 when Pansy returned home. Here are a few examples of the series from the middle of its run in 1950 and 1951. (The colour hasn't faded on these pages by the way. It was only printed in red, yellow and black.)
The artwork and the comedy sequences remind me of animated cartoons of the 1930s, which may have been James Clark's inspiration for all I know. In that regard it perhaps looks a bit old fashioned for 1950, but it's a busy and fun strip all the same. The following strip features a soap-box cartie, the vehicle of choice for many characters in British comics over the years of course!

Pansy Potter appeared in Sparky comic from 1965 for much of its run but returned to The Beano a few years ago where she still appears from time to time.

Thứ Sáu, 9 tháng 1, 2015

A good time to buy The Beano

If you haven't read The Beano for a while the current issue (No.3766) is a good issue to start with as there are a bunch of new strips beginning: Sleepy Ed by Paul Palmer, Chewie Suarez, Zombie Footballer by Alan Ryan, Robopop by Andy Fanton, and Joe King by me.




There's also the return of three strips: No Direction by Alan Ryan, Emlyn the Gremlin by Andy Fanton, and Rasher by me.

There's also all the regular favourites of course: Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx by Nigel Parkinson, The Bash Street Kids by David Sutherland, Little Plum by Hunt Emerson, The Numskulls by Nigel Auchterlounie, Tricky Dicky by Laura Howell, Bananaman by Wayne Thompson, Roger the Dodger by Barrie Appleby, and more.




36 pages of all-new, full-colour, no-reprint fun, not bagged with toys or plastered with cover mounts, and cheap too at only £2.20. Go on, give it a go and see what you're missing. Remember the old saying: Never Be Without A Beano!

Beano best seller

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.
I was pleased to hear that The Beano Annual was the best selling annual for Christmas, beating its nearest rivals with 50% more sales.

The Dandy Annual did well too, achieving the number nine spot with 18% higher sales than the previous year.

John Freeman has the details and you can read more about it on his long running Down the Tubes website of British comics:
http://downthetubes.net/?p=19301 

Thứ Năm, 1 tháng 1, 2015

Coolest Comic Covers: The Beano Book 1967

The Beano Book / Annual has had many great covers over the decades but this remains a favourite of mine. I know some of you like it too so I thought I'd show it here today. The Beano Book 1967. An excellent illustration by David Sutherland of General Jumbo and all the Beano characters as his radio-controlled model army. 

If that wasn't fascinating enough for a 7 year old (as I was then), it also touches on the infinity effect by showing characters emerging from that very book, and that cover has a similar army emerging from a book... and presumably on into infinity. Quite a mind-blowing concept for a kid to take on board, and I was captivated by it back on Christmas Day 1966 when I had this book.

And I still think it's a great image to this day. Click on it to see it in more detail. 

Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 12, 2014

This year's Christmas Beano

The Christmas edition of The Beano is in the shops now. This is the festive edition of the regular comic, not to be confused with The Beano Christmas Special that I told you about in October (which is also still available).

As you can see from the photo above, the Christmas Beano comes bagged this week for a change as it carries a gift. Open the bag and this is the actual cover...

...which surprisingly re-uses artwork from the Christmas edition of BeanoMax from 2012. Never mind though, as it's a nice piece of Nigel Parkinson artwork. Inside the comic you'll find loads of festive fun including a good old slap-up feed illustrated by the brilliant David Sutherland...

...Hunt Emerson drawing Little Plum and a few guest stars...

...and an Ivy the Terrible strip I drew, written by Stu Munro...

The gift that comes with the comic is quite unusual. It's a Menace Squad Mischief Manual with half taken up with the book and half featuring two mounted items relevant to the pranks. Cover by Nigel Parkinson, new interior artwork by Barrie Appleby.


This festive package is in the shops from now until December 30th, priced £3.99. The next Beano won't be out until New Year's Eve - but keep an eye on the shops a few days before then in case it ships early (as it sometimes does at this time of year). Make a New Year's Resolution to Never Be Without A Beano in 2015! 

Thứ Bảy, 1 tháng 11, 2014

Today's extra Beano

Just a quick reminder that today's Daily Mirror contains a free 32 page Beano, and they certainly aren't shy of announcing that, as shown by the cover above. (A shame they chose to run with a header about perverts immediately beneath it though but you can't predict what'll hit the headlines on the day of a promotion.) 

The free comic contains all new material and is packed with strips by Nigel Parkinson, Laura Howell, and more. None of my strips are in there unfortunately but one of the numerous Joe King vignettes I supplied is used throughout the comic.

The comic also features a cut-out coupon to save readers £1 on the next issue (which goes on sale on Wednesday). 

Daily Mirror No.15,171. On sale now. 80p

Thứ Năm, 30 tháng 10, 2014

Bonfire Beano, plus Daily Mirror freebies!

If you thought that the traditional 'fireworks issue' of children's comics was a thing of the past, check out the latest issue of The Beano. It features a fireworks-themed Minnie the Minx story drawn by Nigel Parkinson, and a great bonfire cover by him too. In the shops now!

More Beano news. If you hop over to the Daily Mirror website you can download a free digital Dennis the Menace comic worth £1.49 compatible with iOS or Android devices. The offer runs until Saturday November 13th. Full info here: 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/free-beano-digital-comic-download-4532214

Speaking of that paper, this coming Saturday (November 1st) the Daily Mirror will contain a free special promotional edition of The Beano containing many of the regular strips in new stories. Never Be Without A Beano!   

Thứ Ba, 21 tháng 10, 2014

Christmas comes early to Beanotown!

The Summer Specials are still in the shops but now there's also The Beano Christmas Special No.1 alongside them! The 64 page squarebound comic features a mixture of brand new material and reprint, plus various puzzles and activity features. It also contains a sheet of 21 free stickers. 

All the main Beano characters are included and the special kicks off with a new, nice looking six-page Dennis the Menace story illustrated by Nigel Parkinson...

I drew a couple of festive activity pages for the comic too. One of which is Who Ate All the Mince Pies?...

All the reprints are relatively contemporary; Tom Paterson Minnie the Minx and suchlike. No classic 1950s-70s material. This is a bright, fun, stocking stuffer, not a trip down memory lane. Well worth it though for Beano fans! The Beano Christmas Special 2014 is out now, priced £4.99. 

Thứ Năm, 25 tháng 9, 2014

Free Ivy!

Would you like to read this week's Ivy the Terrible strip that I drew? You can see it online free courtesy of The Beano. Just follow this link:
http://issuu.com/dcthomson/docs/ivypreview/1

Of course, if you pay just £2 you can see it in print, along with a stack of other all-new strips in the latest issue, out now! Here's the cover to look for, drawn by Nigel Parkinson. If you haven't read it for a while, why not try it? Support Britain's longest-running comic and remember the old motto: Never Be Without A Beano! 


Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 9, 2014

Jonah, - Plug's Uncle!

I'll keep it brief as I should be at the drawing board but I thought some of you would be interested in hearing that the seafaring calamity known as Jonah has a guest-starring role in this week's Bash Street Kids story in The Beano... as Plug's uncle! 

There's certainly a bit of a family resemblance with the teeth, but is this the first time it's been mentioned? Curiously, the old Beano character Jinx was said to be Jonah's sister, so I guess that makes her Plug's aunt! 

The Bash Street Kids is written by Stu Munro and drawn by Dave Sutherland (who has now been drawing the strip for 52 years!).

For the few of you unfamiliar with Jonah, it was one of The Beano's greatest strips of the 1950s, illustrated by the brilliant Ken Reid. Here's a couple of classic examples of some of the best British comics work to have seen print.

From The Beano No.852, dated november 15th 1958...

From The Beano No.928, dated April 20th 1960...

Thứ Tư, 3 tháng 9, 2014

Arena documentary on comics (1988)

Just a quick post today as I'm very busy this month. In 1988, the BBC arts programme Arena took a trip to Dundee to film a documentary on The Dandy and The Beano. It interviewed Dandy editor Morris Heggie, Beano editor Euan Kerr, and Beezer editor Alan Digby (later to become a Beano editor). The first editor of The Dandy, Albert Barnes, and The Beano's first editor, George Moonie, also appear in the documentary along with several others including Leo Baxendale.

Some of you will have seen it before, but it may be new to others. It's on You Tube in three parts. Part 1 is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FiMdohGcEs

Part 2: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=702wXJi9lCQ

Part 3: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6gbHXH6a_k

Thứ Tư, 27 tháng 8, 2014

Jim Petrie 1932 - 2014

Sad news in the comics industry this week with the passing of humour artist Jim Petrie on Sunday 24th August. If you read The Beano in the last four decades of the 20th Century you'd certainly know his work, for he was the main artist on Minnie the Minx from 1962 until his retirement in the year 2001.

Jim Petrie was assigned the task of taking over Minnie the Minx from the great Leo Baxendale, but rather than simply ghost Leo's style Jim added his own flourishes to the strip. Minnie the Minx under Jim Petrie was distinctly his own strip, and his lively, energetic pages conveyed a sense of pure fun and enjoyment. 

Jim Petrie's pages were always a pleasure to behold. The body language of his characters kept the strips alive and entertaining. Whether drawing slapstick scenes or quieter moments, Jim handled it like a true master. 

You can read a proper obituary of Mr.Petrie over at Steve Holland's blog here:
http://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/jim-petrie-1932-2014.html

A memoriam on John Freeman's Down the Tubes site:
http://downthetubes.net/?p=16500&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-memoriam-jim-petrie

...and The Beano itself have a nice tribute to him on their website:
http://www.beano.com/characters/minnie-the-minx/downloads/jim-petrie-1932-2014

I've selected a few pages of Jim Petrie work from my comics collection to show here. (Click on each image to read it full size.) Firstly a lively slapstick Minnie the Minx from The Beano No.1246 (June 4th 1966)...


Next, Minnie wants to be Billy the Cat in this story from The Beano No.1396 (April 19th 1969)...


Some great reaction shots in this Minnie strip from The Beano No.1495 (March 13th 1971)...


One of my favourite 1960s strips was The Sparky People that Jim drew every week. Excellent expressions in this one from Sparky No.223 (April 26th 1969)...

...and smashing cartoon work in this one from Sparky No.226 (May 17th 1969)...

Finally, a Minnie the Minx full colour page from The Beano Summer Special 1994...


My condolences to Mr.Petrie's family and friends at this sad time. I hope they can find comfort in the fact that his work brought happiness and good cheer to millions of children for nearly 40 years. Rest In Peace Jim Petrie.