FREE CHRISTMAS COMPETITION TIME - A DENNIS The MENACE BOOK COULD BE YOURS...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

As it's nearly Christmas, I thought I'd do something different in the world of blogging and have a competition.  (As long as it's not breaking any rules.)  The prize is a pristine, unread copy of D.C. THOMSON's 50th Anniversary book on DENNIS The MENACE, published back in 2001.

Unfortunately, only UK residents can enter, and - as this is a competition for collectors - only over 21s, so no kids please.  (Though you can ask a parent to enter on your behalf.)

Please also note that this competition isn't open to fellow bloggers with their own comics sites - it's  'civilians' only.

To win this Collecters' item classic, all you have to do is answer the following five questions:

1)  Who was Dennis the Menace named after?

2)  What month and year did he first appear?

3)  Which two other famous comic characters is Dennis's artist Davey Law also known for?

4)  What was the original name of the character from The People's Journal who was transformed into Dennis for publication in the Dennis books?

5)  What other famous comics character was revealed to have a 'Dennis the Menace' haircut in 1999/2000?

Type your answers in the comment box with your real name and age - no further details.  The names of all those with five correct answers will be put into a hat and one will be chosen at random in about 10 days.  I will then post the winner's name, who can contact me with his or her postal details, which will not be published publicly and will be immediately discarded once the book is sent. P.O. Box Numbers are acceptable.  No other contact from me will follow and no personal communication outside of this blog will be entertained.

Competition closes on December 28th, 2011.

Okay peeps, what are you waiting for?  GET TO IT!

CRIKEY! YOGI BEAR & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS CRACKERS...

Copyright relevant owner

Not too long ago, I parted with a pile of old comics (TV EXPRESS WEEKLY) that were gathering dust in a wardrobe.  They were originally  IPC file copies which had been given to me a quarter of a century ago, but apart from some superb RON EMBLETON colour covers, the only other pages that appealed to me were some lovely HANNA BARBERA strips such as YOGI BEAR and his friends.  I scanned the covers and the HB strips before passing them on, so I'm able to offer you a little treat here by sharing with you some of the earliest, U.K. produced HB TV tie-in strips from 1960.  I didn't bother noting which strips go with which covers or mastheads so it's a bit 'pot-luck', but here's the first of some lovely Festive frivolities to feast your peepers on.

  

And don't forget to check out YOWP's great blog on all things HANNA-BARBERA here - it's not to be missed.

SEASONAL SPIDEY SWINGS OVER THE CITY IN THE SWIRLING SNOW...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a nice little cover from the 1995 The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Annual (released at the end of '94). It's got a nice Christmas feel about it.  Wonder if Spidey is wearing his heavy underwear under his cossie?  (Incidentally, the back cover was the same as the front.)

FESTIVE FUN For EVERYONE - With DENNIS The MENACE...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Surprisingly, out of the 39 DENNIS The MENACE books published by DCT from 1955 to 2010, only five of them have covers that could be considered even remotely Festive.  No indoor adorned Christmas trees, Santas, reindeer, presents, decorations or whatever - only snow - and only one snowman.  You'd have thought a scene of Dennis menacing SANTA would've been ripe with possibilities for a good Seasonal cover, but no - so we'll have to make do with what we have.

On the run-up to Christmas, I'll feature the front and back covers of those five books. The first is from 1985, which was the last book to come out two years after the preceding one, and also two years before the following one.  This means that the 1987 book (published in '86) became the very first actual Annual, as it came out one year before the next one.  (There were no books issued between the 1978 and 1983 editions.)

So... enjoy Dennis's hi-jinks as he gets up to mischief on the 'slopes'.  Snow joke.  (Get it?  'S'no joke.  Groan.)

Remember... click on the images to enlarge... then click again for optimum size.

NEXT:  SEASONAL SPIDEY!  

The 2011 CHRISTMAS BEANO - A REVIEW...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

A nicely coloured and atmospheric wrap-around cover by STEVE BRIGHT adorns this year's CHRISTMAS BEANO.  It's not actually referred to by that Festive appellation though, the only name in evidence being that of the comic.  At least they've given the logo a touch of snow, which is nice to see.  Bright is a well-respected artist (and deservedly so), but a few of the characters on the back cover look as if they're running around in a miniature village on account of being out of proportion to the background.  A minor quibble perhaps, but it's slightly jarring to notice such an obvious discrepancy in perspective from an artist of Bright's calibre.  If he was responsible, that is, as some of the characters may have been added by other hands at a later stage in production.

That apart, it's hard to find much fault with The Beano (ignoring such 'filler' material as a contents page and other 'padding').  It's nicely drawn throughout, with consistently rendered, legible lettering - and clear, easy-on-the-eye storytelling which puts its companion paper, The DANDY, to shame.  As The Beano outsells its sister title by about five to one (at the last count), you'd think the struggling Dandy would follow The Beano's template in an attempt to emulate its success (comparatively speaking) - seems like the obvious way to go.  But no - The Dandy continues to trudge its path to potential oblivion by ignoring the solid storytelling principles epitomised by The Beano.  (Relax - D.C. THOMSON won't allow The Dandy to die - yet.  However, it's possible it could still expire in spite of DCT's efforts to save it, as there would simply be little point in keeping it going if sales eventually fall below a certain level.)

Good as The Beano is, however, it's extremely telling that one of the best strips in it (in my humble opinion) is the above reprint of a DAVEY LAW-drawn DENNIS The MENACE tale from (by the looks of it) the 1950s.

The comic is ridiculously over-priced at £3.99, on account of being burdened with a pile of plastic poo that surely nobody in their right mind would see as anything worth having, but if you have £4 to spare, you could possibly spend your money on a lot worse.  (The Dandy Christmas Special for example.)  It would be far better though, if it were priced at around the £1.99 mark.

Click here for The CHRISTMAS DANDY REVIEW!