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| Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd |
I've been putting this post off for a while now, mostly because I know the reaction it'll provoke in certain quarters, but also because (believe it or not) I derive no enjoyment from being 'negative', but I can postpone comment no longer. So what am I talking about? The BEANO Christmas issue, of course. I can imagine what some people will say in response to my honest observations; things like "It's a comic for kids, not adults, so it isn't intended for old farts like you!"
And it's certainly true (as well as patently obvious) that the comic is increasingly aimed at younger kids these days, moreso than it used to be. But here's a fact: I didn't begin collecting the Christmas issue of The Beano until I was 20 years of age, and have bought it every year for the last 38 years. (I don't think I've missed any, but if I have, it'll only be one or two of the more modern ones.) I've always enjoyed the Christmas Beano, even though it wasn't designed (as I'm so often reminded) for people of 'my age'.
So why could I enjoy earlier editions but not the more contemporary ones? I'm not even sure I know, but I'll have a stab at identifying what I see as the problem. To start with, too many 'filler' pages taking up too much space, for no other reason than to pad out the issue and create the impression that it has far more content than it actually does. 36 pages, 15 of which are a combination of fillers, ads, and activity pages, with double-page spreads whose content would be more suited, in my humble estimation, to a single page.
I've no complaint about the quality of the art as such, although, again, two pages seem to be required to contain images that could easily be fitted into one. To me, the comic gives the distinct impression that 18 pages of content (including filler, activity, and readers' letters pages) have been needlessly spread over 36, and that there's less actual reading in it than in previous decades. So what's wrong with The Beano? It just doesn't seem like The Beano anymore.
So, £4.50 for a polybagged periodical including cheap tat worth about 50p (if), and without the snow on the logo that tradition demands for a Christmas issue, I found this offering overpriced and, overall, disappointing. It'll doubtless keep younger kids amused for a short while, but not for as long as I (as an adult) was amused by this once 'must-have' iconic comic in 'days of yore'.
Feel free to air your views on the matter.
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| For 'Beano Boss' page, read 'unnecessary filler' page |
