Festive Fun For... Everyone?
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| Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd |
I bought my 'first'* Christmas Beano back in 1978 (still got it too) - down in Southsea if I recall correctly, when I was best man at the wedding of a now long-jettisoned friend, who was 'sent off' the pal-pitch three years later for being a compulsive and outrageous liar. (And having looked at his Facebook page a few years back, he still is.) However, this post isn't about him you'll be glad to hear - no, it's about the Yuletide ish of last man standing (as far as long-running UK humour comics go) on the newsagents' shelves - The Beano. (Yeah, I know it's just Beano now, but that was a pointless change, wasn't it?)
(*When I say 'first', I mean the first of what became a yearly purchase thereafter, though I may well have had a Christmas issue or two when I was a kid.)
So let's get to the point. Professionally produced, does what it says on the tin, younger readers are bound to love it, but - to this old fart - it no longer seems like The Beano anymore. Too many 'filler' pages (as I regard them) and ads, and despite being in full colour and printed on glossy paper, I prefer the way it used to be when it was printed on loo roll, with only four pages of colour and the rest being b&w or spot colour. It just had more 'atmosphere' about it, though obviously I wouldn't want to apply that criteria to movies and have them all made in monochrome.
Anyway, if you consider yourself too old or too 'grown-up' to be buying The Beano, your kids, nieces or nephews are sure to appreciate it if you spring for a copy for them. As usual, it comes with a load of ol' tat and costs £4.99, but I had to have it as I've bought every Festive number since 1978. (As far as I remember; must check to see if I inadvertently missed one.) This is the last Beano 'til sometime in the New Year, so you can either fork out almost a fiver, or nip around to Home Bargains and see if they have any of the 2021 Annuals left for a mere £2.99.
Below is the pack to look for if you prefer to buy the comic, though obviously it's not a case of one or the other as, finances permitting, you're allowed to purchase both.
What happened to the Beano Christmas Special? I don't mean the Christmas issue of the regular comic but a separate Christmas special. I bought the Christmas special two years running a few years ago but I don't see it any more.
ReplyDeleteMy local WHS has got it in, CJ, and has had for a good while. Maybe it's in the 'bookazine' section in your nearest shop - or sold out. If you're desperate for it, I can buy a copy and send it to you if you'll refund my postage costs and the price of the mag.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kid, but I'm not desperate for it :)
ReplyDeleteAre we still talking about the Beano Special. CJ?
ReplyDeletehttps://shop.gerryanderson.co.uk/products/doctor-who-magazine-the-daleks?utm_content=Facebook_UA&utm_source=facebook&variant=34913721483398&fbclid=IwAR2ewf8t5Y8b4hDtBby-eaT0zkMn9fRhIfoLTyXeeU0XpJg08eRiipAvHKU
ReplyDeleteThe Daleks TV21 comic strips are now available @ £9.99+P&P from the Gerry Anderson store
Dave Walker
I just hope they don't mail them in a flimsy polythene envelope like they did my Special Edition of TV21. As I type this, they only have 8 copies left, so better be quick.
ReplyDeleteCheck the time of this comment - only three left as of now.
ReplyDeleteSold out - but they may get some more in.
ReplyDeleteStill 2 in Dalek books Hamilton lol.
ReplyDeleteThe Beano is a great comic for today's kids very slick etc but it's not a patch on those from the late 50s to mid 60 especially ( mostly before my time so not due to nostalgia) pure anarchy for kuds. I also much prefer comics printed in newsprint as well .
Maybe they've got a pile of them in the back, McS, and are putting them out on the shelves two at a time?
ReplyDeleteAgreed about Beano humour of the '50s and '60s - it was far funnier. Most of the early Dennis The Menace strips are from before my time and I didn't read them until I was an adult - some of them are hilarious. And I still think it's a huge mistake to have all the characters interacting with each other, except for a symbolic way on the cover perhaps. I just don't like the idea of 'Beanotown'.
I just think they haven't sold, I think they had 5 or 6 of them. I'm not aware of the Beanotown concept but didn't characters meet in the 60s - 70s (I can't recall).
ReplyDeleteI couldn't say with 100% certainty, McS, but I think they were usually only shown on covers or ads (which were sort of symbolic), or the occasional 'anniversary' piece, but it wasn't as relentless as it seems to be now. If one character DID appear in another's strip, I think it was only in a cameo for one panel, but now ALL the characters are regularly interacting in a way which I think detracts from the uniqueness and individuality of each strip.
ReplyDeleteLike I say, I think single characters sometimes cameoed in other strips, but I'm not keen on the way they do it nowadays, where all the characters appear together in the one strip. (Just in case I expressed myself in my usual vague way earlier.)
ReplyDelete