Those aliens look a bit familiar...

[Ginger]

Oh that's interesting. I was just going to say, they've appeared quite a lot lately, drawn by more than artist, so it seems to me it's an editorial decision rather than just an artist going out on his own. But then again, that is just an assumption.

[dandy mad]

If the boot was on the other foot...

Sorry couldn't resist it

[Phoenix]

Sorry, there I go assuming stuff again!:- I had thought that on the Beano forum I might be addressing people that read the Beano. I appreciate now that that's not necessarily the case.

Fortunately, the forum for The Beano is there for comics enthusiasts who have some interest in The Beano, not just for those enthusiasts who read the comic on a weekly basis. Obviously, Ginger, you will inevitably be addressing people who read The Beano regularly, but you are also addressing everybody else who has an interest in that comic.

[Ginger]

Yes, I realise that, now, Phoenix. That's sort of what I meant when I said 'I appreciate now that that's not necessarily the case'.

DandyMad :- Well, exactly!

[Ginger]

For those asking for an image, I found the cover on the Beano Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 553&type=1

Someone else comments about being 'confused about the Simpsons aliens', too. (Not surprisingly)

[dandy mad]

Yep the aliens do lookalike to the ones in the Simpsons and I'm sure I've read somewhere that DCT has a vested interest in Gracie films as well as the Fox broadcasting corporation as DCT have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Wow... There's no difference whatsoever between them!





Cheap rip-offs and bootleg stuff has always amused me, but there's not the slightest effort to deviate here...

What happened to imagination? Someone says "Draw an alien", and the artist just copies something from the most popular sitcom of all time?

[Lew Stringer]

There's a lot of presumptions being made here, amusing though they are. I recall an identical thread being posted here (or maybe on the unofficial Beano forum) in September, the last time those aliens were on the cover. Doesn't anyone think it might be there for the recognition factor, for the same reason that the Ninja Turtles and Gromit are on there?

Imagine the scenario: kid in Tesco, bored, shopping with his mum. What's that? Simpsons alien on that comic! Kid picks it up. You know the old theory; if a potential reader has the comic in his hands he's more likely to buy it. Flips through it; no Simpsons, but lots of mad cartoons. He's hooked. Everybody's happy. In 20 years time he'll come on this forum and tell that exact same story. The day he discovered the Beano. Him and loads of others hopefully.

[Ginger]

All well and good, Lew, but IF the characters are rip-offs, without official licence ( And it's an ASSUMPTION that that's the case, I don't know, perhaps as a DC Thompson employee you can shed some light?) :- but if they ARE, doesn't that seem a little hypocritical to you? You must know better than most about DC Thompson's rights-grab policy ? Don't they expect to keep whatever characters you come up with? I know you're a company man, but seriously, if you try and detach yourself from it for a moment, can't you see the hypocrisy?

[Lew Stringer]

All well and good, Lew, but IF the characters are rip-offs, without official licence ( And it's an ASSUMPTION that that's the case, I don't know, perhaps as a DC Thompson employee you can shed some light?) :- but if they ARE, doesn't that seem a little hypocritical to you? You must know better than most about DC Thompson's rights-grab policy ? Don't they expect to keep whatever characters you come up with? I know you're a company man, but seriously, if you try and detach yourself from it for a moment, can't you see the hypocrisy?

I'm not a "company man" Ginger. I'm just trying to balance the wild assumptions with a bit of reason. In this case, what sounds more reasonable to you:

A) A publishing company that has been around for about 100 years suddenly becomes foolish enough to use another company's character on the cover (of all places) twice - without being legally entitled to do so?

B) Despite drawing various characters in various settings week after week, the Beano artists suddenly have a block in their imaginations where inventing an original alien for a bit of cover art is concerned, and they copy the Simpsons alien down to the last detail and brushstroke.

C) Thomsons are legally entitled to use it, just as they used those images of the Turtles and Gromit on the same cover.

Seriously, this is a big fuss over nothing. It's going to be answer 'c' isn't it?

[Peter Gray]

Just like The Dandy used well known people for the cover as long as its not every week for a long time...like Harry Hill was and permission was needed its alright to have a character well known on the cover or as a strip..

[Ginger]

Yes, Lew, I suppose you're right.

[Digifiend]

Rather a lot of assumptions there, Ginger!

I make it only one:- that they haven't licensed the characters formally. I have stated that it is only an assumption, and left the possibility open that the characters have been officially licensed (whilst admittedly not being very convinced that this is the case)

As with all Simpsons characters, it's Titan who hold the UK rights to use Kang and Kodos.

This isn't the first time DCT has been up to dubious activity. The Dandy ran a competition where the winner got their design drawn into a comic strip. Unfortunately, whoever judged that competition didn't realise that the winning design was a character from South Park, Professor Chaos.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Oh, that's just terrible. How did ANYONE not notice that one??

[Lew Stringer]

As with all Simpsons characters, it's Titan who hold the UK rights to use Kang and Kodos.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing James. We're talking about Thomsons using one image of a character, not claiming the licensing rights for a strip. Take a look at other children's mags such as Toxic or Mega; they're full of images of various characters.

How come no one made this fuss when a Dalek was drawn onto the cover of the 75th anniversary issue, or when Bart Simpson was on the cover of the first Dandy Xtreme?