What was the best year or years for The Beano? The Best!!

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 17 Jul 2007, 00:10

1951- With the introduction of Dennis the Menace....
Biffo very detailed ...Pansy Potter in wonderland...Lord Snooty...Tom Thumb...
1961-62 had a lot of my favourite artists...Leo Baxendale...David Sutherland with the flood of London...Billy Whizz artist Malcolm Judges starts with the circus...David Law...Jonah by Ken Reid...
in 1962....Bash Street very detailed drawn by David S........Jim starts Minnie though I like his work more later...three bears artist number 2 starts...Bob McGrath....

1990 has a lot of my favourite artists....Sid B on Biffo...Les Pretend...Tom Paterson...David Sutherlands Dennis...Robert Nixon...Trevor...

Tricky to choose which year is the best.........so I choose 1961 62 and 1990

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 17 Jul 2007, 17:10

I've decided 1961 was the best year for The Beano.....it is when it had an increase in pages..........also The Dandy had new characters in 1961
e.g Winker Watson first appeared on April 1, 1961 ...so 1961 is when it was at its peak best...

Cap Haggis · Post by **Cap Haggis** » 17 Jul 2007, 17:56

Can't say I disagree with your ascertain Peter - I like the late 1950s Beano's till about 1963 ish loved a lot of the artists Baxendale was doing great stuff then as way Watkins and Reid - seemed to be far more of an edge to the Beano art and humour in that time scale (and its way before my tine as well) - I loved the Beano as a kid (read it from about 1966 - 1970) but when I look back on those issues they seem a bit "flat" to me (with the exceptions of Reid and Watkins)compared to the 1956- 1963 titles. I never was a great fan of the Dandy as a kid but it had some great work in it looking back.

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 01 Oct 2009, 18:21

Another post I did.1961 seems to be my favourite year after all.also I did a post in the Beano section on the great flood of London

I liked it when it changed to having more pages and colour..and new artists..

Steve Henderson · Post by **Steve Henderson** » 01 Oct 2009, 19:06

1938-2009

Digifiend · Post by **Digifiend** » 01 Oct 2009, 19:11

It's entire history you say?

Well, I don't think we're going to agree on a best era, as most of us can't judge, having not seen issues from every year of it's life.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 01 Oct 2009, 19:30

1967.

Jonny Whizz · Post by **Jonny Whizz** » 01 Oct 2009, 20:51

Since I started reading it, I think that the years 2003, 2008 and 2009 have been the best. It's difficult to choose though!

felneymike · Post by **felneymike** » 03 Oct 2009, 17:37

In the time i was reading it regularly i think 1998 was a good one. It's when Bea appeared! (if i remember rightly). Also it reflected the Dennis TV series when before "continuity" had been confused a bit (i was a stickler for that sort of thing when i was young, i was glad when the TV series and comic settled down with, for instance, a neighbour for Dennis)

Jonny Whizz · Post by **Jonny Whizz** » 03 Oct 2009, 18:23

I picked up a few early 1998 Beano issues (2896, 2897, 2899 and 2900 if anyone's interested). I think 1998 was the last year before the comic started to head into something of a transition period - I'll explain why below.

1998 - David Sutherland stops drawing Dennis (replaced by David Parkins). Bea is introuduced as you said, and the comic expands to 32 pages. Plus, the logo is changed.
1999 - John Geering dies, which stops Dean's Dino. Also, the final appearance of Sid Burgon's silent Biffo.
2000 - Vic Neill dies. The Germs disappear, and Tim Traveller does the same in a couple of years (the Beano ed apparently disliked the style of his replacement Keith Reynolds) and his replacement on Billy Whizz, G Hall, almost killed him off as well. Could Billy have ended up alongside the likes of Lord Snooty and Biffo in the 'Beano retirement home' if the slide had not been stopped? (more on that in 2003)
2001 - Jim Petrie retires, and Tom Paterson replaces him on Minnie.
2002 - Bob Nixon dies. Barrie Appleby takes over Roger and Tony O'Donnell takes over Ivy (though Trevor Metcalfe also occasionally drew them both at this time).
2003 - John Dallas retires and John Sherwood dies. John Dallas is replaced on Ball Boy by Dave Eastbury, and Les Pretend is first dropped but later returns drawn by first Steve Bright then Trevor Metcalfe. Also, Wayne Thompson replaces G Hall on the struggling Billy Whizz, who is given a new lease of life.
Finally, in that year, the comic seemed to settle down again, with fewer significant changes until Alan Digby took over from Euan Kerr.

As you can see, a number of top artists were lost (either due to death or retirement) in this time, and in some cases it took a while before suitable replacements could be found (particularly notable here are Billy and Les).

tony ingram · Post by **tony ingram** » 03 Oct 2009, 18:23

I think people tend to identify most strongly with whichever era they grew up with. I tend to still regard the period from about 1975-1982 as a high point for Beano and Dandy simply because that's when I was a kid reading them. I still miss Tom, Dick & Sally, even though there's nothing particularly special about that strip objectively speaking...

Post by **AndyB** » 04 Oct 2009, 15:05

Tom, Dick and Sally had a lot going for it. I still remember it fondly.

Digifiend · Post by **Digifiend** » 04 Oct 2009, 18:22

I wonder if it would work these days? Tom and Dick picking on Sally all the time could be considered bullying, that's why Walter was made less of a wimp and more of a sneak. I suppose Sally was always sneaky anyway though, making sure her brothers got their comeuppance every week.

ComicCrazy · Post by **ComicCrazy** » 04 Oct 2009, 20:15

Tom, Dick and Sally was one of my favorites too. But if they brought it back it would probably be called Tom, Richard and Sally!

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