This week's issue Take 2

Discuss or comment on anything relating to D.C.Thomson's second longest running comic. The home of Dennis the Menace. Has been running since 1938.

Moderator: AndyB

Locked
User avatar
colcool007
Mr Valeera
Posts: 3872
Joined: 03 Mar 2006, 18:06
Location: Lost in time, lost in space
Contact:

This week's issue Take 2

Post by colcool007 »

Ok. Old thread closed. New one started. Haven't seen the Beano for ages, but then again I have been away due to work. Must browse my local newspaper shop soon.

Let's try and keep this thread going and hope it hits the 50 page mark at least.
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

User avatar
Jonny Whizz
Posts: 1079
Joined: 03 May 2009, 14:17

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Jonny Whizz »

Looking at this week's issue, something odd seems to have happened with the Billy Whizz strip - you can see panels from a different strip behind the actual strip itself, and in one of the panels in the actual story, another panel can be seen behind, so it looks like there are two Billys in one frame!
'Michael Owen isn't the tallest of players, but his height more than makes up for it' - Mark Lawrenson

User avatar
WizzKid97
Posts: 435
Joined: 01 May 2011, 14:57
Location: Middleton-on-Sea, UK
Contact:

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by WizzKid97 »

I really enjoyed the Beano this week, very funny, one of the best in a while!

Dennis and Gnasher was fantastic, so glad Walter's soft pet dog Foo-Foo is finally back, and what an excuse for why he's been gone!

Ratz made me smile and I thought Ball Boy, Fred's Bed and Meebo and Zuky were hilarious, he actually burst out laughing from M&Z!

The Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger were also brilliant, and Billy Whizz and Minnie the Minx also made me chuckle. Gnasher's Bite was also very funny and I found Fred's 'Foul' Facts really interesting. :)

On a downside though, too many fillers, Pup Parade and The Numskulls weren't too good and the story on Year of the Menace of Gnasher's First Appearance was too small for anyone with bad eyesight to read, even I had to put on my glasses to read it.

The Dandy Ad was up to date by having Tiny's Temper (it only came out in last week's Dandy), congratulations to Stu Munro for his first published piece to technically feature in the Beano. :D

Really sad that it seems to be the end now for the Next Week page, I really liked it, better than some boring advert or filler.

Overall really good, can't wait for next week!
Image
Please check out the following links!
http://wizzkid97.wordpress.com/ - My blog
http://wizzkid97.deviantart.com/ My DA Page

User avatar
Jonny Whizz
Posts: 1079
Joined: 03 May 2009, 14:17

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Jonny Whizz »

I agree about Meebo and Zuky - they're usually funny anyway, but I think the best strips are the ones where they both get it, like in this week's. I'm also pleased to see Foo Foo back, as it suggests Walter's going back towards his old softy persona, rather than the more sneaky character he became after the TV revamp.
'Michael Owen isn't the tallest of players, but his height more than makes up for it' - Mark Lawrenson

User avatar
WizzKid97
Posts: 435
Joined: 01 May 2011, 14:57
Location: Middleton-on-Sea, UK
Contact:

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by WizzKid97 »

Jonny Whizz wrote:I agree about Meebo and Zuky - they're usually funny anyway, but I think the best strips are the ones where they both get it, like in this week's.
I agree, also when there's less speaking and it's simple. This week's was brilliant, I love ridiculous, impossible cartoon violence, hence why I loved this week's so much!
Jonny Whizz wrote:I'm also pleased to see Foo Foo back, as it suggests Walter's going back towards his old softy persona, rather than the more sneaky character he became after the TV revamp.
Once again, agreed. They blew it with making Walter sneaky and mean, Walter was funnier when he was soft, getting knocked out by a dandelion clock, so funny! :lol:
The best thing about Foo-Foo returning was that I never expected it. :)
Image
Please check out the following links!
http://wizzkid97.wordpress.com/ - My blog
http://wizzkid97.deviantart.com/ My DA Page

User avatar
Digifiend
Posts: 7315
Joined: 15 Aug 2007, 11:43
Location: Hull, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Digifiend »

WizzKid97 wrote:The Dandy Ad was up to date by having Tiny's Temper (it only came out in last week's Dandy), congratulations to Stu Munro for his first published piece to technically feature in the Beano. :D
And they fixed the stretching problem it had last week too. And I wasn't expecting Foo-Foo's return either, loved the explanation, nice one writers!

User avatar
Peter Gray
Posts: 4222
Joined: 28 Feb 2006, 00:07
Location: Surrey Guildford
Contact:

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Peter Gray »

I like Barries work on Dennis loved the picture of Foo Foo chasing the cat and all the people flying around everywhere..

User avatar
swirlythingy
Posts: 562
Joined: 17 Mar 2011, 00:16
Location: Wimbledon, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by swirlythingy »

So, a bit of a paradigm shift, then! All the previous reversions have just been introduced like they were never away (non-grey backgrounds, the catapult), although I think the first utterence of the phrase "Dennis the Menace and Gnasher" was perhaps given a little more ceremony than one might expect from a stealth revamp - the first hint that the Beano staff were as eager as we were to see the old Dennis back.

But I never expected that ending to last week's cliffhanger! Two weeks dedicated to the return of Foo-Foo, with a cheekily inserted reference to his recent prolonged absence? Good job, the Beano! Next stop, Rasher! :D

So, issue #3600 rolls around in six weeks' time. Given that #3500 was a mere three issues after disaster struck (and even contained a page showing Dennis's artistic evolution, with the current design of the previous month placed firmly in the 'past' category, just to rub salt into the wound), reckon they're planning something...? ;)
Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a signature factory!

User avatar
swirlythingy
Posts: 562
Joined: 17 Mar 2011, 00:16
Location: Wimbledon, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by swirlythingy »

Sorry for the double post, but I was in a bit of a hurry yesterday. A few more things:

Last week proclaimed a "Special Collector's Cover - Part One". This week, however, did not proclaim Part Two. Now, I don't believe the Beano's "Special Collector's" editions have ever meant, well, anything at all, really, but it's a bit weird all the same. Also, give what we now know about the two-part story that started last week, this is a rare occasion when I think the phrase "Collector's Edition" might possibly be justified.

I seem to recall that last week I may have been observed expressing the opinion that the failure to align the title text of Fred's Foul Facts with the vector drips floating aimlessly a couple of millimetres below could be best described as a "schoolboy error". Having seen this week's Billy Whizz, I apologise for having denigrated and devalued schoolboy errors.

What do they mean, they've received loads of emails about Gnasher? Since last week? A comic printed weeks in advance? Really? Blimey, must be time to go and repaint that Elder Seal over the corpse of the Beano Inbox again.

Why does every issue of the Beano now have a panel on the front cover advertising an advert, promotion or competition inside? It's always there, without fail, even when (as with this week) there are barely any adverts at all - this week's refers to a box on the "Year of the Menace" page.

The Dandy is £2.50 next week, which means tradition demands the Beano must follow suit. Not that the Beano is telling us. See, this is why we need a 'next week's issue' advert!

Has anyone else noticed that, lately, all the odd numbered issues of the Beano have been chock-a-block with adverts, and all the even numbered issues have had only one page of them? This became especially bizarre when Nintendo took over the Dandy recently, but the contemporary issue of the Beano had an even number, so they had to wait for the next issue instead! (And then it carried adverts for two separate Nintendo products, with only the second appearing in both the Beano and the Dandy at the same time, as the first was almost certainly intended to!)
Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a signature factory!

User avatar
Digifiend
Posts: 7315
Joined: 15 Aug 2007, 11:43
Location: Hull, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Digifiend »

I have to agree, if next week's is one of those more expensive issues, and past form says it will be, then they should've included an advert saying so (and mentioning the gift).

Lew Stringer
Posts: 7041
Joined: 01 Mar 2006, 00:59
Contact:

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Lew Stringer »

Digifiend wrote:I have to agree, if next week's is one of those more expensive issues, and past form says it will be, then they should've included an advert saying so (and mentioning the gift).
Why is The Beano always singled out? Very few of today's comics bother mentioning their fluctuating prices now. The Dandy is one of the exceptions.
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
Blog about my own work: http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Digifiend
Posts: 7315
Joined: 15 Aug 2007, 11:43
Location: Hull, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Digifiend »

Didn't know there were other offenders (I wonder which other titles you mean?). Those comics should state their prices too. Dandy's policy should be the industry standard, IMHO. The Sun newspaper for example is making a point of saying that the Saturday edition will still be 60p (the weekday editions being half that), despite inheriting the News of the World's Fabulous magazine after the hacking scandal forced NoW to fold. The extra magazine could've justified a price increase for the Saturday edition of the Sun (due to production costs), but they didn't. They could've omitted the price from the adverts, then done a sneaky price increase, which is what Beano is doing, and has done several times in the last couple of years.

User avatar
swirlythingy
Posts: 562
Joined: 17 Mar 2011, 00:16
Location: Wimbledon, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by swirlythingy »

Digifiend wrote:They could've omitted the price from the adverts, then done a sneaky price increase, which is what Beano is doing, and has done several times in the last couple of years.
Or they could've just omitted the adverts, which is what the Beano is actually doing.

It's not just that it's annoying not having advance warning of price increases (and if that's standard industry practice, then standard industry practice is wrong), it's downright strange, not to mention unprecedented, for the Beano not to mention the fact that there will be gifts next week, as surely there must be. Maybe it's going to be a warehouse clearout session again?

I agree with Digifiend - the Dandy should be an example of best practice.
Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a signature factory!

User avatar
colcool007
Mr Valeera
Posts: 3872
Joined: 03 Mar 2006, 18:06
Location: Lost in time, lost in space
Contact:

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by colcool007 »

But best practice as defined by purchasers does not necessarily reflect best practice as defined by the industry. And for any industry, best practice means maximizing profits.
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

User avatar
Digifiend
Posts: 7315
Joined: 15 Aug 2007, 11:43
Location: Hull, UK

Re: This week's issue Take 2

Post by Digifiend »

I don't think the presence or absence of an advert with the price for the following issue will affect profits one jot. If a kid hasn't got enough pocket money and has to drop a comic, that would still happen whether they get a week's warning or just see the price on the cover of the issue.

Locked