Number 13 and The Germs return in the bigger 36 page Beano!

[Digifiend]

Both new strips appear to be reprints, drawn by Dave Sutherland and John Geering.

And for the first time since 1998, a permanent pagination increase. I wonder what will occupy the other two extra pages?

[Jonny Whizz]

I wonder if Number 13 and the Germs are favourites of Mike Stirling? Apart from Dangerous Dan, who only lasted six weeks (for now at least, hopefully he'll come back in the future), they're the first strips to have started or returned since he became editor.

[big bad bri]

I got a sneaky feeling beano getting extra pages is to prepare for the arrival of dandy in its ages as i fell dandy will have one more revamp prehaps featuring the return of classic more familiar characters & if that fails then it will be the dreaded merger but im hopefully wrong.

[yanobandy]

I got a sneaky feeling beano getting extra pages is to prepare for the arrival of dandy in its ages as i fell dandy will have one more revamp prehaps featuring the return of classic more familiar characters & if that fails then it will be the dreaded merger but im hopefully wrong.

It will be expanded to 36 pages. I'm sorry i didnt post more info but i thought everyone would know about it. Anyway, the pages are up to 36, The Germs and Number 13 are being drafted in, and more stuff will be crammed in a bid to make The Beano "The Biggest Comic"

[WizzKid97]

I think it's because Mike wants to change the comic, make it his own and what better way to be remembered than making the comic have more stuff in it? I think it's most definitely inspired by the Dandy's revamp (strangely around the same time).

Remember if the comic stories will be the same we'll have a BIG roster,
Dennis and Gnasher will have their 3 pages as usual, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, Fred's Bed, Retro Beano and The Numskulls will all have their two page comic strips, one pagers will include Ball Boy, Billy Whizz, Gnasher's Bit(e), Meebo and Zuky, Ratz, Pup Parade as well as Wenlock and Mandeville, plus The Germs and Number 13 as well! Meaning the total of comic pages will be 22 pages!! (23 if the Dandy Ad is included!)

Roll on next week!

[Peter Gray]

I'm really enjoying seeing David Sutherland drawing Fred's Bed so great he has a new old character to do next week..

I wonder if these are reprints of Number 13 though it looks like John Geering's work? Mind you they are worth seeing again..

[yanobandy]

So The Germs is new? Whoopee!

[Digifiend]

I don't think it is new, I'm sure I've seen that grape football scene before. Number 13 must be reprints, considering Geering is dead and that is indeed his work.

[yanobandy]

Oh well, i've only seen them in annuals before, so there's nothing i would have seen before (apart from a few old issues from the late eighties that santa brought me one year, but you know, like.)

[Jon]

Of all the choice of reprints the Beano could do, they chose the Germs? I have never liked that strip, and always thought it was too similar to the Numskulls, especially seeing as they appeared in the same issues in the 90s, and will do now as well apparently.

[Jonny Whizz]

I've never actually seen David Sutherland's version of The Germs until now. Most of the ones I've read have been by Vic Neill, with a few by Nigel Parkinson and at least one by Keith Reynolds. I do agree it's quite similar to the Numskulls, which is probably why it appeared so irregularly for most of the 1990s, particularly after Neill started on Tim Traveller.

I did notice that the advert only mentions the Germs themselves, with nothing about Ill Will. Was he there from the strip's beginning, or did he only appear once Neill took over? That could prove whether the stories are new or not. Number definitely looks like reprint, I've seen that picture before (in the Cartoon Capers book).

The return of Number 13 probably marks the end for Freddie Fear, as those strips are probably too similar to continue alongside each other. However, I think Dave Eastbury stopped drawing new Freddie Fear strips a while ago - his appearances have been irregular, and most likely using stockpiled strips.

[yanobandy]

Never thought about Freddie Fear- no wonder, considering he hasnt been in it since the Gnashional Trust special in July!

[Digifiend]

I've never actually seen David Sutherland's version of The Germs until now. Most of the ones I've read have been by Vic Neill, with a few by Nigel Parkinson and at least one by Keith Reynolds. I do agree it's quite similar to the Numskulls, which is probably why it appeared so irregularly for most of the 1990s, particularly after Neill started on Tim Traveller.

I did notice that the advert only mentions the Germs themselves, with nothing about Ill Will. Was he there from the strip's beginning, or did he only appear once Neill took over? That could prove whether the stories are new or not. Number definitely looks like reprint, I've seen that picture before (in the Cartoon Capers book).

The return of Number 13 probably marks the end for Freddie Fear, as those strips are probably too similar to continue alongside each other. However, I think Dave Eastbury stopped drawing new Freddie Fear strips a while ago - his appearances have been irregular, and most likely using stockpiled strips.

I'm pretty sure that Ill Will was there from the beginning, but only got his name in the title later on, which explains why he wasn't mentioned. I think you're right about Freddie Fear. In fact, I've always thought that Freddie's castle must actually be Number 13, because would there really be two spooky castles in the same town?

[Peter Gray]

Maybe the germs will be like Fred's bed.. start as a reprint then David Sutherland will draw some new ones..it does remind me of Comic idol the one David drew recently those blobby characters.so I can see new ones appearing..
wonder wwho could draw new Number 13?

[yanobandy]

It's not gonna be new Number 13 anyway. Hooray, it's me 100th post! Haha.