The Christmas Beano

[Lew Stringer]

and the new year Beano will be out just in time for Christmas!

To be fair, that's always been the case with comics hasn't it? Even if a cover date was week ending Dec 27th the next issue would come out several days early.

Lew

[stevezodiac]

My local Smiths had the hot dogs but i wasn't going to buy the comic again just for them. Anyway whenever i got edible free gifts as a kid/teenager i always scoffed them anyway so had no qualms about removing them from the package.

[Raven]

and the new year Beano will be out just in time for Christmas!

To be fair, that's always been the case with comics hasn't it? Even if a cover date was week ending Dec 27th the next issue would come out several days early.

Lew

Several days maybe, but not 15. Having the characters say "Happy Christmas, readers!" over two weeks before Christmas seems to me as unChristmassy as hearing the department stores playing end-to-end Christmas songs in late October.

If Christmas Day was Thursday like this year, for example, your Christmas issue would still reach you on the Monday or Saturday before, wouldn't it? Same with the New Year issue: four to six days before the event.

So it would depend on what day the holiday fell but it was generally the week of it or even just a few days before, wasn't it?

[Steve Henderson]

I got the sour hot dog. The Beano Funsize I got was Roger The Dodger and Calamity James.

I got the same, I also got 'Empress of the Racnoss' and 'Pilot Fish' power sliders anyone got swapsies? ha ha

Out of interest who drew the Roger the Dodger in the fun size anyone know? (issue 271) Im not sure about who did the Calamity James at the back if its not Tom Patersons then its a VERY good bit of ghosting

[Lew Stringer]

and the new year Beano will be out just in time for Christmas!

To be fair, that's always been the case with comics hasn't it? Even if a cover date was week ending Dec 27th the next issue would come out several days early.

Lew

Several days maybe, but not 15. Having the characters say "Happy Christmas, readers!" over two weeks before Christmas seems to me as unChristmassy as hearing the department stores playing end-to-end Christmas songs in late October.

If Christmas Day was Thursday like this year, for example, your Christmas issue would still reach you on the Monday or Saturday before, wouldn't it? Same with the New Year issue: four to six days before the event.

So it would depend on what day the holiday fell but it was generally the week of it or even just a few days before, wasn't it?

I'm not sure. However I definitely remember the New Year issues coming out before Christmas at least once in the 1980s. I also remember missing a Christmas Beano a few years ago because it was only on sale for about three days, thanks to distributors sending out the following issue early. Therefore I can understand why this Christmas Beano is out for a fortnight because in reality it'll probably only be on the shelves for about 10 or 12 days before the next one replaces it. (I can't see the next issue coming out on Xmas Eve. The distributors are bound to put it out before then.) Comic sales today need all the help they can get.

One option could have been to bring out a fortnightly issue this week, instead of last, but as I said earlier that'd mean the Christmas issue still being on sale a week after Christmas, thus limiting its sales appeal.

All in all, it does make sense for it to have come out last week, then go off sale just before Christmas. If it seems too early, why not save it to read nearer the day? That's what I used to do in the Sixties.

Lew

PS: All this talk about free gifts and frequency. What about the stories? Did anyone actually read it yet?

[Steve Henderson]

PS: All this talk about free gifts and frequency. What about the stories? Did anyone actually read it yet?

Does this mean you don't have any swapsies?

I read it, Thought it was fantastic, nice superschool nice to see stinkbombs powers broadening, loved the bash street kids and the back page Dennis, maybe because the artwork was the same as when I was a kid (even though it is the 'smaller' dennis) also even though hes only in it for one frame dennis's dad was how i remembered and how i preferred him, looking mad! Ratz was great too, makes christmas seem closer!

[Peter Gray]

Super School was the best in Christmas Beano..

missed seeing David Sutherlands Bash Street kids Christmas special...though liked the long story by Nigel..

Also sad that Johnny Bean didn't get the Christmas treatment..

look forward to more poetry in The Beano by Hunt

[Kashgar]

In the 1930's and earlier it was quite common for titles to produce two Xmas issues one labelled the Xmas Holiday issue and the other the bonafide Xmas issue and for the first of these to be on sale as early as late November.
Personally I've never gotten out of the habit of keeping Xmas issues, whenever they are published, to read at some suitably quiet moment, nearer to the event itself. That being the case, and although I've had it for a week, this year's Xmas Beano is still in its free gift filled plastic bag ( which includes the Hot Dog sweet in my case) awaiting opening and reading sometime early next week.

[Lew Stringer]

Super School was the best in Christmas Beano..

Thanks. Super School skips next issue (my fault, had a family illness to deal with) but when it returns a new classmate joins the team.

Also sad that Johnny Bean didn't get the Christmas treatment..

True, but Laura's drawn a great Robin Hoodie strip in the Christmas Toxic if that helps.

Lew

[RamblingSid]

My two little monsters really enjoyed this year's Christmas Beano. My son reads the Bash Street Kids every night before he goes to sleep. I even caught their mother giggling at the blank paper the Bash St Kids had as a map. The first time I've seen her laughing at a comic. There might be hope for her after all.

look forward to more poetry in The Beano by Hunt

Hmmm. Not sure about that. The Ratz one in the Christmas issue was all right but my kids really disliked the others they've seen. They thought the Owl and the pussycat was too young and with the other one - Molly Malone? - my daughter asked why it was in the Beano and she thought there weren't enough pictures. They just didn't like them. They really liked the Christmas Beano though and can't wait for Santa to bring their Beano Books - they have to get one each because they won't share. Thank goodness for Buy One Get One Free.

[Digifiend]

That made me think of something. It's May and you can still buy the Beano Book in WHSmith! Methinks they printed too many, it's been out eight months now! Guess BOGOF doesn't sound so good now... you can buy an annual for less than the cost of the comic itself!

Sorry about the bump up by the way.

[AndyB]

You should see the pile of Dandy Annuals still sitting in WHSmith in Belfast beside a few forlorn-looking Hannah Montana, Bratz and football-related annuals... all the others sold out long ago.

[Digifiend]

Yeah they have quite a few titles left. It's one thing seeing character annuals left, but it saddens me to see Beano and Dandy unsold (though in Dandy's case, not surprising).

And they're alongside hardback summer annuals now! Not really annuals are they? That means once a year, not twice. Thomson haven't succumbed though, unlike Egmont, Pedigree, and Panini. These other firms are just after a quick buck. Summer Specials should be glossy paperbacks, not hardback Christmas style books!