This week's issue

[Lew Stringer]

If in doubt, pictures of annual and comic collections are printed in almost every issue of the Beano, often including old, and sometimes very old, material. Proud readers boasting about their miraculously old annuals (1986! Imagine!!) which they heroically acquired through magic charity-shopping powers are also a regular feature of Beano.com comment threads.

Therefore if they're as keen on Beano history as you say they'd love the classic pages, yes?

Even if what you say about not celebrating anniversaries of individual stories is true (I can't confirm or deny it; maybe some collectors could help out?

How many collectors do you need before you believe it?

I also think your given example of 10th, 20th or 30th birthdays in your other post was irrelevant, because nobody ever celebrates those.

Eagle commemorated it's 10th birthday issue, Lion celebrated its 20th, Buster celebrated its 21st, 30th, and 35th.... I'm sure collectors could tell you those were notable titles back in their day.

Yes, some of them (notably the second page of the front cover debut) were new to me as well, but I still would have preferred new material in those ten pages, and preferably extending over all the other stories in the comic, which had no right to be there, as well!

The comic is called The Beano. It's not Dennis the Menace's Own Weekly. The other strips have every "right" to be there, and I'm sure many readers would be very disappointed if they weren't.

What it boils down to is this week's Beano did celebrate the anniversary of Dennis the Menace, just not in the way that you wanted. Well, that's life. Perhaps if you were still in The Beano's target age you'd have loved it, just as you did the 50th anniversary one when you were younger?

[STARBOY]

I seriously doubt that many of the Beano's current readership (of young children) have read any of those reprints , perhaps a few future comic fanatics that have caught the "fever" will have looked out/had access to a few old annuals or had brothers/sister/parents that kept some old stuff but not many. The vast majority of readers read comics for a few years then that's it they're not that interested in the medium in the way collectors/fans are. The retro strips were (IMHO) well done and the anniversary's been on TV and radio (up here in Scotland at least) a lot so people will expect this and want to see this - in my office 3 guys (40 year olds plus and not into comics - only 1 has kids) bought it for a look as did I (a none Beano/new kids comics fan). I think DCT have done a great job with their books in recent years.

[Raven]

The comics often didn't even celebrate 'landmark' issues of the titles themselves - for example, I have issues 400 and 600 of Sparky and issue 600 of Victor here and it's not even mentioned, apart from the regular numbering on the front.

#400 and #600 hardly count as 'landmark'.

Well, when they came out, in the '70s, even some of the most fondly remembered comics only tended to last between two to four years, so 400th and 600th issues could be seen as quite impressive.

I think you make a good point, though, in that this 'special issue' would presumably be a cheaper Beano to produce than a regular one, and a free mini-comic collection given with a regular issue might have been a better gesture. For me as a kid, whichever way, I'd have loved and been fascinated by ten pages of vintage reprints.

Lew's right that the Beano is an anthology title, whose variety is part of its appeal, and making it all Dennis wouldn't be right. There are probably lots of readers for whom Dennis isn't the favourite strip.

[Lew Stringer]

The comics often didn't even celebrate 'landmark' issues of the titles themselves - for example, I have issues 400 and 600 of Sparky and issue 600 of Victor here and it's not even mentioned, apart from the regular numbering on the front.

#400 and #600 hardly count as 'landmark'.

Well, when they came out, in the '70s, even some of the most fondly remembered comics only tended to last between two to four years, so 400th and 600th issues could be seen as quite impressive.

That's right. There are far more comics that have failed to reach that number than those which have.

[swirlythingy]

Therefore if they're as keen on Beano history as you say they'd love the classic pages, yes?

My point was: if they're as keen on Beano history as I say they'll probably have already seen a lot of them.

Even if what you say about not celebrating anniversaries of individual stories is true (I can't confirm or deny it; maybe some collectors could help out?

How many collectors do you need before you believe it?

Please do not quote out of context. As I said in the bit you carefully snipped:

Does anyone have his 25th birthday issue somewhere?

If you do, I'd be most grateful if you could look it out for me.

I also think your given example of 10th, 20th or 30th birthdays in your other post was irrelevant, because nobody ever celebrates those.

Eagle commemorated it's 10th birthday issue, Lion celebrated its 20th, Buster celebrated its 21st, 30th, and 35th.... I'm sure collectors could tell you those were notable titles back in their day.

They certainly were. Who said they weren't?

Did Buster really celebrate its 21st birthday? That's... an interesting decision. But if the Beano didn't then I'd be inclined to agree with them.

The comic is called The Beano. It's not Dennis the Menace's Own Weekly. The other strips have every "right" to be there, and I'm sure many readers would be very disappointed if they weren't.

Quite right it's not Dennis the Menace's Own Weekly. I wasn't proposing that every other strip should be unceremoniously cancelled. But given that Dennis will only ever have one 60th birthday, don't you think he's justified in something a little out of the ordinary, just for one week?

The Beano already has (or had) a Retro Beano section, which is the place for old reprints. If they wanted to print more, they could have spread it over several weeks (and, indeed, if the "Year of the Menace" is anything to go by, that's exactly what they're planning to do).

Given the recent change of editorship, I'm willing to bet the nature of the celebrations will be substantially different by the end of the year than at the start. It might even be a change for the better. But that doesn't change the fact that the 60th birthday has been and gone, they could have done something big, and they didn't. Celebrating on the 61st just won't be the same.

What it boils down to is this week's Beano did celebrate the anniversary of Dennis the Menace, just not in the way that you wanted. Well, that's life. Perhaps if you were still in The Beano's target age you'd have loved it, just as you did the 50th anniversary one when you were younger?

I never bought the 50th anniversary one - it happened to be in a second-hand collection I absorbed later in life. And, yes, I can confirm it was objectively better - not so much for the actual content as for the much greater level of care and effort which had plainly been put into it (see Raven's comment below).

I think I would have liked the 60th much more if I hadn't had the 50th to compare it with. But now I've seen what can be done, and that the Beano didn't do it.

Well, when they came out, in the '70s, even some of the most fondly remembered comics only tended to last between two to four years, so 400th and 600th issues could be seen as quite impressive.

The same could be said for the Beano - when it passed #400, I'm sure nobody expected it to pass #3500. And I'm sure it didn't celebrate in any way. (In fact, #400 predates Dennis's first strip, doesn't it? I bet they had reason to believe the Beano wouldn't last much longer then.)

I think you make a good point, though, in that this 'special issue' would presumably be a cheaper Beano to produce than a regular one, and a free mini-comic collection given with a regular issue might have been a better gesture. For me as a kid, whichever way, I'd have loved and been fascinated by ten pages of vintage reprints.

I agree with everything here - I'd much have preferred a mini-comic arrangement, which could have delivered the best of both worlds, as well as allowing for even more reprints (post-1974, for example).

Lew's right that the Beano is an anthology title, whose variety is part of its appeal, and making it all Dennis wouldn't be right. There are probably lots of readers for whom Dennis isn't the favourite strip.

This was probably the case on the 50th birthday, too. On my birthday, I expect to be allowed a bit of selfishness!

For everyone here who doesn't want to read through everything me and Lew have said, here's a summary of my stance on the matter:

A 60th birthday is a major milestone, and Dennis should have been allowed more than four pages to celebrate.

Printing ordinary stories for other characters which don't even mention the specialness of the issue is just insulting.

The Beano is not a reprint anthology. As there's precedent for giving away mini-comics, that's the place for them.

Reprints are free, and taking up 10 of 32 pages amounts to producing an issue on the cheap, which is hardly appropriate for the occasion.

[AndyB]

I've been resisting the temptation to post.

Swirlythingy, you speak from a position of total ignorance.

By printing ten feature pages on Dennis, which include several pages not previously reprinted, money has been saved which will be ploughed into brand new content in later Beanos.

Has it crossed your mind that there might not have been enough money to produce new special content without damaging the rest of the year's Beanos?

A mini-comic would have cost more, and seen an attendant price rise for the week.

The retention of the five core strips is a mark of respect to them. Rasher's inclusion may in fact be Barry Glennard's own initiative in the Numskulls.

Tying them all into Dennis's birthday would have been too much Dennis. Well over half of the comic, ignoring the guest appearances in the other strips, starred Dennis or made of something of his birthday.

You would do far better to celebrate the quality of the strips that are there, think about the consequences of what has been done this week: all the core strips, the quality of the writing contained therein, and the quality of the research done by the Beano staff (apart from the errors in David Parkins' time on Dennis).

Re Dennis's birthday: I'd be fairly sure that nothing was done about it in 1976, but I stand to be corrected. I certainly don't remember anything in particular when he was 40, but the 50 year club is only shared with Roger, Minnie, the Kids, Snooty, Korky and Dan - and of those, only Dan and Snooty had anything made of it. It's a most remarkable record.

(before anyone jumps in: Yes, Korky and Dan share a birthday, but by 1987, Dan was the undoubted star of the Dandy, and Korky was very much a secondary character)

[Digifiend]

The 50th anniversary Dandy did actually show both Dan and Korky on the cover, with Dan's story only taking up the back page. So yeah, Korky's (at the time) ever-present status was recognised.

[Raven]

I've been resisting the temptation to post.

Swirlythingy, you speak from a position of total ignorance.

By printing ten feature pages on Dennis, which include several pages not previously reprinted, money has been saved which will be ploughed into brand new content in later Beanos.

Presumably Swirly thinks that the brand new content would be better in that special celebration issue, though, if a choice had to be made, than in a regular issue?

Has it crossed your mind that there might not have been enough money to produce new special content without damaging the rest of the year's Beanos?

Those ten pages would normally be new content though every week, wouldn't they? It wouldn't be anything surplus to the usual?

A mini-comic would have cost more, and seen an attendant price rise for the week.

Should we now assume, then, that "free" gifts - or let's just say gifts - simply can't be given any more without a price hike? Presumably in the past it was considered worthwhile because the potential increased amount of readers from a free gift issue every now and then would make it worth doing - or the occasional treat will make regular readers happy. Do you think sales and profits are so low now that any kind of extra will always mean an extra pound or so put on the comic, and we've seen the end of the occasional genuinely free gift?

[Lew Stringer]

Even if what you say about not celebrating anniversaries of individual stories is true (I can't confirm or deny it; maybe some collectors could help out?

How many collectors do you need before you believe it?

Please do not quote out of context. As I said in the bit you carefully snipped:

Does anyone have his 25th birthday issue somewhere?

If you do, I'd be most grateful if you could look it out for me.

I "carefully snipped" the irrelevant parts to focus on the bit where you doubted the information I gave you. If someone tells you something you don't know, why respond with "if it's true" ?

I think you really need to learn a bit more on the subjects you're posting about before you wade in with your comments, and accept what people say when they provide you with information. Otherwise we'll be at the level of some other forums where even facts are treated as opinions to be argued against. Then it just becomes noise that does no one any good.

[Digifiend]

Has it crossed your mind that there might not have been enough money to produce new special content without damaging the rest of the year's Beanos?

Those ten pages would normally be new content though every week, wouldn't they? It wouldn't be anything surplus to the usual?

No. Beano Retro takes up two pages normally anyway, and Robbie Rebel, Stripz, and Little Plum are all reprints as well. Plum isn't always there, but that's 4 to 6 pages of reprint.

[Raven]

No. Beano Retro takes up two pages normally anyway, and Robbie Rebel, Stripz, and Little Plum are all reprints as well. Plum isn't always there, but that's 4 to 6 pages of reprint.

Ah, I didn't realise there were so many. Still, at least four pages that would normally be new.

[Lew Stringer]

No. Beano Retro takes up two pages normally anyway, and Robbie Rebel, Stripz, and Little Plum are all reprints as well. Plum isn't always there, but that's 4 to 6 pages of reprint.

Ah, I didn't realise there were so many. Still, at least four pages that would normally be new.

Personally I thought it was a great anniversary issue. The main Dennis story and 60 Second Dennis were good, solid birthday theme strips that could appeal to both the younger kids and those interested in the anniversary of the strip. Most of the reprints hadn't been shown in The Beano before, so they'd be interesting for collectors and a revelation for new readers.

Sure, they could have gone with one long all-new Dennis story, but that's been done. Showing some of Davey Law's classic work was a nice way to honour the past and give new readers an insight into the history of the comic. (After all, not every reader bought The History of The Beano book.)

When I was seven I'd have been over the moon with this issue. (I always liked it in the Sixties when the Lord Snooty strips occasionally reprinted older strips. The lettering and curly speech balloon tails gave those away.)

[Raven]

I may have preferred vintage strips myself - I certainly liked it when Whizzer and Chips did a pull out (and fold over) of the first issue over several weeks for an anniversary, and generally liked anything historical, and if four to six of those pages were reprint anyway ...

[swirlythingy]

I may have preferred vintage strips myself - I certainly liked it when Whizzer and Chips did a pull out (and fold over) of the first issue over several weeks for an anniversary, and generally liked anything historical, and if four to six of those pages were reprint anyway ...

Quite. As I said, there's already a Retro Beano section, which could have been extended over the more recent reprints for the occasion - certainly, I'd prefer looking at Law's artwork than vintage Robbie Rebel. And if this isn't just to be a one-week celebration (the press material suggests not), then this could have been stretched over several weeks. Win for everyone.

I still would have preferred the mini-comic approach, though, which would both free up space in the main comic and allow for greater numbers of reprints to be published, obviously at a premium. I've already said I'd be willing to pay this, as in this case it would actually deliver extra comic material, as opposed to football stickers or cheap plastic toys.

[swirlythingy]

I "carefully snipped" the irrelevant parts to focus on the bit where you doubted the information I gave you. If someone tells you something you don't know, why respond with "if it's true" ?

I think you really need to learn a bit more on the subjects you're posting about before you wade in with your comments, and accept what people say when they provide you with information.

The above strikes me as a bit paranoid.

To clarify:

You stated that DC Thomson, in general, did not have a track record of celebrating characters' birthdays. I stated that I had virtually no knowledge of the matter at hand, and deferred to your greater knowledge on the issue (hence the "I can't confirm or deny it", which was not, in fact, a statement of denial).

You illustrated your previous statement with a statement that Dennis's 10th, 20th and 30th birthdays were not celebrated, but that the 40th was. I stated that I thought none of the numbers in question warranted a celebration, and that had I been in charge of the Beano at the time, I probably would have made a similar decision.

I then stated that I believed a number which would have warranted a celebration was the 25th birthday, which you had not previously mentioned. I therefore put out an open request to collectors in general (implicitly including yourself) to answer the question of whether or not, on the issue published closest to exactly 25 years after the first Dennis strip, this fact was at all mentioned. I asked this question in addition to, not in contradiction of, the information you had already given on the matter.

If you're going to call me stupid, at least respect the fact that I am attempting to increase my knowledge of the issue. As yet nobody has answered my question, therefore the offer is still open to you should you wish to take it. If you can say either "yes" or "no" to whether Dennis's 25th birthday was celebrated, and preferably provide details in the case of the former, I would be very grateful. I wish to obtain this information so I can either confirm or disprove my theory that DC Thomson celebrated characters' anniversaries prior to 1988, as I do not think the 10th, 20th or 30th examples given (which were not celebrated) provide a representative picture of major milestones Dennis has passed.