Happy 80th birthday, Beano: The characters were always fighting the stupidity of the adults

Mike Stirling is head of Beano Studios Dundee, and on meeting him and the team you can still imagine water balloons being dropped or paper planes being flown into the 16th century graveyard opposite.

His enthusiasm for The Beano, new and old, comes from a realisation that the team are custodians of nothing less than an icon of publishing. But aren’t kids are all about the new? Would they be bothered – or even turned off by the fact that their weekly giggle is turning 80. That’s really old!

“The thing is, so many generations are invested in The Beano. We have always been encouraged to celebrate the big milestone birthdays, but this is the most proactive we've been, to make it work for readers from every age.

“Ultimately it all began and continues in Dundee, so it's only right that the celebrations are based here, particularly the collaboration with The McManus on an exhibition.”

The longevity of The Beano, first published on July 30, 1938, can be attributed to one overriding factor. Attracting the best creative talent and holding on to them.

David Sutherland, now in his 80s, has been drawing the Bash Street Kids comic strip since 1962, after taking over from original artist Leo Baxendale. He has drawn Dennis the Menace and other characters but it’s Class 2B that has been his life’s work.

For Stirling, celebrating The Beano’s is an opportunity to showcase the talent like Sutherland and others. “Of course there’s Leo, who passed away last year and artists Jim Petrie who drew more than 2000 Minnie the Minx strips. A few creators involved in The Beano and other comics have become known in the wider culture. That's quite incredible when you think that apart from Dudley D Watkins, no-one signed their work.”

“You also have to remember that there were countless people within the DC Thomson art department who contributed massively to the strips, but their names won't be known as it was simply their job. Apart from the actual drawing of the strips, they coloured it and they added the balloons – a much more skilful job than it might first appear.”

Stirling also credits the staff writers, who would turn up of a morning and create another adventure or misadventure for the comic strips.

“Writers need inspiration and so much of it came from the city. The Bash Street Kids might be the best example of that. The offices overlooked the playground of Dundee High School and the staff would get a laugh at the antics of the kids.

“That became When The Bell Rings in 1954, which became The Bash Street Kids two years later. Initially it had featured the whole of the school but at that point it narrowed its focus to Class 2B.”

The ideas generation didn’t involve away days or brainstorming – just a bit of keepy uppy. “George Moonie, who was editor, used to say, ‘When the bell rings, ideas start getting kicked around’. There was a tweed, hand-sewn football, which they would stuff with rejected scripts. The idea was that to keep the ball in the air as long as possible – as long as it was up they could pitch their story idea.”

The Beano made a move just after the Second World War that Stirling sees as being important to its survival. “The Dandy always had some adult characters but The Beano made the decision to move over to having all kids characters. And they were never fighting one another, they were always fighting what the stupidity of the adults.”

He also points to the rebellious nature of the publications. When DC Thomson comics first appeared they were a radical departure from text-heavy periodicals. Even The Hotspur was a story paper, with little in the way of illustration. There was even an accusation that comics were dumbing down reading, ironic considering the importance they have in encouraging children to read.

“The fact that the Second World War didn’t stop publication was a pretty rebellious thing to do too. We still have all the correspondence with Reg Carter who drew Big Eggo, The Beano’s first cover star. It's incredible reading through it to see how things progressed. At first he's not that concerned, he's paying off the gardener, the housekeeper has to leave; not things that most of us have to be too concerned about.

“Then we get to where there are bomb craters in his garden and he can hear gunfire. And he’s apologising for his comic strip being late.”

Another reason The Beano is still with us is that it has always reflected reality, from the celebrities who feature in it today, to the likes of Churchill and Hitler making appearances from 1939 to 1945.

“Even look at something like the slap-up feasts in the comic strips, that’s wish fulfilment – not just for the children but the artists on rations too.”

The Beano has managed to embed itself in the culture over the decades, perhaps its most famous appearance was on the cover of John Mayall’s Blues Breakers album, being read by Eric Clapton. In recent years guest editors have included Richard Hammond, Harry Hill, Andy Murray and Nick Park.

“For a lot of creative people, The Beano will have been the first piece of art or literature that they personally owned. Even before they could read, they could tell what was going on in the story by the panel, as they’re designed to be understandable by the image alone.

“Someone much smarter than me recently did research that said more than 27 million people who are still alive have been regular readers of The Beano. I would think that it’s sparked quite a bit of creativity over the past 80 years.”

The offices might be 21st-century but it seems there’s still a good deal of unconscious keepy-uppy going on.

Bash Street’s Back at The McMenace

Only a publication with such significance to Dundee could inspire its main museum and gallery to change its identity over an entire summer.

When it comes to patting the back of the individual who had the lightbulb-over-the-head moment to change McManus to McMenace, there are names in the frame, but it’s clear the celebration of The Beano at 80 has been a Herculean effort between the McManus and DC Thomson teams. Of course, it helps that if either opened a window, they could shout over the road and be heard by the other.

Derry-born social history curator Carly Cooper admits that prior to her involvement in the exhibition she had little knowledge of The Beano’s history or its significance to her adopted city.

“Every Christmas, I would get Twinkle and my sisters would get Bunty and Mandy but the Beano was something new to me. I think it’s helped coming to it completely fresh.”

Work only started seriously in January to create not only a comprehensive exhibition, but also for Creative Learning to create a programme of activities and talks.

“What really surprised me was the number of comics that have been published and failed since The Beano first appeared in 1938. There has to be something that has allowed this to endure,” she says.

With so many popular characters across the decades, it needed a centre.

“The McManus, DC Thomson, and the High School of Dundee, which inspired the original writers and artists of The Bash Street kids, sit in a tight geographic triangle,” says Billy Gartley, Dundee’s Head of Cultural Services. “All The Beano characters went to Bash Street School, so it works as the focus.”

Without too many spoilers, the exhibition includes original artwork with pencil comments from artists such as Leo Baxendale. There are listening posts with oral history from the artists, writers, and editors. A short film shows artist David Sutherland creating the characters.

Memorabilia and artwork aside, there is an Intertype machine that was used from the early 1900s until the 1980s. “We needed specialist movers for that,” adds Carly Cooper. “I can only imagine how many local people have worked on it.”

There will also a gilt-framed portrait of Plug in the classical painting gallery, and a slap-up feed is available in the cafe’s Beano-fied menu.

Billy Gartley believes it will be an exhibition that all museums hanker for – attracting every generation, from every walk of life. “Kids are more than welcome to bring their adults along,” he says with a wee smile.

Bash Street’s Back at The McMenace runs from Saturday, June 2, to Sunday October 21. Free.