IT is a British institution that has entertained generations of children. Now, for the first time in its long history, the Beano is producing a comic for adults, featuring a few familiar faces.
A comic for grown-ups?
Since it was first published 82 years ago, the Beano has given youngsters a giggle thanks to the adventures of characters such as Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids, and although grown-ups may have had a laugh as they flicked through the pages, they are now the demographic for the new publication, “BeanOLD”
It’s a first for the Beano?
The pull-out section in this week’s issue is intended to raise a smile, with the editorial director of Beano Studios, Mike Stirling, saying that both children and parents should enjoy it. “We just wanted to cheer everyone up,” he said. “One thing we noticed was that our readers were feeling a bit sorry for the adults in their lives.”
Who are the familiar faces?
None other than Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his former chief advisor Dominic Cummings, with the latter’s dubious trip to Barnard Castle - which he said he had taken during lockdown in a bid to test his eyesight - inspiring a strip that sees him driving toward the castle, with Johnson in the back of the car alongside Beanotown’s Mayor Brown. After a prang, a policeman tells Cummings: “I'm sorry, sir, but I'll have to give you a ticket for driving without glasses.”
Other stars include…
As part of a wider story involving a plot by the Mayor to steal Beanotown’s Christmas presents, the cast list includes Captain Tom Moore, Marcus Rashford and Greta Thunberg.
2020?
Plenty of references to 2020 are inlaced - from toilet roll shortages and zoom meetings, to home-schooling and the delayed James Bond movie.
Young readers inspired the introduction of politics?
Stirling, who co-wrote the pull-out, said the Beano has a team of “trendspotters”, youngsters who let the writers know what children are into right now, who advised them that Johnson and Cummings had been big talking-points for the average 10-year-old. One “trendspotter” said Cummings was the one who “broke all the rules”.
Is the Beano the best place to address such issues?
It has taken on big issues before - wartime editions frequently poked fun at Hitler. Meanwhile, its practice of ensuring consequences for bad behaviour suggests it is. “Although our characters are always really naughty and misbehave, our readers are very moral,” Stirling said. “When our kid characters break the rules there’s always a consequence for doing so.”
A kid’s eye view?
First published by Dundee-based DC Thomson in July 1938, the Beano's circulation was close to 2 million a week in 1950. Changing times saw the circulation fall, but today’s readership is closer to 40,000 weekly and rising during lockdown. Stirling said: “We could all benefit from thinking a wee bit more like kids… the optimism, hope and moral worldview that kids always have”.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here