Comics writer, artist and commentator Lew Stringer looks at the new-look Beano (issue 3404) and seems impressed with it, not just the style, look and new strips but a major change in policy from D.C. Thomson which is long overdue:
“First off, the cover gets an attractive new design, with a Photoshop-embossed logo, new strapline style, and, as an incentive for collectors, a small icon encouraging “Boost Your Comic Collection”. Inside on page two there’s arguably the most radical move D.C. Thomson have made in years; artists are credited on the contents page! This from a company that for years were notorious for not allowing their creators any credit. Apart from Dudley D. Watkins and Alan Moreley no Beano artists were allowed to even sign their work until just over a decade ago, now the comic is boasting about their talent.”
(cover to Beano 3404, shamelessly borrowed from Lew Stringer’s fine blog)
How about that? Actually openly crediting the writers and artists after all these decades? Comets fall from the sky, the blind see again!! Its something that really should have happened years ago, I think, but at least they have actually done it at last. The new-look Beano boasts Laura Howell‘s brand-new strip Tales of Johnny Bean From Happy Bunny Green (see last week’s post) and also London B4 12 by Barrie Appleby, as well as the regular beloved characters of Minnie the Minx and Dennis the Menace of course. Lew also flexes his olfactory senses, noting that the printing process imparts a scent to the new Beano that smells remarkably like the old TV Century 21used to…
Mon, Oct 29, 2007
Comics and cartoons