The History of the Beano
The Story So Far
On the 30th of July 1938 a rainbow of colour emerged into the lives of children in bleak, pre-war Britain. The Beano was born. To celebrate its 70th year, and as a tribute to both yesterday's fans and today's enthusiasts, DC Thomson & Co. Ltd., and Waverley Books proudly present this lavishly illustrated history. Researched and written by DC Thomson staff writers, this account explains how the comic has evolved and innovated, examining the secret ingredients behind seven decades of success. Anarchic, anti-establishment and - above all else - funny, The Beano burst into life pioneering a new style of comic strip that combined graphics and text. Characters like Dennis the Menace, Roger the Dodger and Minnie the Minx were introduced to universal acclaim. Legendary writers and artists clocked on at what became known as 'The Fun Factory' to bring Britain s most-adored comic and characters, week after week, to generations of children. By the early 1950s The Beano had reached a weekly circulation of two million copies. Times may have changed since then but Dennis is still menacing, Roger is still dodging, and Minnie remains the definitive Minx.
This book was produced for the Beano's 70th birthday. The legendary Morris Heggie did the majority of the work on the book but I did write the chapter on the 1970s. It's unbelievably well illustrated with so many fabulous pages reproduced in it. It's great.