Looking through my Beano collection for character reference for a puzzle page I'm currently drawing I found this old issue dated January 13th 1968. It's always been a long-standing tradition for Beano characters to wander into each other's strips but this was an unusual instance of an adventure strip character meeting a humour character - on the cover, no less.
This is possibly the only time Dudley Watkins drew Billy the Cat. The character appeared in his own strip inside drawn, as usual, by Dave Sutherland in a style not unlike that of Dudley Watkins, strangely enough. So this is Dudley Watkins mimicking a style that was influenced by his own!
Anyway, as you can see from the name penciled on the top of the comic, this is the very copy I had reserved for me when I was a child. I haven't kept all my old Beanos from that period but this Biffo/Billy team-up impressed me so much that I held on to it. I hope you enjoy it too.
always fun to see characters meeting up...also a nice ending gag..
ReplyDeleteglad your doing puzzle pages for The Beano..:0)
Thanks Peter. The puzzles aren't a regular gig but it all helps and they're fun to do. There should be a previous one I did coming up in The Beano soon too.
ReplyDeletea pal of mine that drew the revamped billy strips for buddy (i think) found some pencils of his old pages, I'll try and scan them and get them online.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I just remembered the fabulous Viz version in which Billy is dragged behind a speeding car: "That was a very dangerous thing to do, son"....
ReplyDeleteI remember when Billy the Cat had recently come back to the Beano in the 70s and Pup Parade all got angry having to be next to a page with a cat.
ReplyDeleteThat previous puzzle page is in this week's issue, assuming you meant the dinosaur one.
ReplyDeleteThat's the one.
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