Biffo the Bear on the cover was of course by Dudley D. Watkins, while on page two, Dennis the Menace was still drawn by the strip's original artist Davy Law...
Fans of Leo Baxendale were blessed with no less than four regular pages by him at this time; The Three Bears, Little Plum, The Bash Street Kids, and Minnie the Minx. Here are a couple of them...
The Beano carried several adventure strips in those days. The most notable in 1960 being The Great Flood of London, drawn by Dave Sutherland across the centre pages in full colour...
Residing on the back page was the marvelous Jonah, by Ken Reid...
The Beano is still around today of course, now 36 pages, and still published every Wednesday. Never Be Without A Beano!
It wouldn't be until 1998 that the pre-war pagination was restored, when it went from 24 pages to 32. It was probably for the best though, as increasing the page count earlier would've meant price hikes which would've resulted in lower sales. The Beano's low price is one of the reasons for it's longevity.
ReplyDeleteGreat Flood isn't just notable for being in colour. Wasn't it also Dave's Beano debut?
I love the way Davey Law drew horses!
ReplyDeleteEvery strip looks amazing here, as you say all the artists were at their peek and it shows ( I always loved the 3 bears) - thanks for sharing this with us Lew.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Baxendale drew the the Three Bears. Any idea of the artist who drew it in the 70/80's? Love the horse too in Dennis, show a kids perspective really well.
ReplyDeleteYes, Leo was the original artist on the Three Bears. The artist who replaced him was Bob McGrath, who then drew it for many years.
ReplyDeleteBob McGrath, not a name I'm familiar with, loved it as a kid.
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