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| Cover art: Nigel Parkinson with Beano designers Leon Strachan and Gary Aitchinson. |
That's the cover of the actual comics above by Nigel Parkinson. However it comes bagged with gifts so this is what to look out for in the shops...
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| Art: Barrie Appleby. |
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| Art: David Sutherland. |
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| Art: Nigel Parkinson. |
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| Art: Laura Howell. |
I have a nice memory of 50 years ago, reading the Christmas Beano of 1969 on Christmas Eve, and I hope the kids of today will have fond memories of this year's issue to carry with them too. Comics are important in not only helping children to read but also by being a small addition to their happy times of childhood. (If you're interested you can see that 1969 issue here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-christmas-beano-1969.html )
There are no mini-strips in this issue by the way, which means no Pup Parade. A bit of a disappointment for me to miss doing a Christmas strip but they'll be back soon.
The Christmas Beano is on sale now, and for the next few weeks. Price £4.99.
Not to be confused with the Beano Christmas Special, a 68 page bookazine that's been on sale for a few months now. I previewed that here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2019/08/cover-preview-beano-christmas-special.html
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I’d buy this if it didn’t come with the free gifts. I’d like to see 2 versions, one with and one without the extras, it would be interesting to compare the effect on sales figures if DCT tried this.
ReplyDeleteThe Beano rarely carries gifts these days. The Christmas one is an exception. Why do the gifts put you off buying it?
ReplyDeleteAs I’m not the target audience, and I appreciate that I’m not, The gifts would just get thrown away, and they can’t be recycled. I’d rather have a double sized issue and would be happy to pay any extra cost. I know you can download an online edition but prefer the real world to digital.
ReplyDeleteGary, are there no kids in your family to hand the gifts over to?
ReplyDeleteThey're taking two weeks off, so doing what Gary suggested here and adding extra pages to the Christmas issue sounds good in theory. I assume the reason why they don't is financial.
The next issue is due out on Christmas Eve. They really should've actually said so in the issue - they did say the next issue is out in three weeks, but that would be Christmas Day. The off sale dates on the covers of this issue and the last are December 24th and 4th - which is how I can tell that they're releasing the next one a day early, which is obviously because most shops are closed on Christmas Day.
I don't buy every copy of the Beano - just ones where I particularly like the cover or special issues. I have to say, this one is a corker. Well done to all those involved. As for the three mystery gifts - one of them made this 50-something man laugh out loud!
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear.
ReplyDeleteDown under here in New Zealand, we didn't (and still don't in newsagents) receive the Christmas issues until March, and Christmas down here is summer to, so Christmas always seemed a slightly bizarre cultural oddity to me...
ReplyDeleteSorry, that should have read Christmas issues always seemed somewhat bizarre...
ReplyDeleteMarch? Wow! I knew it'd take a while but didn't know you had to wait three months. Seeing my previews must feel like you're looking well into the future. :) Thanks for commenting. I've learned something new today!
ReplyDelete