The Christmas BEANO (1967)

Published on the same day as the Christmas issue of The Topper I showed here the other day this festive 1967 edition of The Beano was packed with seasonal stories. The cover by Dudley Watkins is superbly designed, incorporating a 'Merry Christmas' message in the centre of the page whilst still being part of the strip.

Inside, Billy the Cat showed off his all-white 'snow-cat suit' for the first time. Usually of course Billy was dressed all in black. Art by Dave Sutherland.

Here's Little Plum! Art by Ron Spencer.

The Beano featured two adventure strips every week at this time, with the other being The Q-Bikes. Art by Andy Hutton.

On the back page, Dennis the Menace in his regular slot. Art by Davy Law.   

Andrew Hutton R.I.P.

Dramatic 2 page spread from The Beano Book 1967.

I'm sorry to hear of the passing of artist Andrew Hutton who has died aged 91. He illustrated many stories for DC Thomson and is probably best known for his work on the popular adventure strip The Q-Bikes for The Beano in the 1960s.

The Q-Bikes were a team of children who set off on their push bikes in numerous adventures of heroism and rescue, often resulting in catching crooks. Most artists hate drawing bikes but whether Andy Hutton relished it or not he was certainly up to the task and proved to be an ideal illustrator for the series.

The strip was briefly renamed The Q-Karts in 1969 to reflect the growing popularity of motor karts. Again, Mr.Hutton proved more than worthy for the task, producing dynamic and exciting pages.

My condolences to Mr.Hutton's family and friends at this sad time. For more information on the artist's life and career, see John Freeman's excellent tribute on his Down The Tubes blog:
http://downthetubes.net/?p=19835