Cover preview: BEANO No.4011

On sale in newsagents and supermarkets from Wednesday 13th November, Beano No.4011 brings us another 36 packed pages of fun. The cover art is by Nigel Parkinson depicting Minnie Poppins, and inside, the three-page Minnie the Minx story by Andy Fanton and Laura Howell sees Minnie meet Mandy Ploppins! 

All the other regulars are in the issue too, with the Bash Street Kids, Dennis and Gnasher, Billy Whizz and more. Plus another Pup Parade strip from me, with this week's spotlight being on Manfrid! 

Beano No.4011, on sale 13th November, priced £2.75.

Cover Preview: BEANO No.4004

Here's a peek at Nigel Parkinson's cover for The Beano No.4004. The issue has a theme of "slime" to several of the stories and it'll be in the shops on Wednesday 25th September, priced £2.75. 

While I'm at it, I may as well show you a glimpse of my (non-slime) Pup Parade strip for that issue. This week the spotlight is on Tubby! 

Preview: BEANO No.4003

Here's the cover to this week's Beano, which uses one of Laura Howell's great images from the Minnie the Minx story inside. This extra-length four pager written by Nigel Auchterlounie and drawn by Laura is entitled The Dark Minx Returns, and should not be missed!

Also in this issue, a three-page Roger the Dodger story by Danny Pearson and Barrie Appleby plus regular length strips for all the other favourites such as The Bash Street Kids, Bananaman, and of course Dennis and Gnasher! 

There's also a new Pup Parade mini-strip from me, and this week I'm spotlighting Sniffy! 

All in Beano No.4003, with 36 full colour pages for £2.75. On sale from Wednesday 18th September! 

This week's BEANO (No.4001)

The Beano No.4001 is out today with 36 pages full of all-new fun as always. On a personal level, I'm very pleased that my new series of Pup Parade mini-strips begins in this issue, - and they're on the cover topline as well. 

I haven't been in the Beano for almost a year so I'm very happy to be back! 

The Beano No.4001, £2.75, is in all good newsagents and supermarkets now. 

The first PUP PARADE (1967)

The Bash Street Dogs have been semi-regular characters in the Beano for a long time now but their genesis was gradual. As far as I can discover (and also going by memory) they first appeared, as you might expect, in The Bash Street Kids strip. The earliest example I have is this episode by Gordon Bell from The Beano No.1282, dated 11th February 1967... although they already seem established at this point so it's possible they first appeared a week or two earlier? 

However, their first solo strip was this one-off Dogs' Tale strip for The Beano Summer Special 1967. As Summer Specials are completed months before release, this strip (drawn by Dave Sutherland) would have been drawn late in 1966... around the same time of their appearance in The Bash Street Kids strip I showed above.

If memory serves me right, The Bash Street Dogs turned up a few times during 1967 in the Kids' strip, and were clearly popular with the young readers. Finally, they were awarded their very own strip in The Beano No.1326, dated December 16th 1967. The new series was called Pup Parade and was drawn by Gordon Bell...

As you can see, the Pups looked a bit different to begin with. Less "cute" and a little more aggressive perhaps. It's often the case that new characters take a while to find their "look" as the artists settle into drawing them. The dogs didn't even have names at this point, and Bones was lacking his distinctive cap (as well as being far bulkier than he would be later). 

A week later, in the Christmas issue (No.1327) of The Beano for 1967, we can see some refinements were already happening. The dogs look more affable and Bones has gained his red cap. They'd also gained the dustbin that serves as the place they hang out...

A few weeks further on, and they introduce themselves to us with their names. (Beano No.1330, January 13th 1968.) Their proportions have changed, and they're now drawn the way we remember them; shorter and friendlier looking...

...and that's pretty much how they've remained since. I'm sure Pup Parade proved to be a great success because it ran for quite a while in the Beano and has returned numerous times over the past 52 years. The late Gordon Bell was a superb cartoonist who gave the pups their personalities and established them as firm favourites. 

As the current artist on Pup Parade I consider it an honour to be commissioned to write and draw these great characters for the Beano. I've just started work on my third series and I'm pleased to say that Pup Parade will be back in the Beano from issue No.4001, on sale 4th September 2019. This time it'll only be a mini-strip of 3 or 4 panels, so the focus will mainly be on one or two pups rather than all nine of them every week. All the dogs will appear in the first new episode though as you can see from the clip below! Check it out in September! 

If it's Wednesday it must be BEANO day!

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

Here's the cover of this week's Beano, taken from the lively beano.com website. Another 36 pages packed with all-new fun stuff! Pressing deadlines mean that I haven't had chance to go into town to buy a copy yet but if my strips are being published in the order I did them, this should be an accurate preview of today's stories...

Ivy the Terrible has a nightmare. What could possibly have caused that? Are there clues in this panel? 

Tubby finds a piece of rope! It's tug of war time in Pup Parade!

Beano No.3877, - out now! Only £2.50.

This week's BEANO (No.3870)

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

Here's the cover to this week's edition of Britain's longest-running comic. Yes, it's Beano No.3870, where Minnie the Minx takes centre stage as Batmin in a four page story. Art by Nigel Parkinson.

This packed issue also includes all the regulars such as Roger the Dodger, Dennis and Gnasher, Billy Whizz, and many more. There's another Make Me A Menace and Beano Boss by Hunt Emerson (which I've heard is a very popular feature despite older critics dismissing it as "filler"), a Pup Parade puzzle page drawn by Steve Beckett, a board game page, and much more.

Plus, another dose of Pup Parade and Ivy the Terrible strips by me!

All in Beano No.3870, out now for £2.50.
https://www.beano.com

This week's BEANO (No.3869)

I haven't had chance to go into town to buy this week's Beano yet but here's a preview of the stuff I have in there. I really enjoyed drawing a full page illustration for the puzzle feature Find Teacher's Lunch, and I'm pleased that it's also been used on the Beano website this week as well as in print.

My two regular strips continue, with Pup Parade feeling the cold weather...

...and Ivy the Terrible's mum caught in a storm...

For more previews, see the Beano website:
https://www.beano.com/posts/inside-beano-no-3869-the-one-where-beanotowns-postboxes-take-over

Beano No.3869, out now for just £2.50.

The BEANO is back!

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

Returning after its three-week Christmas break, there's a new issue of The Beano in the shops today! As you can see from Nigel Parkinson's great cover above, it's the New Year edition, celebrating the onset of 2017.

All your favourite strips are included, and I'm very pleased to say that I'm back in the comic this week with the start of new runs for Pup Parade and Ivy the Terrible! It's great to be back on these two classic strips which are fun characters to draw. Pup Parade was a favourite of mine to read back when it started in the late 1960s so it's an honour to be writing/drawing their adventures today.

Don't miss Beano No.3865, on sale now for just £2.50.

Extra-special BEANO this week!

This week's Beano is an unmissable issue for kids on their school holidays and comic fans of all ages. It comes packaged in a card envelope which reveals one of the great gifts - the Flying Dennis Disc, a perfect frisbee for the park or beach. 

I know some people hate 'bagged' comics, but what if the packaging itself was a gift? On the back of the card envelope are cut out and keep Beano Buddies, - similar to the classic stand-up footballers that D.C. Thomson used to give away with their comics waaayy back in the 1960s.

That's not all. Inside the envelope there's a packet of Dennis Drenchers water balloons, ideal for all Menaces. 

The comic itself is an excellent issue. There's all the favourites such as Dennis and Gnasher, The Numskulls, Bananaman, Minnie the Minx and more...

Art by Nigel Parkinson.

...and a dog-themed Star Wars spoof I did for this week's Pup Parade...

Story/art by Lew Stringer.

This week's Bash Street Kids story is unusual in that it's only one page, but it leads directly into a board game in the centre pages called Escape from Bash Street! 

All in all, this is an exceptional issue and a must-have for Beano collectors. It's on sale in newsagents and supermarkets across the UK now for £3.50.

The BEANO No.3843

With perfect comedy timing, here's the cover of The Beano that goes on sale on the same day that our new unelected Prime Minister takes over. Artwork by Nigel Parkinson.

Inside the 36 page full-colour issue we see the return of Steve Bright on Bananaman, a very funny Mum Bingo game by Nigel Auchterlounie, and another Pup Parade page by me, plus Roger the Dodger, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, and loads of other fun pages of course!

That's The Beano No.3843, on sale Wednesday 13th July, just £2.50.

Pup Parade is back!

I can now reveal what my new regular strip for The Beano is, because it starts this week! It's a revival of Pup Parade starring The Bash Street Dogs! The strip originated back in the 1960s drawn by the great Gordon Bell, although the pups first appeared in The Bash Street Kids strip by David Sutherland. Over the years the strip has returned on and off by various artists and now the reins, or dog leads, have been passed to me. I hope I'm worthy! 

The first full page strip appears in The Beano today! Don't miss it!