Beano '66 - Dandy '68

Here is where the posting all happens:

First off, let me explain to you about what is in my comic collection. A HUGE portion of my comics of the Beano and the Dandy are copies from the 80s; and there are also a majority from the 90s. I have just about almost every single issue of the Dandy from 1985 to 1995; with a few missing copies from '85. With the Beano, I have huge chunks from the 80s and 90s; but there are still gaps missing from several years which I am not really going to bother too much with. However, those two decades are perhaps my favourite era when reading these comics; especially the 80s issues. I have only a few Dandies from the 70s; including several from 1979 and one from 1974; and so far...have no Beanos from that decade. I also have only a few Topper comics.

This isn't going to be a big heavy post full of analysis; which is just going to be a straightforward post as a starter. Here are the two earliest comics which I have in my collection. The earliest I have is a Beano which is dated November 26th 1966, issue no. 1271. This is the earliest and the only Beano I have from the 60s decade.

As you can see, this is a very dated Beano issue, even though it would be considered a part of the 'Classic years'. Dennis the Menace was only a one-page comic strip; and his page was at the very back of the Beano.

Biffo the Bear, however, was the star of the comics, and he had this straightforward, and sort of bland personality which isn't a far cry from Mickey Mouse, and all sorts. Drawn by Dudley Watkins, who was without doubt, the top draftsman of DC Thomson artists at that time.

 Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Biffo, who didn't have too much of a personality. Dennis, on the other hand, did...and was the absolute perfect choice to be the front cover star, which he did in 1974. Of course, this Dennis, however pre-dates Gnasher, and here he was drawn by David Law; whose style was very crude, but full of life.

Here are some notable strips which appeared in this issue; (as well as a whole lot more).

Here is a issue of the Dandy which is dated from April 6th 1968; and this is also the oldest Dandy issue which I have in my collection. Comparing both logos from the old 'Beano' and 'Dandy'; they both show a lot of colour and appeal whereas the more standard and infamous logo is more generic, though still works. Even if the logos are dated for its time, there is no doubt it looks very appealing for the decade. Korky the Cat is our cover star who had been the star since 1937 and carried on being the star right up until the early 80s; when Desperate Dan took over, after a whole 14 years of continuous reprints from Watkin's death in 1969 to about 1983 when Ken Harrison took over the character. Here is some notable strips which also appear in the strip of this Dandy.

Here are the strips for Bully Beef and Chips; a strip which had only been created the previous year by its standard artist Jimmy Hughes. The previous strip was Big Head and Thick Head. Here, this is just the early years before Hughes would redesign both Bully Beef and Chips into a more proportioned look, as well as more appealing.

Here is Desperate Dan, who is drawn by his creator, Dudley Watkins, just a year before his sudden death; and also before he went into a spell of reprints. I sure wish to own a Desperate Dan strip which was seen the movie Kes.

Here are the rest:

Here is a little page which was popular in 'The Dandy' during the 60s: My Home Town; which was were an avid reader could send a letter about their home town as well about their popular culture, its history and the lifestyle. In this week's Dandy, the home town is Arbroath.




Both copies of my comics are at a aged condition. Both comics have tea/coffee stains on the corners of the pages as well as the yellowing on the paper showing that it is deteriorating by age. In other words, its pretty good for its age, as there are no pages that appear to be delicately torn.

That will be all for this post regarding my earliest comics in my collection. Hopefully I can expand it again, but this will happen rather gradually.