Which is the bigger strip Desperate Dan or Bananaman?

[Gilly]

Hi I know this seems to be a random thread but I'm just interested in everyones opinion on this. Which is the bigger strip in The Dandy?

I would probably say Desperate Dan because when I think of The Dandy I think Desperate Dan and he's the most consistant character in the comic appearing in almost every issue since No 1 back in 1937.

However Bananaman has been on TV so is famous in another way. You also see people dressing up as Bananaman at parties and at the last game in a football season (I saw someone dressed as Bananaman at a Halloween party last Saturday which kind of brought this question up).

They have both also survived the 3 major Dandy revamps of the last decade which shows that they must still be popular with the readers.

Anyway that is my thoughts I would be intrested to hear opinions on this subject.

[Tin Can Tommy]

I'd say Bananaman is more ingrained in the public consciousness than Desperate Dan. Mainly due to the TV show not i think due to his continued existence in the Dandy.
But in the Dandy itself Dan is more famous.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Dan is famous to millions of UK citizens of all ages, and his image is instantly reconizable even to people who never read comics.

I've never heard any of my family or friends ever mention 'Bananaman', however. This is only my experience, though.........

[big bad bri]

My personal fav is bananman but at the moment i aint enjoying either of them as the art style just aint for me on such established characters, but i know the dandy is aimed at little kids so i cant complain to much.
Also the bananaman dvd is only about 6-7 in hmv at the mo so kids can buy that there is no dan dvds although i feel they should have started making dd cartoons the same time as dennis the menace ones.

[Jonny Whizz]

I agree with Tin Can in saying that the general public seem more aware of Bananaman than they are of Dan, yet I think if you asked most people to name a Dandy character, the first name that would come up would probably be Desperate Dan (or Korky the Cat, who people of a certain age would remember as cover star).

I think the reason more people about know Bananaman, however, is mainly due to his television series - I'm fairly sure most people would struggle to name any other Nutty character. Indeed, in the 1980s, Bananaman had his own annual for a few years, but I don't think that Nutty itself ever had an annual.

[AndyB]

Bananaman is one of the best conceived characters in the last 30-odd years. It differs from the American comics, in that Bananaman is only a part-time hero - he's well-meaning but leaves a trail of destruction in his wake (Chief O'Reilly has probably decided he needs an outside office by now), and he needs Crow to make him ask the right questions (even if he always answers them incorrectly!)

I always thought the Nutty series were best, with their great range of evil opponents, rather than always General Blight and Doctor Gloom.

I don't think Dan would have been as good on TV as either Bananaman or Dennis. If one was to be made in the 1980s, Bananaman was the right choice.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

To do Dan justice on TV would probably require a budget too big for TV animation, I reckon, Andy: Dan would be great in a large-budget CGI film with a fully-realized Cactusville and all the supporting characters: [he's just as worthy of this as Tintin in my view] alas, Hollywood have probably never heard of him.

[Digifiend]

They've never heard of Tintin either! The Tintin comics are unknown there.

Dan has his own statue, that shows how big he is (although for some reason the Beano's version is Minnie instead of Dennis).

[Jonny Whizz]

I think D.C. Thomson said that Minnie got a statue instead of Dennis because Dennis had already received plenty of media exposure. I think it was also partly because Minnie is a girl, especially given that the Dandy statue was of a male character.

It worked out quite nicely, though. Dennis and Bananaman got to appear on TV, while Dan and Minnie got their own statues in Dundee.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I don't believe Speilberg has never heard of Tintin, Digi, or he never would have got involved in this production of the current film otherwise.......anyone interested in the history of comics knows of this character's existence.

Tin Tin reached a far wider global readership than Dan did, even if we discount the USA.

I've never bought a Tintin comic or book in my life, but I recognize all the characters in them.


Tin Tin as a character certainly seems to be known by many US fantasy film-makers, many of whom are interested in comic-strips . Hollywood scoure worldwide for potential film subjects, but whether they know about Dan is open to question. Tin Tin is probably next to unknown by the general US public, but that's a different kettle of fish.

[Gilly]

There has been references to Tintin in a couple of episodes of The Simpsons, not that it's much to go on.

Anyway I definately have to agree with most of the posts on here that while Dan is famous by millions in the UK for appearing in The Dandy for almost 74 years, Bananaman is famous for appearing on TV which just gives him that little bit more fame amongst people who haven't read comics.

[dishes]

The trouble with Desperate Dan as a movie subject for an American audience is that the strip has always been a peculiarly British vision of America, with wild west clichés mixed with British postboxes and other anachronistic British uniforms, customs and landmarks. Americans I think either wouldn't know what to make of it or suspect it was some big limey joke at their expense.

I think I heard once in the early 90's that a Lord Snooty movie was mooted- despite the fact that Snooty had been long an unpopular character in the Beano it still kind of made more sense. Americans love posh British stereotypes, much than they do British stereotypes of themselves.

Rab is right, Tintin is not unknown in America. Like football it is has a devoted following there though much less so than just about anywhere else.

As to which is better known out of Bananaman or Dan, I don't know but I expect it would be Bananaman with younger generations and Dan with older generations.

[Peter Gray]

Bananaman is also known in America as the cartoon was shown with Danger Mouse out there...

I as a kid loved Bananaman the tv series I was so excited seeing this character brought to life..I also got the Nutty at the time..

[PaulTwist]

Maybe it's age-dependent? Older non-comics readers may be more familiar with Dan, while children of the 80s may be more familiar with Bananaman.

For example, my fiancée (born 1980) had never heard of Desperate Dan, but is a fan of Bananaman from the TV series.

[Gilly]

Maybe it's age-dependent? Older non-comics readers may be more familiar with Dan, while children of the 80s may be more familiar with Bananaman.

For example, my fiancée (born 1980) had never heard of Desperate Dan, but is a fan of Bananaman from the TV series.

Yeah that kind of proves the point many have made on the thread, if you were a child in the 80s you are likely to know about Bananaman even if you didn't read comics.