As for the Banana Bunch, they got a few new stories (by Nigel Parkinson) in 2004 or so. Can't remember how long it lasted offhand, but it was probably cut short by the revamp.
Seconded, thirded, and fourthed. The best thing which ever happened to the Beano was when Mike Pearse joined, and the worst thing was when he left. Kev F soldiered on for a few more years, injecting some variety into the comic, but he's also long gone. Long stories and serials were always the parts of the Beano I looked forward to most (Nigel Dobbyn's 2005 eight-parter was also brilliant), and I literally leapt when I first saw an advert for the 2009 Bash Street Kids annual and recognised Pearse's artwork.Old Freddy wrote:I also really like the long stories by Mike Pearse (And later Kev F) featuring lots of characters; they're really good, and they're the type of strip where I don't mind other characters in the issue not appearing, because the quality of those long stories were always top-notch, in both artwork and story terms.