Lew Stringer wrote:Well, you're assuming it's a mistake. Time will tell. The changes to Dad were made months ago. Presumably the young kids buying The Beano are used to him by now. And the point of updating Dad was something I explained earlier; the old Dad just didn't look or act like a Dad of today. And since The Beano is primarily aimed at children it made sense to update him.Kid Robson wrote: Exactly the point. The strip being funny is all that the readers care about. Therefore it's really rather pointless changing a 50-odd years look to accommodate the perceived and mistaken notion by would-be trendy editors that what Dennis and Roger need most of all to appeal to a wider audience is younger-looking parents.
But that's not all they've done to appeal to a new generation is it? New writer with a different style and rhythm to the humour on Dennis. That's what stood out the most to me. I liked it personally. Hope the readers will too.
Yes, I read your attempted explanation, but it seems contrary to your assertion that the only thing that matters is the strip being funny. Raven more than adequately addressed your contention that Dennis's dad doesn't look or act like a modern dad (and given the way some modern dads act, I'd say that ain't necessarily a bad thing), so I don't want to repeat what was already said. However, if humour is the primary aim, as the original dad is a much more inherently funny-looking character, I'd say the visual humour of the strip has taken a backward step with the move.
And comics aren't just for kids - nor should they be as it limits the audience. I've got every Dennis the Menace book ever published and would still be buying them if they were yet available. It seems to me that DCT should have regard for long-term loyal readers who expect a degree of consistency, instead of changing things on an unproven assumption that more kids will buy the comic because Dennis's parents look younger. As I said earlier, I doubt any kid ever spent a second wondering why Dennis's or Roger's dads looked older than theirs; that's the sort of thing that only adult editorial staff would consider as being in any way relevant.
In fact, it's altogether possible that the changes were instituted in an attempt to attract some media attention and consequently boost sales. DCT are quite famous for this type of ploy.
