Reprints in the Beano

[ajsmith]

In tribute to Michael Jackson:

Billy Whizz is not new-drawn,
It's some old strips that they've dug up and re-used
But the kids are still amused.

[Jonny Whizz]

I think there's a fundamental difference between deliberate anachronisms (like teachers still wearing mortar boards for example) and ones that have been caused by reprints. Most of the time terminology can be changed to make it sound up to date, but not always. The worst example I can think of is when tapes appear in the strips. They usually get referred to as CDs or something like that, when they clearly look nothing like them!

It is always funny when characters imply that something of theirs is old - I can remember Fred from Fred's Bed talking about his 'ancient' (and massive!) mobile phone, hiding the fact that when the strip was first published, that technology was right up to date. I too dislike it when reprinted strips are renamed. I thought Olaff the Madlander was the worst offence there, there was nothing wrong with Adrian the Barbarian as a title!

[RamblingSid]

My daughter's favourite thing in the Beano right now is Rasher. She reads it over and over. She loves it.

[NP]

My daughter's favourite thing in the Beano right now is Rasher. She reads it over and over. She loves it.

Better start finding her another strip to follow! Hint: not Bea and Ivy either!

[Digifiend]

In other words, both Rasher and Bea and Ivy are being dropped. Thanks for the heads up. I wonder what will fill those pages?

[Old Freddy]

Wonder if it'll be reprints or not? Lets hope they're good strips anyway! >Fingers Crossed<

[Digifiend]

Didn't fancy this smilie then?

Ivy the Terrible reprints wouldn't surprise me, as she's popular enough not to be dropped completely. And Nigel only said that Bea and Ivy wouldn't be continuing, so it may be that the Bea strip is just going back to how it was before Ivy joined her. To be honest, if Ivy isn't reverting to reprints, I've no idea what could take over Rasher's page. It will probably be a reprint, as they always have a certain number of reprint pages - Rasher was added and Ball Boy became reprints at around the same time that the reprinted Fred's Bed strip was exhausted and they started doing new ones.

[Old Freddy]

then again, its not as if the comic needs a legal ration of reprints per issue, but since some artists have left while others have semi-retired, i'd expect at least one strip to be a reprint.

re: I tried it but didn't really think it fitted for some reason

[AndyB]

As ever, the fact that there are any reprints has little to do with any quota or any number of retired artists and everything to do with the budget Alan Digby has to do two comics...

[Jonny Whizz]

It's pretty clear in my eyes that the reason why Rasher, and Bea and Ivy, look set to be dropped is the new Dennis TV series. Also, a problem with Rasher is that, being reprints, it features characters from the Dennis strip in what has now become the 'old' style. I think Gnasher and Gnipper will stay though, as they will both be appearing in the TV series. I don't think Ivy will disappear from the comic - she's too popular, and she's a favourite of Alan Digby (who helped create her). Anyway, even if she does return to being reprints, it will be Bob Nixon's art, and they were really good strips.

Hint: Why not get your daughter to follow Billy Whizz instead !

[Digifiend]

I haven't seen any art for Gnipper in the new series. Are you sure he's in it?

[Jonny Whizz]

Nigel mentioned that Gnipper is going to appear in the new series in another thread. He also dropped a hint at the same time about Bea and Ivy. I haven't seen any art for him though.
Nigel is one of the Dennis artists too, so he should know quite a lot about the TV series, the changes and how it will affect the comic.

[RamblingSid]

My daughter's favourite thing in the Beano right now is Rasher. She reads it over and over. She loves it.

Better start finding her another strip to follow! Hint: not Bea and Ivy either!

Oh dear. That's very disappointing. I'm very fond of Rasher too. Anything else disappearing that I should prepare her for?

[Digifiend]

As NP already said, Bea and Ivy will go (EDIT: according to the Dennis makeover thread, Bea's absent and Ivy's solo next week), but he hasn't revealed if either or both characters are continuing on solo. I see no reason why they need to change anything else, it's been established that this isn't a full relaunch. Has beanotown.com been doing any polls recently? The last placed strip is often removed.

[Jonny Whizz]

Does anyone know where in the poll Calamity James was coming before he got dropped from the weekly Beano? I can't help but think that, given the fact that he never liked the strip, Alan Digby used his poor performance in the poll as a reason to drop him. In The History of The Beano, he mentions that 'he was always near the bottom of the poll', but I'd like to know exactly where he was coming. I suspect he'll be dropped from BeanoMax now as well, with Alan as editor. I don't know, but maybe Calamity James actually appealed more to older readers? I like reading James now much more than I did when I first read the Beano (perhaps it's the artwork).