The Beano is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-running comic issued weekly in 2018, publishing its 4000th issue in August 2019. Popular and well-known comic strips and characters include Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger, Billy Whizz, Lord Snooty and His Pals, Ivy the Terrible, General Jumbo, Jonah, and Biffo the Bear.
Roger "the Dodger" Dawson is a comic strip character from the comic magazine The Beano. He first appeared in his eponymous comic strip in 1953, and is one of the longest-running characters, known for his tactics of avoiding responsibility and his parents' rules, usually with the help of instructional "dodge" books.
The Bash Street Kids is a comic strip in the British comic magazine The Beano. It also appeared briefly in The Wizard as series of prose stories in 1955. The strip, created by Leo Baxendale as When the Bell Rings, first appeared in issue 604. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and has become a regular feature, appearing in every issue. Since 1961, David Sutherland has drawn about 2,100 strips.
Gnasher is a fictional comic strip character that appears in the British comic magazine The Beano. He is the pet dog of Dennis the Menace, who meets him in 1968's issue 1362, and is also the star of three spin-off comic strips. Gnasher is considered just as iconic as his owner as both have been the stars of many children's television programming and are the unofficial mascots of The Beano. Gnasher reached nationwide news in the 1980s after he disappeared from the magazine for seven weeks, returning with his six newborn puppies, but usually interacts with his son Gnipper.
Rasher is a British comic strip published in the comics magazine The Beano, featuring Dennis the Menace's pet pig Rasher. It was initially drawn by David Sutherland and published five years after the character's first appearance. Due to The Beano's 2012 continuity, Rasher's daughter has succeeded the role, particularly in Dennis And Gnasher: Unleashed!.
Simply Smiffy is a comic strip published in the British comic magazine The Beano. It is one of the many spin-off comic strips off The Bash Street Kids, first appearing in issue 2254.
Beatrice "Bea" Menace is a fictional character from the British comic magazine The Beano. She was born in issue 2931 and is the baby sister of Dennis the Menace. She appears frequently in her brother's comic strip, but would receive comic strips of her own to star in, including a crossover comic strip with Ivy the Terrible.
The Belles of St. Lemons was a British comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1495, although the characters themselves had first been introduced in the 1968 edition of The Beano Annual. It was drawn by Gordon Bell and ran from 1971 to 1972.
Lord Snooty is a fictional character who stars in the British comic strip Lord Snooty and his Pals from the British comic anthology The Beano. The strip debuted in issue 1, illustrated by DC Thomson artist Dudley D. Watkins, who designed and wrote Snooty's stories until 1968, but the stories would continue featuring in Beano issues until 1991, with occasional revivals and character cameos.
The Three Bears was a long-running British comic strip which appeared in the British comics magazine The Beano. It first featured in 1959's issue 881 and ran sporadically until 2011 through reprints and several artists.
Big Eggo was a British comic strip series about an eponymous ostrich, published in the British comic magazine The Beano. He first appeared in issue 1, dated 30 July 1938, and was the first ever cover star. His first words in the strip were "Somebody's taken my egg again!". It was drawn throughout by Reg Carter.
Jonah is a comic strip character published in the magazine The Beano. He made his first appearance in his eponymous comic strip in 1958, illustrated by Ken Reid. Although his comic strip sporadically appeared throughout the magazine, it has been published in other DC Thomson comic magazines.
Pansy Potter is a British comic strip character from the magazine The Beano. She first appeared in Pansy Potter the Strong Man's Daughter issue 21 in 1938 and was first illustrated by Hugh McNeill.
Billy the Cat is a fictional character first published in the British comic magazine The Beano in 1967. He is a vigilante dressed in a "cat suit" who stars in his eponymous adventure story, and occasionally teams with Katie Cat. A popular character, Billy the Cat is a prolific figure in DC Thomson's comic magazines, his character appearing in a variety of series and issues of non-Beano magazines.
Plug was a British comic magazine that ran for 75 issues from 24 September 1977 until 24 February 1979, when it merged with The Beezer. It was edited by Ian Gray.
Gordon Bell was a British cartoonist, best known for humorous strips for D. C. Thomson's weekly comics, including "Pup Parade" in The Beano and "Spoofer McGraw" in Sparky.
Hairy Dan was a British comic strip character by Basil Blackaller originally published in the magazine The Beano Comic in the comic strip of the same name. It first appeared in issue 1 on 30 July 1938 and ran until issue 297.
Walter Brown is a fictional character that appears in the British comic magazine The Beano. He is the rival and antagonist to Dennis the Menace who is vilified because of his lack of interest in stereotypically masculine activities and attitudes. From his first appearance in 1953, Walter became the target of Dennis' pranks and misbehaviour but would brush it off. Sometime in the 1980s, Walter's characterisation changed after reader backlash and made him a snobbish rich boy foil to his enemies.
Frederick James "Fatty" Fudge is a fictional character who appears in the British comics magazine The Beano. He is the best friend of Minnie the Minx, and would eventually star in his own eponymous comic strip in 1989.
Jack Flash is a British adventure story character published in the British comic magazine The Beano, first appearing in issue 355 with artwork by Dudley Watkins. He featured for almost a decade in five serials, following his time as a foreigner to Earth and living in a Cornish village.
