Tricky Dicky (Topper)

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Tricky Dicky
DC Thomson comic strip character(s)
Tricky Dicky Beano and Topper.jpg
Publication information
Creator(s) John Dallas
Other contributors Laura Howell Danny Pearson
First appearance
The Beano 1999
The Topper 1976
Last appearance
The Topper 1990
Beezer/Topper 1993
Main character
NameRichard "Dicky" Bennett
Alias(es)Tricky Dicky
FamilyHis parents
Friend(s)2, as well as the special guest of the week in 2018

Tricky Dicky is a British comic strip which debuted in the magazine Topper in December 1976 [1] and was drawn by John Dallas. From 1979 to 1986 he was the cover star of the comic, [1] succeeding Danny's Tranny and preceding Beryl the Peril. The strip survived the merger with the Beezer in 1990 and continued in The combined Beezer and Topper comic til it ended in 1993. [2] The character later reappeared in The Beano.

Contents

Concept

The comic strip was a gag-a-day strip starring a young boy named Dicky, who plays practical jokes on people, but they usually managed to get the last laugh. From 1999 to 2000 he re-appeared as a 'Guest Star' in The Beano , again drawn by Dallas, running against The Three Bears, Inspector Horse and Jocky and Gordon Bennett to be voted into the comic by readers, though The Three Bears was the winner. The basic premise of the strip was expanded to include that Dicky's father now owned a joke shop, explaining where he got all these jokes from. In Issue #4 of BeanoMAX, Tricky Dicky makes a surprise guest one-off appearance with a new look trying to trick Ball Boy, but it doesn't work. Tricky Dicky also starred alongside Roger the Dodger in the Beano Summer Special 2003. Tricky Dicky reappeared in a new strip in The Beano in 2013, this time drawn by Laura Howell. This new strip was a reboot with Tricky Dicky's appearance being changed and the character being given the new first name of Gordon. In the new strip, he is a more heroic figure, as he only plays pranks on people who deserve it.

Comparison to other comics with the same name

A character of the same name appeared in the children's TV series ZZZap!. Another trickster child character of the same name, but otherwise a different character appeared in the "Cor!!" Comic published by Fleetway. And, finally a character called "Tricky Dicky Doyle" appeared in The Dandy in 1997.

Appearances in Annuals

Tricky Dicky was put in the 2020 Annual as his own comic strip, but he did have an appearance on the Beano Annual 2016 cover. He also appeared in the 2017 Annual as a non-speaking character.

Related Research Articles

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 published 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.

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The Beezer was a British comic that ran from 21 January 1956 to 21 August 1993, published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. Comic strips in The Beezer were a mix of irreverence, slapstick, and adventure; notable creators included Leo Baxendale, Gordon Bell, Paddy Brennan, David Law, Tom Paterson, Bill Ritchie, Dudley D. Watkins, Malcolm Judge, and John Geering.

<i>Nutty</i>

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<i>The Topper</i> (comics) Former British comic book

The Topper was a UK comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd that ran from 7 February 1953 to 15 September 1990, when it merged with The Beezer.

<i>The Three Bears</i> (comic strip) Comic strip from The Beano

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.

<i>The Numskulls</i> Comic strip series published by DC Thomson

The Numskulls is a comic strip in The Beano, and previously in The Beezer and The Dandy – UK comics owned by D.C Thomson. The strip is about a team of tiny human-like technicians who live inside the heads of various people, running and maintaining their bodies and minds. It first appeared in The Beezer from 1962 until 1979, drawn by Malcolm Judge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryl the Peril</span> British comic strip character

Beryl the Peril is a fictional character created by David Law, the creator of Dennis the Menace, for issue 1 of The Topper comic published by DC Thomson & Co. Limited. Like Dennis, she had black and red apparel, and devilishly tormented her parents and other members of her community. Despite not having quite as many appearances as other DC Thomson characters such as Dennis the Menace or Desperate Dan, Beryl is still considered one of the classic characters which define the popularity of British comics.

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Gordon Bennett is a comic book character, who appeared in The Beano, and is named after the exclamation 'Gordon Bennett'.

Ginger is a British comic strip series, introduced in the first issue of The Beezer in 1956. The character was the magazine's cover star until 1961, after which Pop, Dick and Harry took over the cover for a few years afterwards, but Ginger returned to the front cover in 1964.

Adrian the Barbarian was a comic strip in the comic The Beezer, and later the merged Beezer and Topper, first introduced in 1989. It featured a boy who dressed as a barbarian with a magical sword. He lived in a very strange world where almost anything could happen, whether it be good or bad. Many inanimate objects gained life in the strip, for example a pile of coal for the fire turned into a man called Old King Coal. He appeared in The Beezer annual until the last one dated 2003.

<i>Dennis the Menace and Gnasher</i> Scottish comic strip

Dennis the Menace and Gnasher is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic The Beano, published by DC Thomson, of Dundee, Scotland. The comic stars a boy named Dennis the Menace and his dog, an "Abyssinian wire-haired tripe hound" named Gnasher.

Send for Kelly was a long running comic strip that first appeared in The Topper, originally drawn by George Martin.

References

  1. 1 2 Topper Tales A Complete Index by Ray Moore. A CJ Publication
  2. The Book of the Beezer by Ray Moore