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BBC Teach offers BEANO-inspired comic making guide for Primary School children

By John Freeman on 2 October 2023

BBC Teach have teamed up with the BEANO to create a set of three free videos for Primary School children helping them create characters, worlds and stories for their very own comic.

KS2 English: Beano - How to create a comic — *Check out the “KS2 English: Beano – How to create a comic” project here*

Available to watch are three classroom videos produced in partnership with BEANO, in which Mike Stirling (Beano’s ‘Director of Mischief’) and his team of comic creatives offer primary pupils their expert tips and advice on comic creation.

From visualising characters in ‘stick’ form to structuring a plot using a story mountain, the team behind the world’s longest-running weekly comic have plenty of creative insights.

The three classrooms videos and accompanying resources (including a story mountain template and comic frame layout), provide powerful opportunities to combine literacy with art and design through a ‘create a comic’ class project.

The videos below were created in order, with progression building throughout, but will also work in any order or on their own, if you only wish to focus on one area. There is a comprehensive ‘teacher guide’ document below to support classroom use.

• Check out the “KS2 English: Beano – How to create a comic” project here

This item was previously included in an earlier news piece, but we’re giving it a signal boost

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.