A merry Phil Boyce curator of the brilliant OiNK! comic blog, checks out the annual BEANO Christmas Special…
WARNING: MILD VILLAIN IDENTIFYING SPOILER AHEAD!
As I write, the Christmas issue of BEANO (No. 4266) is out, however every year publisher DC Thomson also release a separate Christmas Special, in advance of the season. Printed on high quality paper and coming in at an impressive 68 pages, it’s almost like another BEANO Annual, which is also available. No one can accuse the team of not going large for the holidays!
All the usual characters are in place from a plethora of top talent, my personal favourites being Andy Fanton, Nigel Parkinson, Nigel Auchterlounie, Laura Howell and friend of the Oink! blog, Danny Pearson. Initially looking like a bigger regular issue, as you read you soon realise all the strips are part of one story from different perspectives, without ever sacrificing the quality of the individual strips.
Upon opening you’re met with a page of gift labels. Aimed at kids rather than the present-buyers, that doesn’t mean older readers can’t enjoy them, as you can tell from my photos. The one featuring Harsha from Bash Street Kids was particularly well suited to that gift!
So, Santa has been kidnapped and for once the Beanotown kids aren’t to blame. (This is the first Christmas Special I’ve read but it’s clear there’s an ongoing gag here). When Mrs. Claus asks why he still delivers there when they kidnap him every year, Santa explains, “It’s only most years, and twice it was more of a misunderstanding.”
However, the kids are blamed throughout in some very funny moments, including by Santa’s reindeer, who immediately pin it on Minnie! I just have to mention Dasher at this point. The personality given to him is just perfect for his name and I laughed aloud when I read this scene in the stables. It’s such an obvious gag now that I’m surprised I haven’t read something similar before.
The big bad behind it all is revealed early on as Mayor Brown, who bears a striking resemblance to Richard Osman and whose voice I read his lines in for the rest of the comic. This is a world away from the Beano I read as a kid and that’s a good thing: it has to move on and evolve for today’s kids. As a result, the humour moves at a much faster pace, with more quips and banter between characters and some enjoyable breaking of the fourth wall. It’s a lot more chaotic and anarchic. As an OiNK fan, I love it!
I don’t want to ruin what happens, because the joy is in not knowing what’s next. Something this definitely isn’t is predictable! Bond villain Brown takes Bash Street school as his lair with his robotic snowmen to ruin Christmas, a scenario perfectly set up by spy strip, Dangerous Dan. From here, everyone gets a crack at teaming up with others from different strips and it’s fun to see the various artists’ takes on each other’s characters.
I may have had several laugh-out-loud moments but I’m not the target audience, despite how young I felt reading this. However, my friend’s son is. Father and son subscribe to Beano and read it together, and they’ve a set of criteria upon which they judge each and every issue. I know you’re thinking this’ll be a list of favourite characters but it’s a bit more… comprehensive than that. Kids can have very particular tastes.
They want lots of Angel Face and Minnie the Minx for a start. They weren’t disappointed here, especially with the amount of Minnie content. (On a side note, as a fan of Andy Fanton’s work it’s great to see his Minnie is so treasured.) Next, Yeti and Cousin Agnes should feature beyond their own strip and for a special Christmas treat it’s actually Minnie they mingle with! Dennis also breaks the fourth wall as wanted and, while Rubi’s latest invention isn’t as ‘Heath Robinson’ as they’d like (no, really) it plays a pivotal role and her mistakes bring plenty of smiles.
Always important to get the target audience’s view, right?
There are also several activity pages such as mazes, board games, pranks etc. They may sound clichéd but each is finished to such a high quality you could never call them fillers. I focussed solely on the comic strip (and the free stickers) but there’s plenty for younger readers to do to get more value out of your money.
Whether you’ve kids of your own or just want to read a new funny comic this holiday season, the Beano Christmas Special 2024 is exactly what you need. It even has snow on the logo, so you know it must be good.
• Beano Christmas Special 2024 is on sale now in all good newsagents, and from the DC Thomson webshop. BEANO No. 4266 is also on sale now.
• If you still haven’t bought a copy of the BEANO Annual 2025, WHSmith are currently running a Two for One deal on selected annuals
Phil Boyce is curator of the fantastic OiNK! comic blog, not only a treasure trove of information on that much-missed anarchic comic, but others besides, including Ring Raiders, Transformers, and more
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Categories: British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Reviews
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Right enough, Wilbur Brown does look like Richard.
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