Here’s a nifty idea for a birthday or Christmas stocking filler for a comics fan – comics gift cards, on offer from the DC Thomson web shop for all their titles, including Beano and Commando.
(I came across these after DCT sent me a reminder about their Beano 80th Anniversary Box set, which of course we’ve already covered, but the latest shop promotion offers a potted history of the title, although it does sadly perpetuate the myth that Beano editors were put on a Nazi death list during World War Two, which downthetubes contributor Jeremy Briggs robustly torpedoed several years back on Bear Alley).
Just like gift cards you can buy in high street stores, these offer the chance to introduce a reader to a comic. The Commando card, for example, priced £20, enables someone to get 12 issues of the war comic, the Beano card 15 issues of the weekly humour title.
It’s a great little present that you can stick inside a birthday or Christmas card.
• Happy Birthday to The Beano at 80 – comic creators and Beano fans reveal their favourite parts of the long-running title, and we give you a guide to the terrific anniversary box set
• Read Phil Shrimpton’s Potted History of the Beano here on downthetubes
• Often repeated claims the editor of The Beano was on a Nazi death list were debunked on Bear Alley by Jeremy Briggs in 2010. (Jeremy also wrote a companion piece for downthetubes speculating on how British comics might have looked if the Nazis had won the war, which you can find here)
John Freeman
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "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.
Categories: downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
Related Articles
-
“Armed with Madness”, new graphic novel from Bryan Talbot and Mary M Talbot, focus of teaser trailer from Jordan Smith
-
Latest Doctor Who multimedia crossover, “Doom’s Day”, announced
-
David Broughton’s “Shaman Kane” heads Stateside, thanks to Antarctic Press
-
Crowdfunding Spotlight: BOLT-01: A Tribute To Dave Evans