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A Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it! The below images are of Beano and Dandy Easter packaging that appeared in British shops and supermarkets in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Above: Bassett's Dennis the Menace and Gnasher Easter Egg packaging from 1988. The box contained a foil-wrapped milk chocolate egg with fruit gums in the shape of Beano characters inside. The art features Dennis the Menace, Gnasher and Walter the Softy, who is depicted on one side of the box taking a house brick to the back of the head!  Barratt The Beano and The Dandy Booty Bus Above: The Beano and The Dandy Booty Bus, produced by Barratt in 1991. Driven by Desperate Dan, the bus passengers are Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger and Fatty, Plug, Toots and Wilfred from The Bash Street Kids. Erbert from The Bash Street Kids is seen running alongside the bus, being chased by Gnasher. Instead of a chocolate egg, the Booty Bus contained an assortment of sugar confectionery consisting of two boxes of candy sticks, two Lick 'n' Dip bags, and 95g of fruit gums in the shape of Beano and Dandy characters and a booty bag containing a 120g mix of Trebor Frosties, Trebor Refreshers, Black Jacks and Fruit Salad sweets.  The Beano Booty Train by Barratt Above: Produced by Barratt in 1992, The Beano Booty Train is similar to The Booty Bus. Aboard the train are Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger and almost all of The Bash Street Kids - Danny, Erbert, Fatty, Plug, Sidney, Spotty and Wilfred - accompanied by Teacher. Gnasher is also on the box, running alongside the train on one side.
The Booty Train contained an assortment of sugar confectionery consisting of two Refreshers, two Frosties, two Dew Drops, two lollies, eight Black Jacks, eight Fruit Salad and eight Cherry Drops. There's more images in the site's Beano and Dandy gallery.
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 Front cover of A Quarterly Dandy Special No.10: Bananaman in Double Trouble Notable for not only being Bananaman's final appearance in the series but also for being the last in the entire run of comic specials, 1991's A Quarterly Dandy Special No.10 sees Bananaman in Double Trouble! The story begins with Eric Wimp getting a severe bout of hiccups, which won't go away, even after assistance from his mum (who looks considerably different to her appearance in The Secret of Willie Boggins). During this time, Eric's dad also makes an extremely rare appearance.
Receiving an emergency phone call from Police Chief O'Reilly, Eric eats a banana to change into his secret superhero identity but his hiccups result in two versions of Bananaman.  Blistering Bananaskins! Bananaman vs. Bananaman! With both considering themselves the superior version, the two squabble and fight. It soon becomes clear one's good and the other is bad. Fortunately at this point, readers are able to distinguish who's who thanks to bad Bananaman having longer head horns and thick, dark rings around his eyes. When good Bananaman gets knocked unconscious, bad Bananaman wastes no time in causing trouble all over Dandytown, beginning with being mean to an old lady and her pet dog who are trying to cross a road, before moving on to inflict pain on Chief O'Reilly by pulling on his nostril hairs and tying them in knots! When good Bananaman regains consciousness he goes looking for his dastardly doppelgänger, but due to an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, he gets set upon by bad Bananaman's victims. The nice old lady is especially vengeful, launching her pet dog right into his nose!  Bananaman takes a dog to the schnozz! Before long, good Bananaman tracks down bad Bananaman and the two scrap again. During fisticuffs their superpowers fade, resulting in good Eric versus bad Eric. Conveniently, their fight spills over into a nearby greengrocer’s shop where, thanks to bananas being in stock, they're able to transform once more.  Final showdown! Bananaman vs. Badanaman! Good Bananaman dubs bad Bananaman "Badanaman" and their feud continues for several pages more, eventually coming full circle in an unexpected way. With Badanaman seemingly gone for good, the story concludes with Eric Wimp directly addressing the reader in a disconcerting way, creating a dubious open ending!  Eric Wimp's never seemed so sinister! A Quarterly Dandy Special No.8 features Bananaman's fourth story in the series - and what an adventure it is! Based on the 1886 gothic horror novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Bananaman in Dr Jackal and Mr Hide sees the Man of Peel face a fiendish foe! Note: At this point, the series changed from being a monthly publication to a quarterly one, hence "quarterly" now added to the title.  Front cover of Bananaman in Dr Jackal and Mr Hide The story begins with Police Chief O'Reilly believing his office is haunted. Calling upon Bananaman for help, it's soon revealed the ghostly goings-on are actually down to supervillain Mr Hide, who is capable of becoming invisible and passing through solid matter at will.  Mr Hide demonstrates his superpowers A flashback sequence reveals ever-so-nice inventor Dr Jackal was testing a new formula for a vindaloo curry powder when disaster struck! The formula changed him into the hideous Mr Hide, who aspires to be the world's greatest criminal!  Supervillain Mr Hide in his hideout Mr Hide leaves Bananaman and Chief O'Reilly to begin his bank robbing crime spree but it's not long before Bananaman's on his tail. However, thanks to his slippery superpowers, Mr Hide evades capture once again so Bananaman tries several ways of working out where he could be, including receiving tips from the computer in his secret hideout, wearing heat-spotting specs, donning his thinking cap, laying elaborate traps and even taking advice from the reader.  Bananaman dons his thinking cap None of these work so he decides to simply look up the address for Mr Hide's hideout in the "Villain's Directory", which is not unlike a phone book (you might want to ask an adult to explain what a phone book is, young 'uns - Ad). Catching Mr Hide red-handed, Bananaman is set upon by the repurposed robot inventions of Dr Jackal. I won't reveal how but after a good pummelling Bananaman eventually figures out a way to beat the contraptions and change Mr Hide back into his innocent alter-ego.  Bad robots beat down on Bananaman A very grateful Dr Jackal takes advice from Bananaman on how to make amends, do some good and make money in the process. However, as one might expect, such well-intentioned advice ultimately makes things a whole lot worse... Published by DC Thomson & Co. in 1991, Bananaman in Dr Jackal and Mr Hide is once again a first-rate comic adventure suitable for all ages. The story by Steve Bright flows nicely with no dull dips and the late John Geering's art is always a delight to look at, packed with energy and excitement and littered with lots of little visual gags. It's a recommended read if you can get your hands on a copy.  Nutty editor David Donaldson gets a subtle namecheck Next time I'll be summarising Bananaman's final adventure in the A Quarterly Dandy Special series. Bananaman in Double Trouble coming soon!
Seeing as it's April Fool's Day, I've decided to take a brief break from blogging about Bananaman. Instead, I'm going back to the 1st April 1972 to look at issue 1550 of The Beano.  Biffo the Bear treats The Bash Street Kids to Easter eggs As you can see, Biffo the Bear is star of the front cover. Dennis the Menace and Gnasher wouldn't have this honour until issue 1678, dated 14 September 1974. For the time being, readers would find them on the back cover. Biffo the Bear's story is a nice, short Easter tale featuring The Bash Street Kids. Biffo and Professor Screwtop (known to current day readers of the Beano as Rubidium "Rubi" von Screwtop's father) decide to surprise Class 2B by gifting them some chocolate Easter eggs, dropping them into the playground from a Biffo-themed flying egg invention. Even teacher is seen enjoying one! It's a different story on the centre pages though...  Cuthbert Cringeworthy's first appearance in The Beano Issue 1550 is notable for the first appearance of Cuthbert Cringeworthy, who from the very beginning establishes himself as a teacher's pet and openly informs Teacher of his classmates wrongdoings, much to their despise.  Cuthbert Cringeworthy reports Fatty for eating in class Interestingly, Teacher turns a deaf ear to Cuthbert openly being rude and disparaging towards his classmates. Meeting them for the first time, he says "Greetings, ugly pupils!". Then, Cuthbert refers to Frederick "Fatty" Brown (who is these days nicknamed Freddy) as "that fat boy" and Plug as a "far-from-lovely youth". Thanks to Cuthbert's eagerness to squeal, Plug and Smiffy end up receiving corporal punishment, with Teacher giving each of them "six of the best" with his cane! The story concludes with Cuthbert leaving alongside Teacher at the end of the school day in order to avoid being set upon by Class 2B. The final panel shows Cuthbert turning to give his classmate a smug, taunting look as he walks out of the school gates. They vow to get him, setting the precedent for many years to come.  Gnasher dresses as a pterodactyl to scare Walter the Softy Like Biffo the Bear, Dennis the Menace's story on the back cover is also Easter-themed, with Gnasher dressing up as a pterodactyl to scare Walter and The Softies into abandoning their Easter Egg Roll.
I love Gnasher's costume and the lively sequential art which shows him springing out of a giant Easter egg to scare Dennis's rivals before walking back on his hind legs and relaxing in a very human-like way. That said, I'm not so keen on seeing Gnasher eating chocolate, which is toxic to dogs! An oversight by the writer, no doubt! Tut-Tut! None of the characters within the comic have Easter-themed stories, these being The Three Bears, Grandpa, Minnie the Minx, Lord Snooty, Billy the Cat and Katie, Pup Parade, Roger the DodgerThe Belles of St. Lemons, The McTickles, The Nibblers and Little Plum. Still, it's a bargain read for the cover price of 2p!  A Dandy Special No.6: Bananaman in Stormy Weather 1991's A Dandy Special No.6 is the third Bananaman adventure in the series. No prizes for guessing Stormy Weather involves regular bad guy Weatherman, who teams up with fellow baddie General Blight to play havoc with the weather. The story begins with the residents of Dandytown experiencing sudden extreme changes in the weather, resulting in flash floods one moment and heatwaves the next. Fed up with having to bail water out of his home, Eric Wimp transforms into Bananaman to speed things up before investigating the cause. This results in the first of several instances throughout the story where Bananaman's costume gets ruined while he tries to do some good. With his costume shrunk, Eric's mum hastily knits him a replacement.  Don't sweat it! Bananaman in knitted costume Unfortunately, the knitted costume becomes too much for Bananaman to bear in the heat. It saps his energy and he transforms back into his secret schoolboy alter-ego Eric Wimp. It's not long before Eric changes back into Bananaman, inexplicably with a new suit, which results in an exchange between "the reader" and Bananaman that breaks the fourth wall! As with The Secret of Willie Boggins, this continuity error is casually dismissed thanks to "artistic licence".  Both reader and Bananaman break the fourth wall It's not the only time the excuse is used in the story but, as can be seen in the picture below, Bananaman doesn't get away with being so rude to his fans!  Bananaman gets a clout for being rude to his audience As the story progresses, it's revealed the extreme weather is down to Weatherman and General Blight cutting holes in Earth's ozone layer, literally, with a huge pair of scissors!  Weatherman and General Blight up to no good To put things right, Bananaman uses giant sink plugs to close the holes in the ozone. A bonkers solution typical of the writers at the time, it's moments like these that I especially enjoy.  Giant sink plugs available from all good DIY hardware stores Crisis over, Bananaman decides to take a holiday. However, during his departure he experiences severe acid rain, which ruins his costume mid-flight. It's soon revealed this too is down to Weatherman and General Blight, who managed to get their hands on the notoriously awful tea served in The Dandy office.  In-joke about the tea served in The Dandy office Unable to contain the deadly brew, the villains are forced to abandon ship. Coming down to Earth with a splat, the supervillains agree to join forces with Bananaman to retrieve the airship and close the remaining holes in the ozone. Despite the agreement benefitting all, the pair attempt to double-cross Bananaman when back safely aboard. However, this backfires and both end up getting the punishment they deserve.
The story concludes with Bananaman bringing an end to global warming. It's not such a happy ending though, because the residents of Dandytown resent the weather returning to grey, miserable, rainy days. There's just no pleasing some folk! Coming up next: Bananaman in Dr Jackal and Mr Hide! Printed and published in 1991 by DC Thomson, A Dandy Special No.4 is the second of five Bananaman stories to feature in the series. Curiously titled The Secret of Willie Boggins, the story reveals Eric Wimp is not the only regular Bananaman character to reside incognito on Acacia Road!  Front cover of A Dandy Special No.4: The Secret of Willie Boggins At Number 24, just five doors down from Eric's house, lives Willie Boggins. Portrayed as a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and an acquired taste for tripe, black pudding and worms (!), his peculiarity becomes the focus of attention from a local news reporter who has grown bored of frequently reporting on Bananaman. However, unbeknown to all, Willie Boggins is the secret alter-ego of one of Bananaman's arch-villains! Mirroring Eric Wimp's ability to transform into Bananaman whenever he eats a banana, Willie Boggins changes upon eating a pickled egg. When this is revealed, the story becomes a slugfest between superhero and supervillain, which only gets zanier with every page turn!  Just who is Willie Boggins the alter-ego of? Out of respect for anyone wanting to read The Secret of Willie Boggins, I won't reveal his real identity here. However, long-time Bananafans may be able to work out who he is by studying the picture above.  That's torn it! Bananaman ruins another set of Eric's clothes Throughout the story, Eric Wimp's clothes get ripped beyond repair every time he transforms into Bananaman. As seen on the front cover, regular readers know this isn't the norm; Eric's clothes usually transform with him. However, artistic licence has been used on this occasion for a pivotal plot point, resulting in some hilarious moments.
The Secret of Willie Boggins includes a rare appearance of Eric's mum, and the appearance of Willie's mum too! Readers also get to see what happens when Bananaman eats a tall bunch of bananas in one go! BANANA FACTDid you know a bunch of bananas is actually called a hand? A single banana in a bunch is known as a finger!  Eric Wimp's mum, Mrs. Wimp, appears in the story I won't spoil the ending but it does involve a cooling tower being used as an emergency toilet! Well worth a read if you can get your hands on a copy!
Readers are advised to keep an umbrella close by as next time I'll be diving into Bananaman's third story in the A Dandy Special series: Stormy Weather! Thanks a bunch for stopping by!  A Dandy Special No.2 with Bananaman and General Blight on the front cover As mentioned in my previous blog post, I consider Bananaman in Eurovillain Contest to be the first Bananaman graphic novel. Printed and published in 1990 by DC Thomson as the second issue of the A Dandy Special series, it's a complete story which parodies the Eurovision Song Contest. Wishing he had satellite TV, Bananaman's secret schoolboy alter-ego Eric Wimp decides to make his own satellite dish from various household items. Surprisingly, his handiwork pays off and he settles down to watch the Eurovillain Contest, introduced by a presenter who is clearly based on the late Sir Terry Wogan, former presenter of Eurovision for UK audiences. Regular Bananaman villain King Zorg stars as chief judge, with his Nerk minions making up the rest of the judging panel who are tasked with scoring supervillains from all over Europe on their attempts to best Bananaman. At this point Eric realises he's not going to be able to relax in front of the telly after all... Hilarity ensues with good-humoured writing and visual jokes aplenty poking fun at cultural stereotypes.  Bananaman crash lands right in the middle of Europe These stereotypes extend beyond the general public to the supervillains themselves. From left to right in the image below is Doctor Gloom, King Zorg, Ivan the Terrible representing Russia, Garlicman from France, Greece's Abzorba the Greek, Weatherman, a Nerk, Switzerland's Goudaman and The Norseman (aka Ragnar the Hairy) representing Norway.  A wealth of supervillains cause Bananaman no end of trouble Their superpowers are inventive and bonkers in equal measure. Goudaman gets around in a giant wheel of swiss cheese, the holes in which allow him to pop out to surprise Bananaman with a blast from his alphorn. Eating a sackful of garlic cloves turns Garlicman's breath into a powerful blowtorch capable of burning through brick walls! Abzorba the Greek is able to transform his body into the same material as anything he touches.
My favourite supervillain to feature in the story is Spaghettiman, from Italy. A spoof of Marvel's Spider-Man, he shoots spaghetti ropes from his wrists and uses this pasta producing ability to perform other spider-like tasks too.  Italian supervillain Spaghettiman in action Interestingly, despite being prominent on the comic's front cover, General Blight makes only a minor appearance on page one. Supposedly partially based on Adolf Hitler, I imagine it was deemed too insensitive to have him feature in the story for obvious reasons. West Germany isn't represented in the story at all, and before German reunification on 3rd October 1990, The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.  Smiffy from The Bash Street Kids makes a guest appearance At one point in the story, Bananaman borrows Smiffy from The Bash Street Kids to deter Weatherman from expanding his focus on the whole of Europe. A fun cameo from The Beano dunce.
Plenty more plot twists and silly surprises feature throughout the comic's 36 pages but I'll leave these for anyone thinking of finding a copy of the comic to enjoy. Bananaman fans will certainly find it worth a read! Next time, readers, I'll be taking a flick through Bananaman's second outing in the A Dandy Special series. The Secret of Willie Boggins coming soon! As part of the celebrations for Bananaman's 45th anniversary, Beano 4273 and 4274 were dedicated to The Man of Peel. Issue 4273, dated 15th February 2025, featured rugby sports star Mike Tindall as guest editor. Tindall appeared alongside Bananaman in a special story which ran throughout the entire comic, across pages usually exclusive to the likes of Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger. As part of a bumper double pack, issue 4274, dated 22nd February 2025, included a 52-page Beano Presents graphic novel titled Birthday Bash. Essentially Bananaman's 40th anniversary story from Beano 4022 bar a few redrawn panels here and there, Birthday Bash was nonetheless a nice, quality extra for readers to enjoy.  Beano 4274 with Bananaman graphic novel 'Birthday Bash' Bananaman's 40th anniversary story was similar to the one in Beano 4273, in that it traversed across other character's pages in the comic, and so quite a few people are credited in the graphic novel, namely writers Jess Bradley, Andy Fanton and Danny Pearson, artists Phil Murphy, Wayne Thompson, Steve Beckett, David Sutherland, Laura Howell, Shannon Gallant, Leslie Stannage, Barrie Appleby and Nigel Parkinson, and writer/artists Nigel Auchterlounie and Hugh Raine. Not credited is graphic designer Leon Strachan, who I think did a great job making the graphic novel not only look but feel extra-special, with vibrant cover and exciting chapter pages.  The Dandy Special series includes five Bananaman stories My one grumble with Birthday Bash concerns the front cover, which states it is "Bananaman's First Ever Graphic Novel".
I believe A Dandy Special No.2 - Bananaman in Eurovillain Contest, printed and published in 1990, was actually the first. These specials began as monthly publications but soon changed to quarterly. Bananaman would feature a further four times, in A Dandy Special No.4: Bananaman - The Secret of Willie Boggins, A Dandy Special No.6: Bananaman in Stormy Weather, A Quarterly Dandy Special No.8: Dr Jackal and Mr Hide and A Quarterly Dandy Special No.10: Bananaman in Double Trouble, all published in 1991. Short Bananaman stories with identical titles had previously been published but the specials consisted of 36 pages with 190x270mm dimensions, which is close to the standard American trimmed comic page size of 6.625" x 10.187" (approx. 168x259mm). I'll be taking a look at these specials soon, dear readers.  Doodlebug and Humbug on the front cover of Nutty comic No.3 Dated March 1st 1980, issue 3 of Nutty included The Whirlyjig, which was the last of the free gifts from the comic's introductory period. Essentially a tied-off balloon with an extra neck at the opposite end, a rectangular plastic tube was inserted into this in order to blow it up with a few strong breaths. Upon release, the balloon would spin around in a whirling motion and make an entertaining noise. Hours of fun to be had!  The Whirlyjig was previously a free gift for another DC Thomson comic, under a different name. Issue 1 of Plug (he of Bash Street Kids fame in The Beano), dated September 24th 1977, included The Screamin' Demon! Highlights in this week's issue include an appearance by Dennis the Menace (of The Beano) in Big 'N' Bud, Steevie Star as Captain Quirk in Star Trick (a parody of Star Trek), General Jumbo mobilising his army of model soldiers to foil a bank robbery and Scoopy the dog reporter bringing excitement to a dull game of cricket.
Bananaman's story on the back cover marks two firsts for the 'nana-brained nitwit. Not only does he nab his first baddie (a stereotypical bank robber called Fingers Fraser), he also uses the Bananarang (a spoof of Batman's Batarang) to do so!  The moment Bananaman uses his Bananarang for the first time The whole story can be found in the nanamanfan gallery. FOLLOW NANAMANFAN.COM ON SOCIAL MEDIA!Join a bunch of Bananaman fans on X and Instagram. Follows, likes and shares appreciated. Thank you!  Dick Turban - Desert Highwayman and Doodlebug appear on the front cover of Nutty No.2 The second issue of Nutty, with cover date of February 23rd 1980 included free gift The Zoomerang which was not unlike popular 80s flying discs produced by the likes of Aerobie and Frisbee. Dick Turban - Desert Highwayman and Doodlebug feature on the front cover. All of the characters mentioned in my previous blog post return inside the comic, with Pearl Potter bringing her fierce pet dog Bonzo to the filming of a dog food commercial, Steevie Star starring in King Kong parody "King Konk" and Ethel Red coming into a spot of bother with a whale while at sea.  Bananaman's second comic adventure sees him attempt to rescue the pilot of an out of control 'plane On the back cover, Bananaman comes to the rescue of a pilot in an out of control 'plane, only to make matters worse, angering a farmer with a distinct West Country accent in the process.  Check out the nanamanfan gallery to see a picture of the Zoomerang - and more!
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