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. 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". 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! 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! 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. 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. 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!
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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! 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! 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. 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! 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! 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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! |
AUTHORAdam Bagley is an artist, illustrator, designer - and quite possibly the world's biggest Bananaman fan! CATEGORIES
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