Comic strips have become part of everyday humour in Britain over the years; most of the daily papers sport some kind of comic strip. The Beano is a book which is full of comic strips and was first published in 1938. With characters such as Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx and Beryl the Peryl becoming household names. Most children in the United Kingdom at some point in their lives have read a comic, and it is usually a Beano or a Dandy. Some purchase them on a weekly basis and others just have the festive addition of the comic, which comes out yearly.
During the festive season the magazine industry releases Christmas specials at a greater charge, the comic industry is no exception to this. Comics such as Beano and Dandy all of a sudden become based around Christmas instead of chasing the traditional baddies in the comic strip all of a sudden characters like Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx and Beryl the Peryl chase characters which are centred around Christmas, such as Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Father Christmas. The cover of the comic is made more festive – in line with the celebration, and the comic strip that is put on the front cover is one of the popular ones, so it immediately grabs any child’s attention.
Gifts are also put on the front of the comic, such as note pad and pen, small plastic toys that make sounds, stamp kits, stickers and anything that would be classed as being appealing to a child.
Competitions are offered inside of the comic, where the kids can send in their entries to have a chance of winning a prize. The competitions are usually centred around what has happened throughout the year in the comic itself.
Other than the comic itself, the comic industry offers Christmas cards (Weihnachtskarten) with a comic strip on the cover of them, with the usual Christmas greeting (Weihnachtsgrüsse) inside of the card. They also offer other gifts for sale which are centred around comic strip characters, such as Dennis the Menace bubble bath, soft toys, note paper and pens, mugs, t-shirts, mouse mats, umbrellas, lunch boxes, flasks, in fact pretty much anything. All of the characters from the comic strips have their own merchandise, and there are websites which offer a personalising service to make the gift extra special.
At Christmas time though the ultimate festive sales have come through the Beano Annual, which has held its number one space in the yuletide bestsellers list for many years. Most kids at Christmas time receive an annual as part of their Christmas box, it is a tradition that has dated back years in the United Kingdom and is still on going.
Comics such as the Beano and Dandy have made children in the past laugh over the last 70 years, and I think it is a safe bet that they will continue to do this for the next 70 years, as long as there is laughter, there will be comics.
