The Unofficial History of The Beano, Review

My journey with comics started with the Beano. It was a massive part of my childhood. Days spent reading and then drawing either characters or some of the background whimsies like mutated fish. It started my love for comics, so I'll always look upon the Beano fondly. So when Pen & Sword asked if I wanted a copy of The Unofficial History of the Beano, by Iain McLaughlin, my only thought was that I couldn't wait to get tucked into that.

The Beano is Britain's longest-running comic, having launched in 1938. It was quite different back then, but as this book highlights, The Beano has regularly updated its offerings as times change. Some massive and important changes have happened throughout the years, but why did they make them? Why has the Beano survived when many other comics have folded?

As a huge Beano fan growing up, this is simply a fantastic book to read. McLaughlin takes us through a journey from the beginning to almost the present day covering editors, writers and cartoonists who have helped shape the Beano into what it is today. We are taken through the development of the comic, and how it has changed over the years to accommodate changing times, bringing new characters, and new writers and cartoonists.

McLaughlin, having been a former Beano editor, is definitely the right person for this book. He's been in the editor seat; he knows the Beano from the inside, and so knows the history and a fair few of the people he writes about, as well as the characters. This allows for some really interesting sections from a perspective that's different to other books.

Talking of interesting sections, reading about how the Beano started out was delightful. It was so different to the comic we know today or what I grew up with, containing pages of text stories. No Dennis the Menace, the iconic Beano poster boy. No Bash Street Kids. No Minnie the Minx. It was a very different comic that would be unrecognisable as the Beanos of recent years.

There are lots of funny moments throughout too, but one that sticks with me was the mention of Ian Gray asking Jim Petrie what he hated drawing the most "so I avoid putting any of it in scripts", and then a week later fitting all of that into a humorous sounding script. Hearing about the creative process was fascinating as much as it was humorous at times, making the offices seem like a fun, although demanding, place to work. For a comic all about fun, it makes sense that they were allowed to have fun in the offices.

Overall, The Unofficial History of the Beano is a brilliant read. Seeing how characters I grew up with came about and evolved through time just added a nice extra touch. If you didn't grow up reading the Beano, then you miss out on that a bit, but it's not essential. There's plenty of great history to get your teeth into, and it entertains from beginning to end. A tale befitting of the Beano.

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy your copy here: Pen and Sword Books: The Unofficial History of the Beano