Once upon a time there used to be two mighty comic empires in this country which were in constant competition with one another. Comics were always being developed in each camp to have something ready at a moment's notice to steal the thunder of any new publication the opposition might launch. However, these two companies were not only at war with each other, but also any other company which was in the same business. For example, did you know that D.C. Thomson's SPARKY came out the same week as TV CENTURY 21? This was DCT's way of capitalising on any kid asking his mum to "Get that new comic for me while I'm at school". Any parent asking for that in a newsagent was just as likely to be handed The Sparky as TV21, especially if the latter was sold out. And even if it wasn't, 7d for TV21 may have seemed a bit dear compared to The Sparky's more reasonable 5d - at least from a parent's point of view.
With that in mind, editors kept up with all the titles the opposition produced, often having racks of their rivals' comics on hand in their own offices to see what the 'other side' were up to. And that explains THE BEANO pictured in this post. It was IPC's Humour Group editor BOB PAYNTER's personal copy, which he allowed me to have in order to clear some space on the comic racks along the side of his office wall. Bob was quite good to me in that way. I picked up quite a few comics for my collection, including a number of FRANKIE STEIN Holiday Specials that Bob no longer wanted, plus the very last issue of TV COMIC.
So have a read at DENNIS's adventures above - and don't forget to thank Bob for it.
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