Beano - From the Archive

A frame from his first half-page strip in black and white, dated March 1951. Dennis represented the arrival of the first of the core, mischievous kid characters who saw Beano overtake The Dandy to become Britain's most popular comic.

Dennis first wore his iconic striped jumper in May 1951. At this time, it was a white and black jumper! In September the white stripe was changed to red, after Dennis was promoted to a page that featured red ink. This was the first sign that he wasn't just taking part but preparing to take over…

Up to no Good & Beware of Dennis

Amazing full colour pieces taken from the front and back cover of the first ever Dennis annual, dated. 1956. These were the first annuals dedicated to a single character’s adventures, 18 years before Dennis has even graduated to become the cover star of the weekly Beano comic.

14th of September 1974 saw Dennis and Gnasher take over from Biffo the Bear, becoming only the third cover stars in Beano's history at that time. David Sutherland was illustrating Dennis by this time.

Part of a PR stunt to celebrate Dennis's 50th anniversary of appearing in Beano dreamed up by then editor Euan Kerr. Although his famous stripy jumper was still -just- visible, fans were shocked at the new look which featured Dennis wearing a 'trendy' shell suit.

From the Archive – What’s it about?

Brand new and exclusive to the Beano Shop, we're happy to introduce the "From the Archive" range! To help celebrate 70 years of Dennis, our amazing archivists have dug deep into the Beano archive and helped us to identify and revive these iconic moment's in the Beano's history. Available in multiple sizes, these must-have, high quality art prints are just the start of the adventure!

As we continue to delve even deeper into the archives, who knows what else we'll find?

The Beginnings of Mischief