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Arts feature

How the Beano shaped art

Stuart Jeffries on the cultural influence of the comic that said it was good to be bad

23 October 2021

9:00 AM

23 October 2021

9:00 AM

Superman and the Beano are both 83 years old. The American superhero first pulled on his tights for Action Comics No. 1 in June 1938. The following month, roughly 443,000 copies were sold of the Beano’s first issue, featuring Pansy Potter (the Strongman’s Daughter), Big Fat Joe, Wee Peem (He’s a Proper Scream) and, my personal role model, Lord Snooty.

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The Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules is at Somerset House until 6 March 2022.

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