Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules – a tribute to ‘colourful, universal anti-authoritarianism’

This ‘ambitious’ Somerset House exhibition is a celebration of the comic’s ‘mercurial magic’

The Beano takes over Somerset House
(Image credit: Beano/Somerset House)

For 80 years, the Beano has been the nation’s pre-eminent children’s comic, said Harry de Quetteville in The Daily Telegraph. Since its launch in 1938, the much-loved title has introduced generations of children to mischievous cartoon archetypes such as Roger the Dodger, the Bash Street Kids and, of course, Dennis the Menace and his faithful dog, Gnasher.

Indeed, it seemed at times that “not a British child was without it”: at its peak in the 1950s, it shifted a “staggering” two million copies per issue–and even in today’s era of declining print sales, it still has a not-unimpressive weekly circulation of 55,000.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up