Did anyone realise since the issue with the new Dennis and Gnasher came those horrible, grey backgrounds? Every background was usually a screenshot from the TV series as well... Even the background characters were in grey, objects Dennis held were also in grey, grey, grey, grey! Here's proof:
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| The Beano - Issue 3553 (NOTE: Walter and his parents all have grey outlines along with the backgrounds.) |
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| Taken from this week's Beano (Issue 3563) (NOTE: The grey outlines have gone and everything is in black outlines) |
So okay... It's not that exciting, but it makes me happy to know the grey outlines have finally gone after over a year!
It strikes me that, although they don't like to admit it, DC Thomson were just as sickened by what the BBC did to their character as we were.
ReplyDeleteWhen the TV series started, they changed the art and story styles to match it as a sop to the BBC, or in case anybody watched the show and then decided to go and buy the comic (mindless trivia: a repeat of the original Dennis the Menace series was in fact what inspired me to read my first issue!), but since it finished, they've definitely been sneakily sliding back to the old Dennis.
The BBC, for instance, banned his catapult (because they "didn't want to show kids how to be naughty" - and you commissioned this series why, exactly?), and the Beano instantly erased it from the strip - but it was one of the first things to reappear, a few months after the series ended.
The disappearance of one of the key elements of the art style of the series is undoubtedly the next step.
Personally, I'd be happy if they could ban the use of the phrase "Plan 'D'" and its ilk - it wasn't even funny in the first place, and quickly became extremely stupid.
It's probably only a matter of time before the art reverts to how it was before, especially given the fact that hardly anyone seems to like Dennis's new look. (As a matter of fact, I do - but I appear to be in a minority.)
I actually liked the newer look but I liked the 2009 cartoon more because it allowed Dennis to have more of a personality and more emotions including his traditional scowl on his face. Here, it shows he is still a menace to the people of Beanotown but they still could have given more expressions in these strips. Also, in the 2009 cartoon, he does use slingshots and catapults (but in different forms) and he does use weapons when the show calls for it to happen. Don't get me wrong, I like earlier incarnations of Dennis the Menace (though not all of them) but the new cartoon is one that stood out to me as a favorite.
DeleteThere's even going to be a new series of D&G this year (to coincide with the 75th Anniversary of The Beano) which I'll be more than happy to see.
I must say I love Tom Paterson's take on the new Dennis, he's still a menace, he looks mean and he has his catapult.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'll always miss is Jimmy Hansen's lovely Dennis the Menace he used to draw.... Now he makes Dennis look like an angelic 10 year old boy not a mean, menacing kid.
I realised that Jimmy Hansen altered Dennis quite a lot, he no longer had lines between his teeth, his mouth went behind his eyes and all adults got four fingers briefly...