Ball Boy
Encyclopedia
Ball Boy is a comic strip
in the UK
comic The Beano
and also the name of the main character
. It first appeared in issue 1735, dated 18 October 1975. It features a five-a-side
football
team (who usually lose all their matches, often 37-0 in some cases) that includes:
Ball Boy's team kit was originally a red and black vertical striped shirt and black shorts, but it later changed to blue and black stripes. One annual used white and black vertical stripes, but that was before the strip became full colour. Sometimes they get guest players joining the team for 1 strip, like Bea
, or Gnasher. The team sometimes also have other players featured, including a recurring black player called Elvis. Paul Gascoigne
made a guest appearance in the strip in 1993 in the issue celebrating Roger The Dodger
's 40th anniversary when Roger who was appearing in every strip in that week's comic arranged for Gascoigne to sign up for the team.
Ball Boy and his team have both been at two World Cups
. In Italy in 1990
featured in that year's Beano Book and a long running strip in the comic during the 1998
finals featuring the team around France
.
The strip was drawn by Malcolm Judge
until his death in 1989. John Dallas took over from him afterwards, and drew it until his retirement in April 2003. Since then, the artist has been Dave Eastbury. Nigel Parkinson
and Tom Paterson
both occasionally draw the strip as well. In issue 3481 (2 May 2009) a John Dallas reprint was used.
For issue 3260, dated 8 January 2005, the Ball Boy strip was meant to feature a French footballer called Henry Thierry who wore a red shirt. In the strip he is shown a red card and then runs from the team bath when a snorkel appears close to him saying "Time to va-va-voom" - a reference to the Renault adverts in which Thierry Henry
appears. The Beano editor Euan Kerr decided to destroy the entire print run of that comic so as not to risk the striker's wrath, the issue eventually going on sale with a different Ball Boy strip in its place.
Ball Boy also features in The BeanoMAX comic, drawn in the black and blue vertical striped kit, by Nigel Parkinson
. This was explained in a March 2007 Beano. Ball Boy's Mum accidentally washed the kits with a blue garment, and it dyed the red stripes dark blue! But the team, who'd complained they needed new kits, were happy, so BB didn't admit what had happened. This strip was drawn by regular artist Dave Eastbury. Strangely Ball Boy was left out in the Beano Annual 2009. The reason for this is unknown. In 2008, Ball Boy's teammates went off on holiday, leaving him needing a new team for a Beanotown Summer League Championship. This team included - Ball Boy, Ronald Osbourne (who has a wealthy mother), Chandra Singh (who is the team's most skilled player), Lily, an unnamed goalkeeper (a new one with big gloves whose face always hidden) and a kid who has hair hidden over his face. They also now have a proper name - 'Beanotown Juniors'. Ball Boy himself did not score any goals until the final match in this story arc.
After a lengthy undefeated run, Ball Boy's team were second on the chart, because they were tricked by their long-time opponents Asbo Road (who are now first), who disguised themselves as the scheduled, weak team of Chippy Crescent Athletic, and badly injured Beanotown Juniors. Then the real Chippy Crescent wrapped the defeated team up in bandages, so they couldn't move, making them lose, although only by two points. Some other opponents then scored a one own goal, putting Beanotown’s spirits back up. The following week, Beanotown beat Asbo Road 1-0, giving Ball Boy's team the trophy. In the next issue, his original teammates returned, and BB showed off the trophy. This made Benji annoyed, and he tried to make him choose a team. But a discussion with Chandra made him realise both teams feel the same way about BB, and the two teams merged. Most recently the artwork of the Ball Boy comic strip has changed, instead of fairly tall characters, they have now been shrunk and made 'cuter'.
.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
and also the name of the main character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
. It first appeared in issue 1735, dated 18 October 1975. It features a five-a-side
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team (who usually lose all their matches, often 37-0 in some cases) that includes:
- Ball Boy - the captain of the team, Ball Boy bears resemblances to The Dandy's Owen Goal. He plays striker for the team. He has a minor part in The Beano Interactive DVD, playing football with a globe in a geography lesson.
- Titch - A small boy who (ironically considering his height) usually plays in defence. Little is known of Titch, although he is given his own short strip in The Beano Annual 2002.
- Dimmy - A defender, who is quite dim, hence his name. He looks a lot like Plug.
- Benjy - He is a good player on the team, Benjy seems to be vice-captain and Ball Boy's best friend.
- Goalie - the goalkeeperGoalkeeperIn many team sports which involve scoring goals, a goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by intercepting shots at goal...
. This character is an anomaly in the sense that in some strips he is a superb goalkeeper and in others he is comically awful, letting in everything. There are a few strips where he just sits in the corner of the goal, reading, because the rest of the team can't get a shot on target.
- Chandra Singh - just joined the team at the end of 2008
Ball Boy's team kit was originally a red and black vertical striped shirt and black shorts, but it later changed to blue and black stripes. One annual used white and black vertical stripes, but that was before the strip became full colour. Sometimes they get guest players joining the team for 1 strip, like Bea
Bea (Dennis the Menace character)
Bea, is a fictional character in the UK comic strip Dennis the Menace and Gnasher, from The Beano. She is Dennis' baby sister, born in issue 2931, dated 19 September 1998.-Introduction to The Beano:...
, or Gnasher. The team sometimes also have other players featured, including a recurring black player called Elvis. Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
made a guest appearance in the strip in 1993 in the issue celebrating Roger The Dodger
Roger the Dodger
This is the article for The Beano comic strip, for other uses please see Roger the Dodger Roger the Dodger is a fictional character featured regularly in the UK comic The Beano...
's 40th anniversary when Roger who was appearing in every strip in that week's comic arranged for Gascoigne to sign up for the team.
Ball Boy and his team have both been at two World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
. In Italy in 1990
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
featured in that year's Beano Book and a long running strip in the comic during the 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
finals featuring the team around France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The strip was drawn by Malcolm Judge
Malcolm Judge
Malcolm Judge was a British cartoonist, best known for his contributions to DC Thomson's range of comics. He was married, had one daughter, and lived in Bishopbriggs near Glasgow....
until his death in 1989. John Dallas took over from him afterwards, and drew it until his retirement in April 2003. Since then, the artist has been Dave Eastbury. Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson is a British cartoonist who currently works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for The Beano and The Dandy.-Biography:...
and Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson is a Scottish comic artist who drew characters for Fleetway in 1973–1990, and D.C Thomson from 1986-onwards. He lives in Leith, with three kids, and is a Hearts supporter.He is famous for drawing comics such as:-Fleetway:...
both occasionally draw the strip as well. In issue 3481 (2 May 2009) a John Dallas reprint was used.
For issue 3260, dated 8 January 2005, the Ball Boy strip was meant to feature a French footballer called Henry Thierry who wore a red shirt. In the strip he is shown a red card and then runs from the team bath when a snorkel appears close to him saying "Time to va-va-voom" - a reference to the Renault adverts in which Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
appears. The Beano editor Euan Kerr decided to destroy the entire print run of that comic so as not to risk the striker's wrath, the issue eventually going on sale with a different Ball Boy strip in its place.
Ball Boy also features in The BeanoMAX comic, drawn in the black and blue vertical striped kit, by Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson is a British cartoonist who currently works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for The Beano and The Dandy.-Biography:...
. This was explained in a March 2007 Beano. Ball Boy's Mum accidentally washed the kits with a blue garment, and it dyed the red stripes dark blue! But the team, who'd complained they needed new kits, were happy, so BB didn't admit what had happened. This strip was drawn by regular artist Dave Eastbury. Strangely Ball Boy was left out in the Beano Annual 2009. The reason for this is unknown. In 2008, Ball Boy's teammates went off on holiday, leaving him needing a new team for a Beanotown Summer League Championship. This team included - Ball Boy, Ronald Osbourne (who has a wealthy mother), Chandra Singh (who is the team's most skilled player), Lily, an unnamed goalkeeper (a new one with big gloves whose face always hidden) and a kid who has hair hidden over his face. They also now have a proper name - 'Beanotown Juniors'. Ball Boy himself did not score any goals until the final match in this story arc.
After a lengthy undefeated run, Ball Boy's team were second on the chart, because they were tricked by their long-time opponents Asbo Road (who are now first), who disguised themselves as the scheduled, weak team of Chippy Crescent Athletic, and badly injured Beanotown Juniors. Then the real Chippy Crescent wrapped the defeated team up in bandages, so they couldn't move, making them lose, although only by two points. Some other opponents then scored a one own goal, putting Beanotown’s spirits back up. The following week, Beanotown beat Asbo Road 1-0, giving Ball Boy's team the trophy. In the next issue, his original teammates returned, and BB showed off the trophy. This made Benji annoyed, and he tried to make him choose a team. But a discussion with Chandra made him realise both teams feel the same way about BB, and the two teams merged. Most recently the artwork of the Ball Boy comic strip has changed, instead of fairly tall characters, they have now been shrunk and made 'cuter'.
.