Doctor Beastly
Encyclopedia
Doctor Beastly's Tales of the Slightly Unpleasant was a comic strip
in the British
children's comic The Beano
published by D. C. Thomson & Co.. The eponymous character first appeared in a Crazy for Daisy
comic strip in January 2002. This strip was entitled Doctor Beastly's Tales of the Unpleasant starring Daisy and Ernest; the title was similar to the name of the strip he would later star in. The strip did not appear again until October 2002 when it was revealed that Doctor Beastly would be a guest star in the Beano for the month of October as a way to celebrate Halloween
. The character appeared in all four Beanos in October 2002 which was issues 3142, 3143, 3144 and 3145. After that, the character never appeared again in the weekly Beano, however he did reappear for the Beano Annual 2005.
The strips featured Doctor Beastly narrating a slightly unpleasant tale often involving magic, ghosts, curse
s and the occasional clown
. Each tale Doctor Beastly told always had its own name such as A fete
worse than Death. The tales were slightly similar to an older Beano strip, which appeared in the first issue of the Beano, Uncle Windbag, which involved an uncle who told tall tales. The strip was also similar to the children's cartoon and book series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids
as they both involved a narrator telling a slightly unpleasant tale and were aimed at children. The strip also contained many similarities with the Scream Inn strip from Fleetway
's Shiver and Shake
, also drawn by Brian Walker and featuring a top-hatted character who looked like Doctor Beastly, called the Innkeeper.
The first Doctor Beastly strip, where he appeared in a Crazy for Daisy strip, was drawn by Nick Brennan
and all subsequent Doctor Beastly strips including the one in the 2005 Beano Annual were drawn by Walker. The strips were usually only two pages long except for the final Doctor Beastly strip in the weekly Beano which lasted for six pages and the one in the Annual which lasted for four. In 2008, he appeared in a section about mixed-up animals in the BeanoMax
. In the BeanoMAX
issue for Halloween 2011, the strip from the 2005 annual was reprinted, possibly as a one-off.
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 British
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...
children's 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...
published by D. C. Thomson & Co.. The eponymous character first appeared in a Crazy for Daisy
Crazy for Daisy
Crazy for Daisy was a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano. First appearing in issue 2865, dated 14 June 1997, it was part of an ongoing selection of six comic strips that were to be voted into the comic by readers. This strip was the winner, beating Camp Cosmos, Have a Go Jo, Sydd and Trash Can...
comic strip in January 2002. This strip was entitled Doctor Beastly's Tales of the Unpleasant starring Daisy and Ernest; the title was similar to the name of the strip he would later star in. The strip did not appear again until October 2002 when it was revealed that Doctor Beastly would be a guest star in the Beano for the month of October as a way to celebrate Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. The character appeared in all four Beanos in October 2002 which was issues 3142, 3143, 3144 and 3145. After that, the character never appeared again in the weekly Beano, however he did reappear for the Beano Annual 2005.
The strips featured Doctor Beastly narrating a slightly unpleasant tale often involving magic, ghosts, curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
s and the occasional clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
. Each tale Doctor Beastly told always had its own name such as A fete
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
worse than Death. The tales were slightly similar to an older Beano strip, which appeared in the first issue of the Beano, Uncle Windbag, which involved an uncle who told tall tales. The strip was also similar to the children's cartoon and book series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids
Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids
' is a series of books by Jamie Rix and a TV series produced for ITV.The original TV series was based on the award winning collections of cautionary tales by Jamie Rix. Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids, Fearsome Tales for Fiendish Kids and More Grizzly Tales for...
as they both involved a narrator telling a slightly unpleasant tale and were aimed at children. The strip also contained many similarities with the Scream Inn strip from Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
's Shiver and Shake
Shiver and Shake
Shiver and Shake was a British comic published every Monday by IPC Magazines Ltd. It ran from 10 March 1973 to 5 October 1974, when it merged with Whoopee!. As in the tradition of British comics many names of strips were a play on popular television programmes and films of the time...
, also drawn by Brian Walker and featuring a top-hatted character who looked like Doctor Beastly, called the Innkeeper.
The first Doctor Beastly strip, where he appeared in a Crazy for Daisy strip, was drawn by Nick Brennan
Nick Brennan
Nick Brennan is a British cartoonist who works mainly for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. He started drawing for the company in 1993, drawing a revival of Peter Piper From The Dandy, revived from The Magic Comic, but looking nothing like Watkins' creation, instead sporting an elvis-like hairdo and purple...
and all subsequent Doctor Beastly strips including the one in the 2005 Beano Annual were drawn by Walker. The strips were usually only two pages long except for the final Doctor Beastly strip in the weekly Beano which lasted for six pages and the one in the Annual which lasted for four. In 2008, he appeared in a section about mixed-up animals in the BeanoMax
BeanoMAX
The BeanoMAX is a monthly British comic published by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd It is a spin-off of the UK comic, The Beano. Each issue has 44 pages and costs £3.50.The first issue was published on February 15, 2007 and was a Comic Relief special.- Strips :...
. In the BeanoMAX
BeanoMAX
The BeanoMAX is a monthly British comic published by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd It is a spin-off of the UK comic, The Beano. Each issue has 44 pages and costs £3.50.The first issue was published on February 15, 2007 and was a Comic Relief special.- Strips :...
issue for Halloween 2011, the strip from the 2005 annual was reprinted, possibly as a one-off.