Fred's Bed
Encyclopedia
Fred's Bed is a comic strip in the British
comic The Beano
. It originally appeared in the The Topper section of the merged The Beezer and Topper comic in 1991. In the first strip, Fred breaks his old bed and when Fred and his mum go out to buy a new one, she buys the cheapest bed in the shop. He later discovers that when he crawls under his bed, on purpose or by mistake, he enters a different world. Each strip ends up in a new place. The strip was first drawn by David Parkins
, who was the regular artist through most of its run, though Tom Paterson
drew several strips. In the final strip in the Beezer and the Topper, (in that comic's final issue) the bed exploded, although he did reappear in the Beezer Annual 2003 in a story where he visited the sounds effect factory.
Fred has distinctive blonde hair with what appears to be a hook on top, as does his mother, except she has it longer around the sides. When he was a baby, it merely consisted of the hook. Fred's father has only appeared once, in the recent new strips by Hunt Emerson
, and never appeared in the Beezer and Topper strips. Fred has notable bad grammar, for instance he changes words ended in '-ing' to '-in', e.g. 'I'm goin' under me bed for a while.'
However, the strip reappeared in the Beano comic on April 7, 2007 . as reprints of the Beezer and Topper strips. Lew Stringer
drew a new strip for the comic's Christmas 2007 issue along with Ken H. Harrison
who drew Fred's Bed the game!. In issue 3341, dated 19th July 2008, Fred's strip was replaced by Olaff the Madlander, a reprint of fellow Beezer and Topper strip, Adrian the Barbarian
. However, a brand new Fred's Bed story appeared in the 70th birthday Beano in which Fred met Nick Park
, creator of Wallace & Gromit, and the two explored the history of the comic (somewhat ironic, since Fred had actually originated in the Beezer and Topper, and not the Beano). This strip was drawn by David Sutherland. He returned later in 2008 after the Beano received a revamp, and Fred appeared in the Beano Annuals for 2009 and 2010, both times drawn by Ken H. Harrison
.
In 2009 all the original stories except the last one had been reprinted, so in Beano issue 3480, dated 25th April 2009, Hunt Emerson took over the strip. Fred was now given control over his bed's destination by way of an alarm clock, whereas in the original the bed took him to a random location. The bed is also now referred to as a time machine, and the artwork style is different. After the revamp,Emerson considerably changed Fred's appearance, giving him longer hair, and he appears to be more intelligent. However, due to Emerson's workload, Tom Paterson and Nigel Parkinson ghosted the strip in the new style in late 2009, before David Sutherland started drawing the strip, from the 2009 Christmas issue on, also in Emerson's style. Sutherland drew the strip for about three months until Tom Paterson took over in April 2010, after which he became the regular artist, though Sutherland and Parkinson have drawn some strips since then.
In 2011, Fred gained an extra page titled "Fred's Foul Facts", along with the "BSK Pull Out" and "Rodger's Dodge Diary". Fred's Foul Facts is a single page about facts relating to the preceding Fred's Bed strips. He was also on the cover of the 2012 Annual.
At the moment the main artist is David Sutherland
with Nigel Parkinson
as his understudy. The strip in Issue 3602 even revealed the name of Fred's mother as being Freda.
He has been on the cover of four annuals: 1993 Topper, 1994 Topper, 2003 Beezer and 2012 Beano.
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...
. It originally appeared in the The Topper section of the merged The Beezer and Topper comic in 1991. In the first strip, Fred breaks his old bed and when Fred and his mum go out to buy a new one, she buys the cheapest bed in the shop. He later discovers that when he crawls under his bed, on purpose or by mistake, he enters a different world. Each strip ends up in a new place. The strip was first drawn by David Parkins
David Parkins
David Parkins is a British cartoonist and illustrator who has worked for D.C. Thomson, publisher of The Beano and The Dandy. Now based in Canada, he illustrates children's picture books....
, who was the regular artist through most of its run, though 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:...
drew several strips. In the final strip in the Beezer and the Topper, (in that comic's final issue) the bed exploded, although he did reappear in the Beezer Annual 2003 in a story where he visited the sounds effect factory.
Fred has distinctive blonde hair with what appears to be a hook on top, as does his mother, except she has it longer around the sides. When he was a baby, it merely consisted of the hook. Fred's father has only appeared once, in the recent new strips by Hunt Emerson
Hunt Emerson
Hunt Emerson is a cartoonist living and working in Birmingham, England. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s...
, and never appeared in the Beezer and Topper strips. Fred has notable bad grammar, for instance he changes words ended in '-ing' to '-in', e.g. 'I'm goin' under me bed for a while.'
However, the strip reappeared in the Beano comic on April 7, 2007 . as reprints of the Beezer and Topper strips. Lew Stringer
Lew Stringer
-Biography:Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular Brickman character; these were read by several pro creators who encouraged Stringer to try comics as a profession and Stringer recalls that "Alan Moore actually introduced me to one of...
drew a new strip for the comic's Christmas 2007 issue along with Ken H. Harrison
Ken H. Harrison
Ken H. Harrison is an artist at DC Thomson, who drew Robbie Rebel, Big Brad Wolf and Lord Snooty for The Beano, The Hoot Squad for Hoot , The Broons and Oor Wullie for the Sunday Post, Skookum Skool, Spookum Skool and The Snookums for Buzz and Cracker comics.He drew Desperate Dan for The Dandy...
who drew Fred's Bed the game!. In issue 3341, dated 19th July 2008, Fred's strip was replaced by Olaff the Madlander, a reprint of fellow Beezer and Topper strip, Adrian the Barbarian
Adrian the Barbarian
Adrian the Barbarian was a comic strip in the comic The Beezer, and later the merged Beezer and Topper, first introduced in 1989. It featured a boy who dressed as a barbarian with a magical sword. He lived in a very strange world where almost anything could happen, whether it be good or bad...
. However, a brand new Fred's Bed story appeared in the 70th birthday Beano in which Fred met Nick Park
Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan "Nick" Park, CBE is an English filmmaker of stop motion animation best known as the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep....
, creator of Wallace & Gromit, and the two explored the history of the comic (somewhat ironic, since Fred had actually originated in the Beezer and Topper, and not the Beano). This strip was drawn by David Sutherland. He returned later in 2008 after the Beano received a revamp, and Fred appeared in the Beano Annuals for 2009 and 2010, both times drawn by Ken H. Harrison
Ken H. Harrison
Ken H. Harrison is an artist at DC Thomson, who drew Robbie Rebel, Big Brad Wolf and Lord Snooty for The Beano, The Hoot Squad for Hoot , The Broons and Oor Wullie for the Sunday Post, Skookum Skool, Spookum Skool and The Snookums for Buzz and Cracker comics.He drew Desperate Dan for The Dandy...
.
In 2009 all the original stories except the last one had been reprinted, so in Beano issue 3480, dated 25th April 2009, Hunt Emerson took over the strip. Fred was now given control over his bed's destination by way of an alarm clock, whereas in the original the bed took him to a random location. The bed is also now referred to as a time machine, and the artwork style is different. After the revamp,Emerson considerably changed Fred's appearance, giving him longer hair, and he appears to be more intelligent. However, due to Emerson's workload, Tom Paterson and Nigel Parkinson ghosted the strip in the new style in late 2009, before David Sutherland started drawing the strip, from the 2009 Christmas issue on, also in Emerson's style. Sutherland drew the strip for about three months until Tom Paterson took over in April 2010, after which he became the regular artist, though Sutherland and Parkinson have drawn some strips since then.
In 2011, Fred gained an extra page titled "Fred's Foul Facts", along with the "BSK Pull Out" and "Rodger's Dodge Diary". Fred's Foul Facts is a single page about facts relating to the preceding Fred's Bed strips. He was also on the cover of the 2012 Annual.
At the moment the main artist is David Sutherland
David Sutherland
David Sutherland is an artist with DC Thomson, responsible for The Bash Street Kids , Dennis the Menace for The Beano, Fred's Bed and the second version of Jak for The Dandy in the early 2000s...
with 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:...
as his understudy. The strip in Issue 3602 even revealed the name of Fred's mother as being Freda.
He has been on the cover of four annuals: 1993 Topper, 1994 Topper, 2003 Beezer and 2012 Beano.