The Three Bears (comic)
Encyclopedia
The Three Bears was a long-running comic strip
in the UK
comic
The Beano
. It made its first appearance in issue 881, dated 6 June 1959, drawn by Leo Baxendale
at first and then by Bob McGrath for most of its run.
Ma and Pa Bear and their young son Teddy (later called Ted) were lazy and gluttonous, and lived in a cave upon a hill. Most storylines revolved around their attempts to steal "grub" from the local storekeeper Hank (who often shoots the Three Bears with his blunderbuss
for trying to rob him). Originally disappearing from the comic after issue 2253, dated 21 September 1985, by which time McGrath had departed and briefly been replaced by Tom Lavery
, the strip has returned to The Beano several times since then, between 1988 and 1995, re-appearing in issues 2391 and 2674 (dated 14 May 1988 and 16 October 1993). The first re-launch was drawn by Bob Dewar, and the second originally by David Parkins
, who drew it for much of the mid-1990s, then Robert Nixon
later on. Parkins' version is cited by former Beano editor Euan Kerr as one of his favourite strips.
, Inspector Horse and Jocky
and Gordon Bennett
. This time it was drawn by Mike Pearse, but in 2002 Chris McGhie replaced him in order to relieve Pearse's workload, although the strip was drawn in a largely similar style.
After a vote in 2006, the Three Bears re-appeared as reprints of the 1990s David Parkins strips. He had also drawn Fred's Bed
, Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
, and Billy Whizz
, all of which have been reprinted in some form. In the 2007 Christmas special (reprinted from the 2000 Christmas Beano), The Three Bears had a present delivered by Billy Whizz, before they return to Beanotown at the end of the strip.
They appeared in the Beano Annual 2007 again drawn by Parkins, and in the Beano Annual 2008 in which Ted shaves off animals' hair including Pa's. This was drawn by Ken Harrison
. They made another appearance in the Beano's 2008 Summer Special, again drawn by Chris McGhie. In the 2009 annual they were drawn by Hunt Emerson, appearing alongside another Western-themed Beano star, Little Plum
.
The Three Bears are often seen in the BeanoMAX
and the Beano Annual, although they hardly ever make appearances in the comic itself. Their final new story in the weekly comic came in issue 3365 of the Beano, dated 27 January 2007, drawn by Tom Paterson
. This was a new strip, not a reprint. The characters later reappeared 3 years later on July 3rd 2010 in The Beano (#3541). They continued weekly in the comic, as reprints of the Mike Pearse strips until early 2011 when the strip stopped appearing. In the 2012 Beano Annual, their strip was drawn by David Sutherland.
.
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
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
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 made its first appearance in issue 881, dated 6 June 1959, drawn by Leo Baxendale
Leo Baxendale
Leo Baxendale is a British cartoonist, who was the creator of the classic Beano strips Little Plum , Minnie the Minx , The Bash Street Kids and The Three Bears .Leo Baxendale was at the end of his National Service days in the RAF, when he decided he...
at first and then by Bob McGrath for most of its run.
Ma and Pa Bear and their young son Teddy (later called Ted) were lazy and gluttonous, and lived in a cave upon a hill. Most storylines revolved around their attempts to steal "grub" from the local storekeeper Hank (who often shoots the Three Bears with his blunderbuss
Blunderbuss
The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss could be considered to be an early form of shotgun,...
for trying to rob him). Originally disappearing from the comic after issue 2253, dated 21 September 1985, by which time McGrath had departed and briefly been replaced by Tom Lavery
Tom Lavery
Thomas Patrick Lavery was a South African athlete who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.He was born in Scotland and died in Germiston....
, the strip has returned to The Beano several times since then, between 1988 and 1995, re-appearing in issues 2391 and 2674 (dated 14 May 1988 and 16 October 1993). The first re-launch was drawn by Bob Dewar, and the second originally 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 drew it for much of the mid-1990s, then Robert Nixon
Robert Nixon (artist)
Robert Nixon was an artist who worked on several British comics.Bob was born in South Bank, Middlesbrough, in North Yorkshire on July 7, 1939. He was the fifth of six children born to Arthur Nixon and Phylis Thompson. Robert's mother Phylis worked as a housewife while his father worked locally...
later on. Parkins' version is cited by former Beano editor Euan Kerr as one of his favourite strips.
1999-2007 strips
The strip appeared again in 2000, when, after being a 'Guest Star' since the previous year, it was voted into the comic by Beano readers, beating Tricky DickyTricky Dicky (comics)
Tricky Dicky was a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Topper. Drawn by John Dallas, Dicky used to play practical jokes on people, but they usually managed to get the last laugh...
, Inspector Horse and Jocky
Inspector Horse and Jocky
Inspector Horse and Jocky was a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, drawn by Terry Bave. The main character was a horse who was also a plain clothes police inspector. His name was an obvious pun on Inspector Morse. Jocky was the name of his human sidekick, a boy jockey who would ride on...
and Gordon Bennett
Gordon Bennett (character)
Gordon Bennett is a comic book character, who appeared in The Beano , and is named after the exclamation The character originally appeared between 1999 and 2000, originally drawn by Jimmy Hansen who had previously drawn First Class...
. This time it was drawn by Mike Pearse, but in 2002 Chris McGhie replaced him in order to relieve Pearse's workload, although the strip was drawn in a largely similar style.
After a vote in 2006, the Three Bears re-appeared as reprints of the 1990s David Parkins strips. He had also drawn Fred's Bed
Fred's Bed
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...
, Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
Dennis the Menace (UK)
Dennis the Menace, later called Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and now Dennis and Gnasher, is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic The Beano, published by D. C...
, and Billy Whizz
Billy Whizz
Billy Whizz is a fictional character featured in the British comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1139, dated 16 May 1964, when it replaced The Country Cuzzins. Billy, the title character, is a boy who can run extraordinarily fast. His speed often causes chaos yet at the same time his ability...
, all of which have been reprinted in some form. In the 2007 Christmas special (reprinted from the 2000 Christmas Beano), The Three Bears had a present delivered by Billy Whizz, before they return to Beanotown at the end of the strip.
They appeared in the Beano Annual 2007 again drawn by Parkins, and in the Beano Annual 2008 in which Ted shaves off animals' hair including Pa's. This was drawn by Ken 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...
. They made another appearance in the Beano's 2008 Summer Special, again drawn by Chris McGhie. In the 2009 annual they were drawn by Hunt Emerson, appearing alongside another Western-themed Beano star, Little Plum
Little Plum
Little Plum is a fictional character in the UK comic The Beano.The eponymous hero and his friends Chiefy, Pimple and Hole-in-um-Head are members of the "Smellyfeet" American Indian tribe, who spend much of their time clashing with their rivals the "Puttyfeet" tribe. Other characters include Dr...
.
Recent appearances
In annuals, they have been drawn by Mike Pearse (2001, 2002, 2003) Chris McGhie (2004), Ken Harrison (2005, 2006, 2008), David Parkins (2007), Hunt Emerson (2009) and David Sutherland (2012).The Three Bears are often seen 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 :...
and the Beano Annual, although they hardly ever make appearances in the comic itself. Their final new story in the weekly comic came in issue 3365 of the Beano, dated 27 January 2007, drawn by 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:...
. This was a new strip, not a reprint. The characters later reappeared 3 years later on July 3rd 2010 in The Beano (#3541). They continued weekly in the comic, as reprints of the Mike Pearse strips until early 2011 when the strip stopped appearing. In the 2012 Beano Annual, their strip was drawn by David Sutherland.
Parodies of the strip
The strip was the subject of two parodies by the adult comic VizViz (comic)
Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
.
- The first was a surreal parody entitled The Three Chairs, about a family of three chairs who lived in a cave and frequently robbed Frank's Store for food.
- The second was called 'Three Blairs' in which Pa represented the then British Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Ma represented Cherie Blair (Tony Blair's wife), Ted represented Leo Blair (Tony Blair's youngest son), and Hank represented the then British Chancellor Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
. In this story the Three Blairs plan to rob "Hank's" store so that "Pa" won't faint in the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
due to hunger. To distract "Hank" while "Ma" and "Ted" rob the store "Pa" stages a press conference outside "Hank's" store and states that all the conditions have been met for Britain to start using the EuroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
. "Hank" promptly states this is untrue and chases after "Pa" while shooting at him. Though this plan works "Ma" and "Ted" have eaten all the food by the time "Pa" has returned home. In the last panel the newspaper reads that the Prime Minister has fainted in the House of Commons. Coincidentally this strip was drawn by Brian Walker, a former Beano artist, albeit never on The Three Bears.