Comic Book of the Week- 13th July 2025.

69. The Dandy Summer Special. 1986. 52p.

One of my happiest summer memories growing up, was receiving a Dandy (or Beano) Summer Special from my parents. I would spend hours pouring over the pages. The summer specials were always a bit different from the regular weekly issues. Larger format (closer to tabloid newspaper size), glossy pages, more pages (32, with 16 in full colour).

Korky the Cat was the cover star of The Dandy issue one way back in 1937.

When Eric, an ordinary school boy, eats a banana, he becomes the extraordinary….. Banana Man! The character first appeared in the Dandy following the merger with Nutty in 1985. Banana Man stories are still being published in the Beano Weekly.

Strange Hill School, named after the children’s BBC show Grange Hill.

The Smasher …….he smashes things.

DC Thompson stopped publishing The Dandy in 2012, however the comic still lives on in annuals and summer specials.