Hairy Dan
Hairy Dan was a British comic strip character by Basil Blackaller originally published in the magazine The Beano Comic in the comic strip of the same name. It first appeared in issue 1 on 30 July 1938 and ran until issue 297.[1][2]
| Hairy Dan | |
|---|---|
| DC Thomson comic strip character(s) | |
| Publication information | |
| Stars in | Hairy Dan |
| Creator(s) | Basil Blackaller |
| Other contributors |
|
| First appearance | |
| The Beano | Issue 1 (30 July 1938) |
| The Beezer | 1972 |
| Sparky | 1965 |
| Last appearance | |
| The Beano | Issue 297 (16 November 1946) |
| The Beezer | 1981 |
Story summary
Hairy Dan is an old man with a floor-length beard. His stories were about how this beard would save the day. Notable examples include issue 1 when Dan used his beard as a sail to win a boat race,[1] and the first Beano Book when he pretended it was a horse's tail for a "horse tail contest".[3]
To celebrate The Beano's 65th anniversary, Dan cameoed in a Ball Boy strip.[4]
Subsequent appearances
The character later appeared for a short time in Sparky in 1965. From 1972 until 1981, the stories also appeared in The Beezer, where it was drawn by Bill Ritchie, and written by Bill McLoughlin.[5]
In popular culture
A similar strip appeared in the first Dandy Monster Comic entitled Old Beaver's Brainwaves and also featured a man with a large white beard and using it to save the day.[6]
References
- Moonie, George, ed. (30 July 1938). "Hairy Dan". The Beano Comic. No. 1. Illustrated by Bill Blackaller. D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. (published 26 July 1938).
- "Hairy Dan". The Beano Comic. No. 297. Illustrated by Bill Blackaller. D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. (published 14 November 1946). 16 November 1946.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Moonie, George, ed. (1940). "Hairy Dan". Beano Book. D.C. Thompson & Co. Ltd.
- Kerr, Euan, ed. (2 August 2003). "Ball Boy". The Beano. No. 3185. DC Thomson (published 31 July 2003). ISBN 9770262246133(31)
- "Adventures in Pictures: From Sparky to Starblazer and Beyond". Down the Tubes. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
Bill [McLoughlin]: I did “The Numskulls” on a regular basis and enjoyed that. “Little Mo” and “Hairy Dan” were others I wrote as well.
- Dandy Monster Comic No. 1. Dundee, Scotland: D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. in conjunction with Aurum Press Ltd. 2006. pp. 40, 84. ISBN 1-84513-217-3.
