Dundee’s best-loved comic characters
DC Thomson has published millions of newspapers and magazines since 1905, and the family-owned company has also diversified into digital technology, retail and TV. The company’s comic cartoons took off in 1936 with the publication of The Broons and Oor Wullie which both appeared in ‘The Sunday Post’. Today, comics like ‘Beano’ (launched in 1938) and ‘The Dandy’ (1937) still have global appeal. This panel celebrates Dundee’s most memorable comic characters and, below, we discover when they first appeared and who first drew them.
1. Meadowside
This iconic building on Albert Square has been DC Thomson’s head office since 1906. Clad in red sandstone from Dumfries in south-west Scotland, the shape and style of the building was greatly influenced by the architecture of American newspaper offices in Chicago and New York. The flag that flies on the top of the building commemorates the first ship that DC Thomson owned.
2. Oor Wullie
‘The Sunday Post’, 1936. First drawn by Dudley D. Watkins.
3. Plug (from The Bash Street Kids)
‘Beano’, 1954. First drawn by Leo Baxendale.
4. Toots (from The Bash Street Kids)
‘Beano’, 1954. First drawn by Leo Baxendale.
5. Biffo the Bear
‘Beano’, 1948. First drawn by Dudley D. Watkins.
6. Minnie the Minx
‘Beano’, 1953. First drawn by Leo Baxendale.
7. Betty and The Yeti
‘Beano’, 1993. First drawn by Robert Nixon.
8. Brassneck
‘The Dandy’, 1964. First drawn by Bill Holroyd.
9. Grandpaw Broon from The Broons
‘The Sunday Post’, 1936. First drawn by Dudley D. Watkins. The other members of The Broons family are Paw Broon, Maw Broon, Hen Broon, Daphne Broon, Joe Broon, Maggie Broon, Horace Broon, The Twins and The Bairn.
10. Roger the Dodger
‘Beano’, 1953. First drawn by Ken Reid.
11. Beryl the Peril
‘The Topper’, 1953. First drawn by David ‘Davy’ Law.
12. Big Eggo
‘Beano’, 1938. Drawn by Reg Carter.
13. Lord Snooty
‘Beano’, 1938. Drawn by Dudley D. Watkins.
14. Bananaman
‘Nutty’, 1980. First drawn by John Geering.
15. Desperate Dan
‘The Dandy’, 1937. First drawn by Dudley D. Watkins.
16. The Four Marys
‘Bunty’, 1958. First drawn by Bill Holroyd.
17. Harsha (from The Bash Street Kids)
‘Beano’, 2021.
18. Dennis the Menace & Gnasher
‘Beano’, 1951 (Dennis) and 1968 (Gnasher). Both first drawn by David ‘Davy’ Law.
19. Korky the Cat
‘The Dandy’, 1937. First drawn by James Crighton.
20. Danny (from The Bash Street Kids)
‘Beano’, 1954. First drawn by Leo Baxendale.
21. Calamity James
‘Beano’, 1986. First drawn by Tom Patterson.
22. Billy Whizz
‘Beano’, 1964. First drawn by Malcolm Judge.
23. Rubi von Screwtop
‘Beano’, 2017.
24. Colin the Vet
‘Beano’, 2004. First drawn by Duncan Scott.