Gnasher and Gnipper

Beano strip


strip_name=Gnasher and Gnipper
artist=Barry Glennard
start_issue=N/A
start_date=1986
finish=Ongoing
characters=Gnasher, Gnipper, Dennis, Bea, Mum, Dad

Gnasher and Gnipper is a comic strip in "The Beano" starring the dog Gnasher (from Dennis the Menace), his son Gnipper, Dennis' Father and Dennis' Mother. It does not always feature Dennis himself, or his sister Bea. However Dennis was the owner of both dogs. The strip first appeared in November 1 1986, replacing Gnasher's Tale. It was originally drawn by David Sutherland. The current artist is Barry Glennard.

Gnasher was created by Ian Gray (writer) and Davey Law (artist). Ian was just a young writer for the Beano when he and Davey Law came up with Dennis the Menace's famous mongrel sidekick. As Davey struggled to picture the dog, Ian suggested he simply draw Dennis's hair and "put a leg on each corner and two eyeballs at that end" The result was one of the most enduring images for publishers DC Thomson.

Gnipper has one long triangular tooth and looks almost exactly like his father. He loves to chase cats. The dogs get up to lots of mischief. They are both Abyssian Wire Haired Tripe hounds. Gnasher also has five daughters, Gnancy, Gnatasha, Gnaomi, Gnanette, and Gnora, all of whom resemble smaller versions of Gnasher with white fur. They rarely appear in the strip, and it has been suggested they live with their unnamed mother.

The G on the beginning of both their names is pronounced silently. Most of their speech bubbles also consist of normal English words beginning with the letter 'n' with a silent G added to the beginning (e.g. Gnight, Gnight).

As of 2008, the strip only appears occasionally, although Gnasher isn't seen any less, as Dennis now has two strips every week.

Changes over the years

Barry Glennard took over the strip in 1993-ish to ease the workload of David Sutherland. Although Most Cameo Characters were drawn in his style, Gnasher and Gnipper were drawn in a very similar style to Sutherland. However, sometime in 2001, Gnasher and Gnipper were revamped in their strip. They were given a more Glennard-type style, and their fur became for bouncy and fluffy, much to the disappointment of fans. It is worth noting that in later years, Dennis' dad is back to normal, while sometime in 2002, his head had become round.

External links

* [http://www.beanotown.com beanotown.com]