''Ball Boy'' is a
strip
Strip, Strips or Stripping may refer to:
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* Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya
* Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Nami ...
in UK comic ''
The Beano
''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it published its 4000th issue in August 2019. Popular and ...
'' and also the name of the main character.
Strip History
Ball Boy and his comic strip debuted in issue 1,735, dated 18 October 1975 featuring a
five-a-side
''Five-A-Side'' is the debut album by the pop rock band Ace, released by Anchor Records in 1974.
The album landed on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, reaching No. 11 in 1974.
The single " How Long" reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in t ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team who usually lost all their matches. The strip was drawn by
Malcolm Judge
''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it published its 4000th issue in August 2019. Popular and ...
until his death in 1989.
John Dallas
John Dewar Dallas (11 June 1878 – 31 July 1942) was a Scottish international rugby union player. Dallas played international rugby for Scotland but is more notable as a rugby referee, and his officiating of the ''" Match of the Century"'', t ...
took over from him afterwards, and drew it until his retirement in April 2003. The strip was then revamped and taken over by
Dave Eastbury.
Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson (born February 7, 1952) is a British cartoonist who works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy''.
Biography
Parkinson is the official artist for Dennis the Menace (UK), Dennis the Menac ...
and
Tom Paterson both occasionally draw the strip as well. In issue 3,481 (2 May 2009) a John Dallas reprint was used.
For issue 3,260, dated 8 January 2005, the Ball Boy strip was meant to feature a French footballer called Henry Thierry who wore a red shirt. In the strip he is shown a red card and then runs from the team bath when a snorkel appears close to him saying "Time to va-va-voom" – a reference to the Renault adverts in which
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...
appears. The Beano editor Euan Kerr decided to destroy the entire print run of that comic so as not to risk the striker's wrath, the issue eventually going on sale with a different Ball Boy strip in its place.
''Beano scraps comic over Thierry cartoon''
– ''Telegraph'', 25 January 2005
Ball Boy also features in The BeanoMAX comic, drawn in the black and blue vertical striped kit, by Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson (born February 7, 1952) is a British cartoonist who works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy''.
Biography
Parkinson is the official artist for Dennis the Menace (UK), Dennis the Menac ...
. This was explained in a March 2007 Beano. Ball Boy's Mum accidentally washed the kits with a blue garment, and it dyed the red stripes dark blue. But the team, who'd complained they needed new kits, were happy, so BB didn't admit what had happened. This strip was drawn by regular artist Dave Eastbury. In 2008, Ball Boy's teammates went off on holiday, leaving him needing a new team for a Beanotown Summer League Championship. This team included – Ball Boy, Ronald Osbourne (who has a wealthy mother), Chandra Singh (who is the team's most skilled player), Lily, an unnamed goalkeeper and a kid who has hair hidden over his face. They also now have a proper name – 'Beanotown Juniors'. Ball Boy himself did not score any goals until the final match in this story arc.
From May to August 2009, a number of early 1990s John Dallas strips were reprinted. In September 2009, Dave Eastbury returned as artist.
In July 2013, Ball Boy was taken over by Alexander Matthews who revamped the strip with a new look and a new emphasis on parodying specific incidents in modern football, such as the ownership of Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
clubs by foreign investors. Between May 2017 and September 2017 Vince Pavey wrote the strip. Danny Pearson took over writing duties in August 2017.
Characters
*Ball Boy – the captain of the team. He plays striker for the team.
*Titch – A small boy who usually plays in defence. He was given his own short strip in The Beano Annual 2002.
*Dimmy – A defender, who is quite dim, hence his name.
*Benjy – A good player on the team, Benjy is Ball Boy's best friend.
*Goalie – the goalkeeper. In some strips he is a superb goalkeeper and in others he is comically awful, letting in everything. There are a few strips where he just sits in the corner of the goal, reading, because the rest of the team can't get a shot on target.
*Chandra Singh – A midfielder and Ball Boy's other best friend.
*Redcardo - Ball Boy's arch rival when Alexander Matthews drew the strip
*Sheikh Amassif Bin Bagh - A sheikh
Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
who buys Ball Boy's football team during Alexander Matthews' tenure as Ball Boy artist.
Other Appearances
* Alongside regular appearances in The Beano
''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it published its 4000th issue in August 2019. Popular and ...
, Ball Boy and his team have also been featured frequently in The Beano Annual, BeanoMax
''EPIC Magazine'' (Previously known as ''Dennis the Menace and Gnasher's EPIC Magazine'' (2014–2016), ''100% Official Dennis the Menace and Gnasher Megazine'' (2013–2014) and ''BeanoMAX'' (2007–2013)) was a monthly British comic magazine ...
and The Beano Comic Library.
* Robert Harrop featured Ball Boy in their Beano & Dandy figure
Figure may refer to:
General
*A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration
*Figure (wood), wood appearance
*Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif
* Noise figure, in telecommunication
* Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...
collection.
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2015
Beano strips
British comics
British comics characters
1975 comics debuts
Child characters in comics
Comics about children
Gag-a-day comics
Comics characters introduced in 1975
Fictional association football players
Association football comics
Comics set in the United Kingdom