David Sutherland (comics)

David Sutherland OBE (4 March 1933 – 19 January 2023) was a Scottish illustrator and comics artist with DC Thomson, responsible for The Bash Street Kids (1962–2023),[2] Dennis the Menace (1970–1998), Fred's Bed (2008–2012) for The Beano, and the second version of Jak for The Dandy in the early 2000s.

David Sutherland

OBE
Self-portrait with Biffo the Bear
Born(1933-03-04)4 March 1933[1]
Invergordon, Scotland
Died19 January 2023(2023-01-19) (aged 89)
NationalityScottish
Known forIllustrator, The Beano
Notable workThe Bash Street Kids, Dennis the Menace, Fred's Bed
MovementBritish comics

Sutherland started out as an adventure strip artist, drawing strips such as The Beano's The Great Flood of London in 1960–61 (reprinted in Classics from the Comics in 2007) and Billy the Cat (see[3]), before replacing Leo Baxendale as the artist for The Bash Street Kids, who were given the two pages in the centre of the comic at the same time. He was the strip's main artist since then, during which time he had drawn more than 2000 individual strips for the weekly comic. He also replaced Dudley D. Watkins on Biffo the Bear after his death in 1969, and continued to draw the character through the 1970s, after his strip relinquished that cover of the comic to Dennis in 1974.

In 1977, Gnasher was given his own strip in the Beano, Gnasher's Tale, which like the main Dennis strip was drawn by Sutherland. Similarly, when Dennis's pet pig, Rasher, received his own page in 1984, Sutherland was again the strip's artist, as he was when Gnasher's Tale was replaced by Gnasher and Gnipper in 1986. Sutherland began to draw The Germs for the comic in 1988, although in the early 1990s he was replaced by Vic Neill. He also stopped drawing Gnasher and Gnipper in 1992, with artistic duties being handed to Barry Glennard.

In 1998, Sutherland stopped drawing Dennis the Menace after 28 years, handing over to David Parkins, although he continued to draw the Bash Street Kids. Over the next few years, he drew Korky the Cat for the Dandy, as well as the second incarnation of Jak.

In 2009 it was confirmed that he was the new artist for the Beano's Fred's Bed strip. Initially taking over for a three-month period as replacement for Hunt Emerson, he later shared the workload with Tom Paterson before taking over as the strip's main artist during 2011.

Sutherland sometimes drew himself into strips, such as Biffo in the 2010 annual.

To mark Sutherland's 50 years as illustrator of the Bash Street Kids, an exhibition of original artwork from D C Thomson's collections was held at the University of Dundee from June to August 2012, with the artist appearing for a Q&A event on 13 June.[4]

Sutherland was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to illustration.[5]

Sutherland died on 19 January 2023, at the age of 89.[6][7]

Comic strips
The Bash Street Kids

The strips that Sutherland drew for DC Thomson over the years include:

Comic StripDatesComic drawn forType of stripNotes
The Bash Street Kids1962–2023The BeanoComic stripSutherland has drawn over 3,000 sets for this strip,[8] a record for a Beano artist on a single strip.
Biffo the Bear1969–1971The BeanoComic strip
Billy the Cat and Katie1967–1974The BeanoAdventure strip
Danny on a Dolphin1960 & 1962The BeanoAdventure stripSutherland's first strip for The Beano.
Dennis the Menace1970–1998The Beano, BeanoMAXComic stripTook over from David Law from issue 1464, dated 8 August 1970.
General Jumbo1962–1963The BeanoAdventure stripSutherland drew the third, fourth and fifth series of this adventure strip.
The Germs1988–1992The BeanoComic stripLater taken over by Vic Neill, and reprinted under the name 'Totally Gross Germs' between October 2011 and August 2012.
The Great Flood of London1960–1961The BeanoAdventure strip
Korky the Cat1999–2000The DandyComic strip
Lester's Little Circus1962–1963The BeanoAdventure strip
Rasher1984–1995The BeanoComic StripRan regularly between 1984 and 1988, then appeared sporadically. These strips were later reprinted in 2009.
Fred's Bed2008–2012The BeanoComic StripSutherland drew the strip in David Parkins' style for The Beano's 70th birthday issue in 2008, and in late 2009 became one of the strip's main artists, this time basing Fred's design on Hunt Emerson's version.

References
  1. "David Sutherland, artist behind the Beano's Bash Street Kids for more than 60 years – obituary". The Telegraph. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  2. "Dundee artist STILL draws The Beano's Bash Street Kids having started in 1962" – via www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk.
  3. "The Beano & Dandy History". Scarcecomics.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  4. "David Sutherland : Museum : University of Dundee". Dundee.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N15.
  6. "Thanks for all the Lols, David! | Posts | Beano.com". www.beano.com. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  7. "Beano's Bash Street Kids artist David Sutherland dies". BBC News. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  8. "Veteran comic artist celebrated after drawing Beano's Bash Street Kids for six decades". Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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