Beano favourites Dennis the Menace and Gnasher dancing
Next Tuesday sees the start of the latest BBC4 season, Comics Britannia. It's another thoroughly engaging piece of cultural history from the channel. Where others are content to spoonfeed the C-list hilarious clips for their scattershot pop histories, BBC4 is able to line up a genuinely decent who's who. Artists and writers from the early days of the Beano and the Dandy are represented alongside the current wave of graphic novelists.
The season feataures everyone from Leo Baxendale (who dreamt up Minnie the Minx), to the Guardian's own Steve Bell Gerald "The Wall" Scarfe, Bryan Talbot and the legendary Alan Moore, alongside informed commentators like comics historian Paul Gravett, Aardman lynchpin Nick Park and children's author Jacqueline Wilson (plus a background cast that includes Lord Snooty, Johnny Fartpants, Judge Dredd, the League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc).
It's complemented by an engrossing Jonathan Ross documentary, where he heads out In Search Of Steve Ditko (the reclusive Ayn Rand fan and co-creator of Spider-Man), as well as a Tintin documentary, the first series of Batman, Modesty Blaise and more clips and info online.
Comics Britannia continues a broader strand that BBC4's established over the last few years, with Jazz Britannia, Soul Britannia, Science Fiction Britannia, Classic Britannia, Folk Britannia and even Rude Britannia all exploring different aspects of our recent past - which brings up two points:
Firstly, isn't this the sort of joined-up, informed and informative programming we want from an arts-based channel - exactly why it's the least deserving target for the recent round of "axe BBC4 before us" bashing?
Secondly, what else would you like them to cover? BBC2's Seven Ages Of Rock and the Summer Of British Film mean that Rock and Film Britannia won't be arriving any time soon -is there anything left? Sports Britannia? Comedy Britannia? Theatre Britannia?
