Fact File
- Started:
- 1940
- Finished:
- 1943
Political satire had often been shown in newspaper cartoons
featuring caricatures of politicians and world leaders. During
wartime, The Beano took many swipes at the Nazis, with Hitler and
his cronies being bested by the likes of Lord Snooty and Pansy
Potter. A more direct attack on Germany's Italian allies came with
'Musso The Wop - He's a Big-a-da-Flop', a lampoon of Benito
Mussolini, the Italian leader. 'Musso' was shown as vain, stupid
and greedy, with these traits leading to his inevitable
downfall.
By showing the enemy high command in this way, the message to
British children was that we had nothing to fear from such a bunch
of bunglers, and this sort of propaganda provided a much needed
morale boost for the nation's children.
Sam Fair, the artist behind Musso and his numerous flops
certainly aimed plenty of potshots at the enemy during wartime, as
he was also drawing the misadventures of Hitler and Goering in
'Addie & Hermy, the Nasty Nazis' in 'The Dandy' at the same
time.
