Mike Pearse - "It's A Funny Old Game"

In the past I have shared and gushed over Mike Pearse's contributions to the Beano in previous blog posts. But just in time for this year's World Cup, here's his first-ever "extra long" story that truly established his creativity and fresh approach to these old friends of ours. ie; telling a superb storyline in the look and style of European Comics like Asterix.

Although it wasn't given an official story title as such, this was republished, recoloured and edited in the 2009 Bash Street Kids Annual (alias "Space Cadets") under the name "It's a Funny Old Game". However, I thought it was time to show off the original in all its glory. For die-hard Beano fans, try to name all the characters featured in the crowd scenes whilst you're reading!

PS: I apologie for the quality of the double-spread pages. They were hardest to scan and edit...