Hairy Dan
Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:DC Thomson comic strip Hairy Dan was a British comic strip character by Basil Blackaller originally published in the magazine The Beano Comic in the comic strip of the same name. It first appeared in issue 1 on 30 July 1938 and ran until issue 297.<ref name=issue1>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Story summary
Hairy Dan is an old man with a floor-length beard. His stories were about how this beard would save the day. Notable examples include issue 1 when Dan used his beard as a sail to win a boat race,<ref name="issue1"/> and the first Beano Book when he pretended it was a horse's tail for a "horse tail contest".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
To celebrate The BeanoTemplate:'s 65th anniversary, Dan cameoed in a Ball Boy strip.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Subsequent appearances
The character later appeared for a short time in Sparky in 1965. From 1972 until 1981, Hairy Dan - Football Fan appeared in The Beezer, where it was drawn by Bill Ritchie,<ref name="The Book of the Beezer">Template:Cite book</ref> and written by Bill McLoughlin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This strip differed from the original in that the character was unbearded and focused on football related humour. The Hairy in the title referring to the character's long scruffy hair.
Similar Strips
A similar strip appeared in the first Dandy Monster Comic entitled Old Beaver's Brainwaves and also featured a man with a large white beard and using it to save the day.<ref name=DMC1>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Dandy also featured a character called Whiskery Dick who was similar to Hairy Dan except where Dan had a long beard, Whiskery Dick had a large moustache.