View source for The Three Bears (comic strip)

{{Short description|Comic strip from The Beano}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2021}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Three Bears'' (comic strip)}}
{{Beano team or group|
image=The_Three_Bears_from_The_Beano.jpg|img_size=290px
|name=''The Three Bears''|stars=''The Three Bears''
|start_issue=881|start_date=6 June 1959
|finish_issue=3566 |finish_date= 1 January 2011
|type=Family |members=Ma Bear, Pa Bear, Teddy/Ted |others=Hank
|format=Discontinued |first=881 |last=884, 852 – 2253, 2391 – 2786, 3365 – ??, 3541 – 3566
|creator={{ubl|[[Leo Baxendale]]|Alan Ryan|Bob McGrath|Tom Lavery|Bob Dewar|David Parkins|[[Robert Nixon (artist)|Robert Nixon]]}}
|franchise={{ubl|''[[The Beano Annual]]'' 2001–2009, 2012, 2015}}
|refs=<ref name="BA2001">{{cite book|others=Illustrated by Mike Pearse |editor1-last=Kerr |editor1-first=Euan |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2001 |date=2000 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="BA2002">{{cite book|others=Illustrated by Mike Pearse |editor1-last=Kerr |editor1-first=Euan |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2002 |date=2001 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="BA2003">{{cite book|others=Illustrated by Mike Pearse |editor1-last=Kerr |editor1-first=Euan |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2003 |date=2002 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="BA2004">{{cite book |editor1-last=Kerr |editor1-first=Euan |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2004 |date=2003 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="BA2005">{{cite book |editor1-first=Alan|editor1-last=Digby|title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2005 |date=2004 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|isbn=9780851168487}}</ref><ref name="BA2006">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2006 |date=2005 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="BA2007">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2007 |date=6 September 2006 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|editor1-first=Alan|editor1-last=Digby|isbn=978-1845351526}}</ref><ref name="BA2008">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2007 |date=2007 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|editor1-first=Alan|editor1-last=Digby}}</ref><ref name="BA2009">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2009 |date=2008 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|editor1-first=Alan|editor1-last=Digby|isbn=978-1845353490}}</ref><ref name="BA2012">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work= The Beano Annual 2012 |date=2011 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. |isbn=978-1845354534}}</ref><ref name="BA2015">{{cite book |title=The Three Bears |work=The Beano Annual 2015 |publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. |date=2014}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Three Bears''''' was a long-running British [[comic strip]] which appeared in the British comics magazine ''[[The Beano]]''.<ref name="lambiek.net">{{cite web| url = https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/baxendale_leo.htm| title = Leo Baxendale - Lambiek Comiclopedia}}</ref> It first featured in 1959's issue 881 and ran sporadically until 2011 through reprints and several artists.

==Synopsis==
Ma and Pa Bear and their young son Teddy (later called Ted) were three [[anthropomorphic]] [[bear]]s who lived in a setting loosely based on the [[American frontier|American Wild West]].  They were lazy and gluttonous, and lived in a cave upon a hill. Most storylines revolved around their attempts to steal "grub" from the local storekeeper Hank (who often shoots at the Three Bears with his [[blunderbuss]] for trying to rob him). There was the occasional appearance by the local sheriff, and their rival bear Grizzly Gus (who had a son called Gus's Grizzly).<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

==Publication history==
It made its first appearance in issue 881,<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=1959-06-06|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=881|others=Illustrated by Leo Baxendale}}</ref> drawn by [[Leo Baxendale]] at first and then by [[Bob McGrath (artist)|Bob McGrath]] for most of its run.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

Originally disappearing from the comic after issue 2253,<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=21 September 1985|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=2253|editor-last=Kerr|editor-first=Euan}}</ref> by which time McGrath had departed and briefly been replaced by [[Tom Lavery]], the strip has returned to ''The Beano'' several times since then, between 1988 and 1995, re-appearing from issues 2391 and 2674.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=14 May 1988|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=2391|editor-last=Kerr|editor-first=Euan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=16 October 1993|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=2674|editor-last=Kerr|editor-first=Euan}}</ref> The first re-launch was drawn by [[Bob Dewar]], and the second originally by [[David Parkins]], who drew it for much of the mid-1990s, then [[Robert Nixon (artist)|Robert Nixon]] later on. Parkins' version is cited by former ''Beano'' editor Euan Kerr as one of his favourite strips.

===1999–2007 strips===
The strip appeared again in 2000, when, after being a 'Guest Star' since the previous year, it was voted into the comic by ''Beano'' readers, beating [[Tricky Dicky (comics)|Tricky Dicky]], [[Inspector Horse and Jocky]] and [[Gordon Bennett (character)|Gordon Bennett]]. This time it was drawn by [[Mike Pearse]], but in 2002 [[Chris McGhie (comic artist)|Chris McGhie]] replaced him to relieve Pearse's workload, although the strip was drawn in a largely similar style.

After a vote in 2006, the Three Bears re-appeared as reprints of the 1990s David Parkins strips. He had also drawn [[Fred's Bed]], [[Dennis the Menace (UK)|Dennis the Menace and Gnasher]], and [[Billy Whizz]], all of which have been reprinted in some form. In the 2007 Christmas special (reprinted from the 2000 Christmas ''Beano''), The Three Bears had a present delivered by Billy Whizz, before they return to Beanotown at the end of the strip.

They appeared in the Beano Annual 2007 again drawn by Parkins, and in the Beano Annual 2008 in which Ted shaves off animals' hair including Pa's. This was drawn by [[Ken H. Harrison|Ken Harrison]]. They made another appearance in ''The Beano''{{'}}s 2008 Summer Special, again drawn by Chris McGhie. In the 2009 annual they were drawn by Hunt Emerson, appearing alongside another Western-themed ''Beano'' star, [[Little Plum]].

Their final new story in the weekly comic came in issue 3365 of ''The Beano'', drawn by [[Tom Paterson]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=27 January 2007|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=|editor-last=Digby|editor-first=Alan}}</ref> This was a new strip, not a reprint. The characters later reappeared three years later in issue 3541.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=2010-07-03|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=3541|editor-last=|editor-first=}}</ref>

===Recent appearances===
In annuals, they have been drawn by Mike Pearse (2001, 2002, 2003), Chris McGhie (2004), Ken Harrison (2005, 2006, 2008), David Parkins (2007), Hunt Emerson (2009) and David Sutherland (2012).

The Three Bears are often seen in the ''[[BeanoMAX]]'' and ''Beano'' annuals, although they hardly ever make appearances in the comic itself. They continued weekly in the comic, as reprints of the Mike Pearse strips until early 2011 when the strip stopped appearing.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The Three Bears|date=2011-01-01|magazine=The Beano|publisher=D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.|issue=3566|others=Illustrated by Mike Pearse|editor-last=|editor-first=}}</ref> In the 2012 Beano Annual, their strip was drawn by David Sutherland.

The Three Bears are featured in the 2015 Beano Annual.<ref name="BA2015"/>


The Three Bears made a cameo appearance in the 2022 Beano annual, in two panels of a Betty and hse Yeti.

==Parodies of the strip==
The strip was the subject of two parodies by the adult comic ''[[Viz (comic)|Viz]]''.
*The first was a surreal parody entitled 'The Three Chairs', about a family of three chairs who lived in a cave and frequently robbed Frank's Store for food.
*The second was called 'Three Blairs' in which Pa represented the then British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], Ma represented Cherie Blair (Tony Blair's wife), Ted represented Leo Blair (Tony Blair's youngest son), and Hank represented the then British Chancellor [[Gordon Brown]]. In this story the Three Blairs plan to rob "Hank's" store so that "Pa" won't faint in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] due to hunger. To distract "Hank" while "Ma" and "Ted" rob the store "Pa" stages a press conference outside "Hank's" store and states that all the conditions have been met for Britain to start using the [[Euro]]. "Hank" promptly states this is untrue and chases after "Pa" while shooting at him. Though this plan works "Ma" and "Ted" have eaten all the food by the time "Pa" has returned home. In the last panel the newspaper reads that the Prime Minister has fainted in the House of Commons. Coincidentally this strip was drawn by [[Brian Walker (artist)|Brian Walker]], a former ''Beano'' artist, albeit never on The Three Bears.
*'The Three Shakespeares' also appeared in ''Viz'' in February/March 1999. The Shakespeares were engaged in attempting to steal sonnets from Christopher Marlowe, who in one scene had left them out on the windowsill "to cool". Eventually they were given a slap-up meal by Francis Bacon: "Slobber. Our favourite – dramatic monologues composed in iambic decasyllabic blank verse. And mash."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tonyvalderama.com/acatalog/Viz_Issues_76___100.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=31 October 2012 |archive-date=11 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011012616/http://tonyvalderama.com/acatalog/Viz_Issues_76___100.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[Bryan Talbot]]'s graphic novel series ''[[Grandville (comics)|Grandville]]'' - set in a world of anthropomorphised animals - features a cameo by the bears as a musical hall act called Les Baxendales.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Portal|Children's literature}}

{{D. C. Thomson Comics}}
{{Beano}}
{{Goldilocks and the Three Bears}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Bears (Comic)}}
[[Category:Beano strips]]
[[Category:Fictional hillbillies]]
[[Category:Fictional families]]
[[Category:Fictional bears]]
[[Category:Western (genre) comics characters]]
[[Category:Humor comics]]
[[Category:Gag-a-day comics]]
[[Category:Comics spin-offs]]
[[Category:Comics about married people]]
[[Category:Comics about anthropomorphic bears]]
[[Category:Comics about talking animals]]
[[Category:British comics characters]]
[[Category:1959 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1959]]
[[Category:2011 comics endings]]
[[Category:Comics set in Texas]]
[[Category:Works based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears]]