Lord Snooty
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Lord Snooty (or Lord Snooty and his Pals) was a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1, dated 30 July 1938, and was the longest running strip in the comic until Dennis the Menace and Gnasher overtook it. The central character was Lord Marmaduke of Bunkerton, known to his friends as Snooty, a very ordinary boy who just happens to be an Earl.
The strip was drawn by Dudley D. Watkins until 1968. Robert Nixon then drew it for the next few years, before being succeeded by Jimmy Glen in the early 1970s. Ken H. Harrison took over in 1988, and continued to draw it until the strip disappeared from The Beano in 1990.
Over the years, the strip featured the following characters:
- Snooty
- Aunt Matilda - Snooty's guardian, nicknamed Aunt Mat.
- Samuel - the castle guard.
- Snooty's friends (who appeared to live with him in Bunkerton Castle):
- Joe - very fat and greedy. (a.k.a. Big Fat Joe)
- Scrapper - loves to fight.
- Liz - a very tall girl. (a.k.a. Swanky Lanky Liz)
- Thomas - an indecisive boy, whose hair was shaped like a question mark (cf. Doubting Thomas)
- Rosie - short blonde girl.
- Polly - a black girl.
- Snitch and Snatch - identical twins.
- Other characters:
- Angus, Snooty's pet stag.
- Cyril, The Castle Jackdaw.
- The Gasworks Gang, sworn enemies of Snooty and his pals.
He and his friends have featured in the comic every now and again since the strip was retired, usually in minor cameos. Major appearances include issue 3093 (dated 27 October 2001) where a one off strip called 'Lord Snooty's Day Out' appeared (drawn again by Ken H. Harrison), and in issue 3185 (dated 2 August 2003) where as part of the 65th anniversary issue he made a guest appearance alongside The Bash Street Kids. Big Fat Joe also guest appeared in that issue, alongside Billy Whizz.
On 9 September 1998, a book entitled The Legend of Lord Snooty and his Pals (ISBN 0851166911) was released. This contained a history and reprints from the first 30 years of the strip's life.