Pandas starring in the Beano!

PREPARE TO BE BAMBOO-ZLED!

It’s Panda-monium as The Beano & Edinburgh Zoo join forces

Britain’s best-loved weekly comic, The Beano, brings its unique brand of mischief to Edinburgh Zoo this week when the Zoo’s giant pandas, Tian Tian (Sweetie) and Yang Guang (Sunshine), are given the ultimate honour of their short stay in Scotland so far… Being immortalised alongside Dennis the Menace and Gnasher in The Beano!

In this week’s edition of the comic, available on news-stands from Wednesday 27th June, Dennis and Gnasher get to grips with Edinburgh Zoo’s premier attraction. Mike Stirling, Editor-in-chief of The Beano and BeanoMax said, “Dennis & Gnasher’s wild behaviour brought complete panda-monium to Edinburgh Zoo when they gate-crashed to invite Tian Tian and Yang Guang to become our first ever panda cover stars! Our giant panda pals were happy to pose for The Beano’s artists, and actually turned out to be giant pranksters, sharing a few wild menacing tricks of their own!”

“Dennis uses these to bamboo-zle sworn enemy, Walter in the special comic strip celebrating the visit. I’m sure the keepers at Edinburgh Zoo were relieved when Dennis and Gnasher left to head back to Beanotown, although they were probably still scrubbing the tomato splats off the pandas’ enclosure for a few days to come. It also was probably the first time ever that the tiger enclosure had resounded to the echo of whoopee cushions instead of roars!”

Tian Tian and Yang Guang join other famous faces recently featured in comic form such as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, President Barack Obama, England captain Steven Gerrard and, in our recent Diamond Jubilee special, none other than The Queen herself.

In the June 30th issue of Britain’s wildest comic, Beano readers can win the chance to meet the pandas themselves in a unique VIP experience, plus there’s a discounted Zoo Membership offer for menaces everywhere! Dennis himself stopped off at Edinburgh Zoo to celebrate this great competition and offer – and to visit his new panda pals of course! To celebrate this unique tie-up, all children visiting Edinburgh Zoo over the next few weeks will get their very own copy of this special Panda-edition Beano absolutely free!

Sharon Simpson, Head of Marketing for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: “Edinburgh Zoo was delighted to be approached by The Beano to create a special panda edition. Being immortalised in this iconic way is testament to the the popularity and ‘celebrity’ of our giant panda pair – Tian Tian and Yang Guang. Since their arrival they have fast become central to Scottish culture and the latest honour bestowed upon them and the RZSS is a real privilege. We hope Panda and The Beano fans everywhere enjoy this special issue.”