Smudge (comics)

Smudge was a comic strip appearing in the British comic The Beano, drawn by John Geering. The title character described himself as 'the scruffiest boy in town and proud of it', relishing any opportunity to get filthy. His main rival was the snooty Percival Primm. Other characters in the strip included Smudge's Mum and over the years he had two different pets firstly a mouse and an animal of a never revealed although bipedal species (this is something of a running joke in Smudge strips ^[1]) completely covered in mud and called Spludge. Smudge made his first appearance in the Beano on 19 April 1980. He appeared regularly from 1980 to 1986, while continuing to make sporadic appearances into the 1990s, with his final appearance in the comic coming in 1999. However, he was only seen twice after 1994.

There was also another character, a girl, of the same name in the 1940s Dandy. The two characters appeared alongside each other for comparison in the Side By Side 60 Years book.

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