The official home of cool t-shirts, retro gifts & more....

Posts  >  Tag: Dandy

February 16th 2015

Peel the Power! Bananaman First Released 35 Years Ago Today!

As mad as it is to think, Britain's fruitiest superhero first hit the comic strips today back in 1980!

First appearing in the very first issue of Nutty (then later the Dandy), Eric Wimp AKA Bananaman is an ordinary schoolboy living at 29 Acacia Road, Nuttytown (originally) who when he feels the need or there is hero work to be done eats a Banana which transforms him into one of the most loved retro superheroes ever!

Eric had a crush on Fiona, the newsreader, and as Bananaman he had to fight against the evil plots of General Blight, the Heavy Mob, Dr Gloom, and some aliens called Nerks lead by King Zorg. Busy boy!

Later hitting the screens in 1983, we were introduced to his classic theme tune and intro and a new look Eric making him looks slightly less punky and more nerdy. Perfect Superhero material :)

"This is 29, Acacia Road. And this is Eric, the schoolboy who leads an exciting double life. For when Eric eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs. Eric is Bananaman. Ever alert for the call to action."

Running for a total of 40 episodes which were just 5 minutes long, Bananaman certainly isn't the longest living superhero there has ever been but his quirky get up and silly nature really won our hearts and also made us think that Bananas were just about as powerful and things got!

Continue Reading