By the 1980s, Britain was changing.
Attitudes towards children, education and physical punishment were shifting, and the comics changed with them.
One contributor recalled that by around 1987 such punishment scenes would no longer have seemed an accurate reflection of the school world familiar to many young readers.
That is an important observation because comics survive by remaining recognisable.
The cane-wielding headmaster gradually stopped being an ordinary contemporary figure and became an historical stereotype.
The slippering father followed a similar path.
Characters such as Dennis the Menace could remain naughty. Teachers could still become furious. Parents could still despair.
But the punchline changed.
