Their names ring out like a childhood roll call of fame: Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Rodger the Dodger, Beryl the Peril or the infamous Bash Street Kids.

For 80 incredible years the Beano has been entertaining children with its colourful and delightfully rebellious characters.

Reading about their exploits made you part of a gang in what is now officially Britain's longest-running children's comic.

Celebrating its 80th birthday on July 30, the Beano has been run by Dundee-based publishing house DC Thomson since 1938, and is one of the few surviving relics of Britain's post-war comic boom.

It sold almost two million copies weekly in the 1950s and has continued to be popular over the decades.

Celebrities such as John Cleese and Mark Millar have paid tribute to the beloved comic as it marks its birthday, and the team behind it have hinted at even more great exploits to come.

In an interview with the Independent to mark the anniversary, Beano editorial director Mike Stirling hinted at big plans for the future, including a return for the Dennis and Gnasher Fan Club, a forthcoming live-action Minnie the Minx series aimed at young teens, and further plans to bring characters like Bananaman to the screen.

Actor and children's author David Walliams has also guest edited a commemorative issue marking the famous comic's 80th anniversary.

His features in the comic pay a hearty nod to other wonderful characters such as Lord Snooty, Tin-Can Tommy and Pansy Potter.

In his editor's letter, Walliams said: "What I always loved about the Beano was that it felt naughty. It was a comic that you should read under the duvet with a torchlight. I don't think I'd have got into writing my books without Beano.

"When coming up with characters for my TV shows and books, I'd imagine them all as larger than life characters, much like the ones in Beano.

"The comic is quintessentially British and as long as there are children who like to laugh there will always be a place for the Beano."

Take a look at some of the other famous famous to have appeared in the comic over the years.