Rupert Bear Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a children's comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the "Daily Express" newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival "Daily Mail" and "Daily Mirror". In 1935, the mantle of Rupert artist and storyteller was taken over by Alfred Bestall, who was previously an illustrator for "Punch" and other glossy magazines. Bestall proved to be successful in the field of children's literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork into his 90s. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued
Rupert Bear Bear character from the "Daily Express". There are plans for a film, books, Limited Edition Prints and DVDs that will see Rupert joined by new friends in addition to established characters. Every year since 1936, a Rupert Bear annual has been released, even during the years of World War II, during a paper shortage. All of these books were written and illustrated by Mary Tourtel and originally published from 1928–1936, by Sampson Low. There were 46 books in the original series. Some of the titles were later published for the Woolworth's retail chain, with only 18 of the original titles.