I don’t know if Rupert Bear is an internationally known cartoon character but he has appeared in the Daily Express in the UK since the 1920s and “the Rupert Annual” has been published every Christmas since 1936. I have been a devotee for as long as I can remember and my “Bendy Rupert” has been my constant companion and frequent confidante since I was nine years old, indeed he still lives on top of my wardrobe from where he can watch over me when I am asleep.
Rupert accompanied me virtually everywhere throughout my childhood and for quite a long time into my adolescence and I can’t remember anyone making fun of me for having a teddy bear well beyond the age when it would be considered usual (if anybody had they would be quite likely to wake up with a crowd round them).