Annuals for 2017

The cover images of some of the year 2017 annuals have been released, showing on Amazon for anyone wishing to pre-order the books. There will be more titles than this of course (The Beano Annual is missing for a start) but I thought you might like to see what's been shown so far.

The books should be out around August.

Snap up those annuals!

With Christmas fast approaching it's time to grab your copies of this year's annuals while you can! My local WH Smith sold out of The Dandy Annual 2016 weeks ago and sadly shows no sign of restocking.

I know some of you wait until December to buy the annuals (or even wait until the January sales) but the books have been out since July so it's better to buy early to ensure your copies. 

Sainsbury are currently selling The Beano Annual 2016 for £3.49, which is an absolute bargain. They've sold out of The Dandy Annual in my local branch though. Fortunately I bought my copies back in July, and reviewed them here if you want a preview of the contents:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/theyre-here-dandy-and-beano-annuals-2016.html

I'm currently drawing pages for the Dandy Annual that will be out next year, which inspired me to post this plug for the current books. Never Be Without A Beano (or Dandy) Annual! 

An Annual treat

The 2016 dated annuals were published in July, and available from Amazon then, but it looks like High Street shops have finally decided to put them on the shelves now. WH Smith is currently doing a deal whereby if you buy one annual at full price you can have another for a pound. That works out at about the discount you'd get if you bought two annuals from online sellers. 

I know many people are tempted to wait until after Christmas, hoping to get them all for a quid each but if we all did that annuals would quickly die out as it simply wouldn't be worth the bother for publishers and retailers to do them for such little return. Thankfully there do seem to be enough people who support the UK comics industry who are happy to pay a little more and get the books early. 

I've illustrated this piece with a couple of panels from my strips in The Dandy Annual 2016. I'm starting work on pages for the 2017 dated Dandy Annual now, but I won't be previewing those for a good while yet. 

If you have difficulty obtaining the annuals you could always get them directly from D.C. Thomson at their online shop:
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/our-brands.html

They're here! Dandy and Beano Annuals 2016

The 2016 cover-dated annuals are starting to appear now and The Dandy Annual 2016 and The Beano Annual 2016 were published just over a week ago. Let's take a brief look inside them.

I always find there's mixed emotions these days when The Dandy Annual appears; joy that there's 112 pages of all-new Dandy material, but sadness that it's a reminder that the weekly is no longer around. However, let's focus on the positive, and once again the book delivers a nice package of classic Dandy characters by contemporary creators.

Fans of Ken Harrison will be pleased to know that there's plenty of pages by him in here as he illustrates several Desperate Dan stories and a couple of puzzle pages.

I was pleased to see Desperate Dawg in the book too; the 1970s canine version of Dan. Originally by George Martin, the new version is drawn by Alexander Matthews.

Much-missed 1960s Ken Reid characters Big Head and Thick Head are back in a couple of new strips drawn by Mike Donaldson.

Jack Silver returns too, drawn by Wilbur Dawburn...

...while Nigel Auchterlounie once again draws Corporal Clott...

...and I tackle The Smasher and Keyhole Kate...

Other strips in this packed annual include Greedy Pigg by Nigel Parkinson, The Jocks and the Geordies by Paul Palmer, Brassneck by Steve Beckett, and the return of George vs Dragon by Andy Fanton, plus much more.


Like its sister publication, The Beano Annual 2016 kicks off with a cover by Nigel Parkinson. Nigel also draws several pages inside featuring top favourites Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx. 

It was good to see an adventure strip in the book, in the form of classic hero General Jumbo. I don't know who's illustrated it but the artwork is excellent.

Great to see work by Hunt Emerson in the annual, drawing Little Plum...

...and Laura Howell doing fine work on Les Pretend...

The annual features all the usual favourites such as Roger the Dodger, Biffo the Bear, Ball Boy, The Numskulls, the Bash Street Kids, Billy Whizz, Pup Parade, and of course Bananaman...

There's also three pages of Lord Snooty by me...

The Dandy Annual 2016 and The Beano Annual 2016 are out now at a R.R.P. of £7.99 each, but you're bound to find them discounted, or cheaper online. These are the only traditional British comic annuals left now so don't wait until they're remaindered after Christmas. Give them your support now, to help them continue for years to come.  

2016 Annual cover previews

D.C. Thomson have now released the cover images for The Dandy Annual and The Beano Annual dated 2016, which will be published soon. Both covers are drawn by Nigel Parkinson. 

You can pre-order the books at the D.C. Thomson website here:
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/our-brands/beano-shop/books/pre-order-double-trouble-pack.html

Thanks to Beano fan 'Beanomaster1' for the heads up on Comics UK.  

Christmas 1964: The Dandy Book

Cover by Charles Grigg.

I said in my previous post that this blog would be staying in 1964 for the duration of Christmas and the reason is to have a look back at The Dandy Book that I had on Christmas Day 1964.

This is the earliest Christmas I can remember, and I have very clear, fond memories of receiving this, my very first annual. I was five years old and in my pillowcase was this marvelous book along with other presents such as a Supercar toy (see here) and a Chad Valley See-A-Show (see here). I'd been a regular reader of The Dandy weekly throughout 1964 but to my young eyes this was something really special; a thick hardback book full of my favourite strips. I was immediately hooked!

I couldn't wait to get stuck into the book, and I read the first story in bed before I got up. A one-off adventure strip called Diamond Dick. (No giggling at the back there.) Artwork by Paddy Brennan.

This story of diamond thieves in South Africa fascinated me and I still remember the excitement of reading these two pages with the hero hiding in the crook's car...

Then, a few pages on, suddenly a fantastic double-page spread. What an impact! I'd never seen this technique used in comics before and the great thing was that this book used the two-page spread in several stories as we'll see. 

The book contained all the Dandy regulars plus a few new faces. For years I thought The Beetles was by Leo Baxendale, but it's actually an excellent imitation of Leo's style by Ron Spencer. (George Martin's Sunny Boy on the facing page.)

Another feature that had an impact on me was The Nine Faces of Korky by Charlie Grigg. This 'Nine Faces' idea was used for several characters in this annual and was a uniquely entertaining way to tell a story and to show good cartoon expressions. 

Here's another; The Nine Faces of Desperate Dan, by Dudley Watkins...

The brilliant Ken Reid had several Big Head and Thick Head pages in this annual. Here's one of them, with the pair receiving a battering as usual. Ken was a master of comic violence in strips. And yes, the green spot colour really is that bright in the actual book!

As I said, the double-page spread cropped up in several stories and used very effectively. Here, halfway through a Winker Watson story by Eric Roberts...

Another spread in a Rocket Jock story by Charlie Grigg...

...and at the start of Joe White and the Seven Dwarfs by Bill Holroyd. I remember laughing out loud at this 50 years ago! Holroyd was a fantastic artist (and I understand he was Ken Reid's brother-in-law).

One of the many things I liked about The Dandy back then was that it featured adventure stories as well as humour. One of the most dramatic was The Crimson Ball, a giant indestructible metal ball controlled by a foreign spy (who lived inside it) intent on destroying British aircraft! Art by Jack Glass.

My favourite Dandy adventure strip was The Red Wrecker, - powerful fast growing weeds springing up and destroying anything in their way. In The Dandy Book it was destruction on a grand scale, and Charlie Grigg really outdid himself with this spread...

Time for one more 'Nine Faces' and here's The Nine Faces of Thick Head by Ken Reid...

Finally, on the back cover of the book, a full colour Desperate Dan strip by Dudley Watkins, with a punchline that still amuses me to this day.

All of the scans and photos in this post are taken from that very book I had 50 years ago today. A Christmas of happier and more optimistic times. The lad I was back then could never have imagined he'd be creating strips in The Dandy Annual 2015, and I can hardly believe it myself some days. I hope that some of today's children who are unwrapping their first Dandy Annual today will get similar enjoyment out of it as I did from the one my mum bought me half a century ago. Whether or not they'll be writing about it in 50 years time I'll never know, but I'd like to think so. 

I prepared this post a few days ago, scheduling it to go live on Christmas Day, so if you're reading it on December 25th thanks for dropping by and I hope you're having a good day! Merry Christmas!

A few more festive flashbacks of annuals from long ago, from older blog posts of mine:

Wham Annuals:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/wham-annual-cover-gallery.html

Smash Annuals:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/smash-annual-cover-gallery.html

Pow Annuals:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/pow-annual-cover-gallery.html

Marvel:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/road-to-marvel-uk-part-2.html

Daleks:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/happy-birthday-daleks.html

...and going way back, Film Fun:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/70-year-flashback-film-fun-annual-1938.html

A Dandy of a bargain!

In Sainsburys today I noticed that their selection of Christmas annuals were all discounted now and that The Dandy Annual 2015 is down to only a pound a copy! It's not part of a buy-one-get-one-cheaper deal or anything like that, just £1 for the book. Even the most cynical Dandy critic surely can't begrudge paying that for 112 pages of top class fun? 

Amongst the all-new pages by Nigel Parkinson, Paul Palmer, Wilbur Dawbarn, Ken Harrison and more you'll find 12 pages by me on The Smasher, Keyhole Kate, and Korky the Cat. In one of the stories I have Keyhole Kate go back in time to 1937 to meet the original Keyhole Kate, which I hope will appeal to readers of all ages! 

Treat yourself (or someone else) to The Dandy Annual 2015 from Sainsburys now, for just a quid! (Annuals are available in other stores too of course.) 

Annuals on their way!

The Summer Specials won't be out for a few days yet but you can already pre-order the Christmas annuals! The Dandy Annual 2015 and The Beano Annual 2015 are both available to order separately at £5.99 each from the publishers at the DC Thomson Shop, or you can save money if you order them as a double pack for only £10. According to the website they'll be delivered the first week of August.

https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/our-brands/annuals-calendars/double-trouble-book-pack.html

I only have four Rasher mini-strips in the Beano Annual, but I did quite a few pages for The Dandy Annual, - great classic characters The Smasher, Keyhole Kate, and Korky the Cat! Here's a preview of one of them...

Speaking of annuals, I'd better get on with drawing the pages for the 2016 editions! 

2015 annuals cover previews

Click to see images larger.

Over on the unofficial Beano fan forum an anonymous source has posted advance cover images of three upcoming DC Thomson annuals. The images are low resolution but even so, the covers look great! Ken Harrison's lively Dandy Annual 2015 cover shows a host of classic characters whilst Nigel Parkinson's Beano Annual 2015 cover displays his fantastic skills as an artist. (Just look at the perspective and detail in that railway station roof.) Both covers have a really nice uplifting sense of carefree joy about them.

In recent years the classic Beano/Dandy reprint gift book has perhaps focused too much on more modern times but from the looks of things the new edition will be firmly set around the 1940s. Hopefully there'll be some wonderful examples of work by Dudley Watkins, Allan Morely and more within its pages. And a Big Eggo strip on the cover? Incredible. (Although this may be subject to change by the time the book reaches the shelves of course, but I hope not.)

An Annual reminder

If you haven't already bought them there's a few annuals still in the shops that would make excellent Christmas presents. Most annuals these days are based around TV shows, toys, boy bands or suchlike, but there are still a handful that contain originated content. Both The Dandy Annual and The Beano Annual are packed with new, full colour strips featuring such favourites as Desperate Dan, Dennis the Menace, The Bash Street Kids, and suchlike, plus new stories of old characters such as Greedy Pigg, Jack Silver, Pansy Potter and more.

For this year's Beano Annual I drew a two page Biffo the Bear story, and for The Dandy Annual I drew several Smasher and Keyhole Kate pages. (I also wrote the scripts of the Smasher ones.) 

Many other artists have contributed too of course, including Nigel Parkinson, Karl Dixon, Wilbur Dawbarn, Laura Howell, Barrie Appleby and more.

Both annuals are priced at £7.99 each, but you'll easily find them discounted in the shops or online. 

If you want an annual for older readers there's the latest Viz offering, The Camel's Toe, which has 160 adults-only pages stuffed with strips from issues 202 to 211 of the monthly comic. Art by Davey Jones, Simon Thorp, Alex Collier, myself and more. £10.99 (but again, available cheaper if you shop around).