The 68 page bookazine is of course packed with seasonal fun, - that's the festive season, not the current summer season. All-new material including a long story featuring Dennis and Gnasher drawn by Nigel Parkinson set in Victorian Beanotown.
There's also Christmas stories for The Bash Street Kids, Rubi's Screwtop Science, Bananaman, Minnie the Minx, Calamity James, and more. (Nothing in there by me I'm afraid, before you ask.)
There's also lots of activity pages plus an A4 insert of 23 free stickers.
Just to clear up some confusion from some quarters; this is not the annual, nor does it replace the annual. The regular Beano Annual will be in the shops next month (and is already available to buy online).
...and of course the regular weekly Beano is also still running. The latest issue of which came out today. Here's the cover to look out for...
Beano Christmas Special 2018 - £4.99
Beano No.3948 - £2.75
Ah you see the date 2018? That book came out last year. Annuals are dated a year above so this one isn't early its actually on sale rather late. Perhaps it was remaindered?
ReplyDeleteI'd actually explained in my post that this isn't the annual, Mike.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas as you know, Lew. It's my absolute favourite and I ignore those Scrooges who try to tell me to stop looking forward to it in November ;) but even for me this is rather strange to be on sale so early! Oh well, time to tell my friend Vicki of a stocking filler I'd like!
ReplyDeleteYes, no Beano for me either at Smith's, last week. And Tesco seem to have dropped it altogether.
ReplyDeleteThat's two Mikes commenting here for double the Menace. I plead guilty to the jokes about Doctor Who & Brexit.
I've noticed more retailers treating comics as a brand, so to them anything with Beano on it is the same thing. My Sainsburys put the latest weekly behind last week's instead of taking last week's off display. They're treating comics like tins of baked beans. That's what happens when you get staff who have never read a comic and don't understand the nature of periodicals.
ReplyDeleteWHSmith are terrible for this. Even with the Radio Times, there was a Dad’s Army special on sale at Liverpool Street station (to commemorate the 50th anniversary). It sat happily in place of the regular Weekly Radio Times for 2 months (until it’s off-sale date I guess). Now replaced with the regular magazine..... duhhhhh
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder what the staff training involves!
ReplyDeleteSomething I saw the other day was the Rick and Morty comic shelved with the children's comics which if it's anything like the TV show is completely inappropriate for children! It should be with the superhero comics or next to Viz.
ReplyDeleteI'll be getting the Beano Christmas Special Bookazine for Christmas (autocorrect actually tried changing that to Halloween... weird!), I might get it quite soon and put it away as they usually sell out fast in my area.
ReplyDeleteRegarding this weeks issue, it's a bit odd how the 100% funny alongside the comic features appears like that on the Sainsbury's copies but not other shops copies like WHSmith. What page or pages is removed in Sainsbury's copies to include that Disney competition?
Weirdly, there's no mention of that competition inside the comic, Andrew. I think you just have to log onto the website mentioned on the cover.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ben, Smiths are clueless about shelving comics in the right place. If it looks cartoony they'll put it with the nursery titles. They even put Infinity magazine there until recently in my local branch.
Ah right, I didn't realise there was a website until you mentioned. I might buy a copy in Sainsbury's to enter, even though I subscribe and have this issue already, a Disney holiday would be amazing. I doubt I'll win but I definitely won't if I don't enter, it's worth a go.
DeleteIt seems absurdly early!!
ReplyDeleteBut about 15 years ago my (now late) mother bought a box of mince pies in August...
Like Ben, I saw the Rick and Morty comic placed alongside Simpsons, Adventure Time, Teen Titans Go and Scooby Apocalypse in my local WHSmith. Both R&M and Scooby (which as the name suggests, is much darker than usual) should've been with the DC superhero comics, they're not kids titles - R&M actually does carry a Mature Readers warning on the cover. And the other WHS in the railway station has last week's Beano next to this week's. They need to get their house in order.
ReplyDeleteGood luck explaining to them, James. In the past when I've spoken to Smiths staff about comics and stock issues I've found them arrogant and dismissive so I don't bother now.
ReplyDelete