The appeal of the Rupert Annuals

Here's the cover to the new Rupert Annual that no doubt thousands will be having as a Christmas present. The book has been published since the 1930s but I must admit... I've never read one. Rupert appeared in the Daily Express, which wasn't a newspaper we ever had in our house when I was growing up, so I didn't even know who the adventurous bear was. 

By the time I began to notice the Rupert Annuals I probably felt I was too old for them. It looked more like a nursery comic, and I was drawn more towards Marvel Comics, TV21 and Smash! so I never gave Rupert a second thought. I remember Bob and Terry discussing the annuals in an episode of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, and I think I saw a few episodes of the Rupert TV series, but that's as far as it went.

A spread from the new annual.

I'm not likely to get enthusiastic about the character now at my age, but maybe I should try one of the books to at least see what the appeal of the strip is and to look at them with a professional eye. No doubt many of you will be familiar with the character, so my question is... what attracted you to the stories? Do you still collect them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below...

Are you ready for Christmas?

Spring is in the air and the first batch of children's annuals cover dated 2018 are ready for pre-order on Amazon. These days, annuals are mainly for the very young end of the market, with recognisable titles from film and tv. Alas, the days of adventure annuals for the 7 to 13 age group faded away decades ago so those of us of a certain age were fortunate to experience our Lion and Smash! annuals. Still, at least there'll be Rebellion's line of graphic novel reprints to cater for a similar market soon (and for nostalgists of course).

Most of these annuals will be published around August, traditionally intended for Christmas presents (or perhaps for birthdays in the latter half of the year). The Dandy and Beano Annuals are ready for pre-order too, although no cover images have been released yet. Here's a selection of covers that have been revealed. Are you feeling festive yet? :)