Beano, Dandy Annuals mix the old and the new for 2014

By John Freeman on October 30, 2013

With folk buying for Christmas even earlier than ever to spread the cost, here’s a quick reminder that Britain’s best-selling comic, The Beano celebrates its 75th birthday this year and the annual is still sale now in all good bookshops, supermarkets and online – along with The Dandy 2014 annual and more from DC Thomson.

Biffo the Bear by Lew Stringer, who features in the 2014 Beano annual

The Beano 2014 annual includes: Angel Face by Wayne Thompson; Ball Boy by Dave Eastbury; The Bash Street Kids by David Sutherland; two Dennis the Menace strips by Nigel Parkinson; Gnasher’s Bite by Barrie Appleby; Minnie the Minx, also by Nigel; The Numskulls by Barrie Appleby; Rasher by David Sutherland; Ratz by Hunt Emerson; Revolting Rhymes by Dave Mostyn; and Roger the Dodger by Barrie Appleby.

With 75 Years of The Beano to celebrate there’s also a selection of classic strips revisited such as Biffo the Bear by Lew Stringer which he plugged way back in June, Little Plum by Laura Howell and Pansy Potter by Wayne Thompson.

Join Dennis the Menace, The Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger and Minnie the Minx for 112 pages of mischief, mayhem and menacing: £7.99, from WH Smith, Waterstones and all good bookshops, physical and online.

Despite the lack of a print edition, The Dandy Annual 2014 is also on sale, with a mix of strips that featured in the comic before its closure, including Corporal Clott (by Nigel Aucherlounie); Bananaman by Wayne Thompson; The Banana Bunch by Nigel Parkinson; Beryl the Peril by Karl Dixon; Bing-Bang Benny by Mike Donaldson; Bully Beef and Chips and Brassneck, both by Steve Beckett, two Desperate Dan strips written by Andy Fanton, drawn by Ken Harrison; Figaro by Alexander Matthews; Greedy Pigg by Paul J. Palmer; Hyde and Shriek by Nick Brennan; Jack Silver by Wilbur Dawbarn (preview here, posted back in March – just to give you an idea of how far in advance these annuals are created); Jibber & Steve by Nigel Auchterlounie; Keyhole Kate (by Lew Stringer); Ollie Fliptrik by Karl Dixon; My Dad’s a Doofus by Jamie Smart; Professor Popalot (by Lorenzo Etherington); Send for Kelly by Nigel Auchterlounie; The Tricks of Screwy Driver by Karl Dixon, Winker Watson by Wilbur Dawbarn (preview here) plus a number of visual-led feature pages.

The Beano and Dandy Giftbook 2014 offers classic strips such as early episodes of The Bash Street Kids (in its early When The Bell Rings incarnation and an episode in which the kids try to learn music), Smarty Smokum, a Dennis the Menace story titled What a Brassneck, Gnasher’s Favourite Things, Aiken Drum (by Hunt Emerson) and more.

Also on sale are The Broons Annual 2014 and Broons and Oor Wullie Giftbook

• Buy Beano Annual 2014 from amazon.co.uk

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.