If you’re in the mood for a bit of cheering up – and let’s face it, who doesn’t right now? – then DC Thomson have plenty of upcoming releases to hopefully do just that, with new BEANO and Dandy annuals and a Bananaman collection out soon!
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This week (7th August) sees the release of the 68-page Bananaman – Man of Peel, by writers Ned Hartley and Nigel Auchterlounie, and artist Wayne Thompson. This is the first in a new series of Bananaman collections, so don’t miss out if you’re a fan.
Every town and city needs a superhero. Gotham has Batman, New York City has Spider-Man, and Beanotown has the man of peel – Bananaman! Handsome, irresistible, wonderful… he has the muscles of twenty men and the brains of twenty mussels! It’s Bananaman’s job to protect Beanotown from the evil schemes of General Blight, Doctor Gloom, The Heavy Mob, Weatherman and Appleman!
DC Thomson’s annuals follow on 12th August, just like they do every year – and there are plenty to enjoy!
Beano Annual 2025
Do you enjoy hilarious comic stories full of mischief, jokes, pranks and laughs? Then the Beano annual is for you! Take a trip to Beanotown, a place where kids rule. The parents and the teachers of Bash Street School might think differently, but the kids from the longest-running weekly comic in the world know the truth… In 112 all-new and original pages, join Dennis and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids and all your Beano faves as they deliver funny, exciting adventures to please fans old and new alike!
• Buy the Beano Annual 2025 here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
The Dandy Annual 2025
Stretch those laughter muscles as The Dandy Annual returns for another side-splitting serving of jolly japes and crafty schemes! Starring national treasures – Desperate Dan, Beryl the Peril, Cuddles and Dimples and more – The Dandy Annual 2025 is a monster collection of hilarious comics for everyone.
With its 112 pages of all-new comic strip content, it is an essential part of Christmas, delivering laughter, mischief and wangles in typical Dandy style.
Loved by the young and the young-at-heart alike, it’s a book for the whole family to enjoy.
• Buy the Dandy Annual 2025 here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Beano & Dandy Gift Book 2025
A collection of classic comic strips from DC Thomson’s archives in a premium format for comic book fans of all ages. Put on your safety goggles and ready your Bunsen burners, for we’re about to experiment with some BAD SCIENCE!
DC Thomson have collected a plethora of classic comic samples from The Dandy and Beano in glass vials for you to study! STEM-ing from the archives, they’ve plucked, poked, and prodded these scientific specimens to ensure you’ll be bubbling with laughter!
So join all your favourites like Desperate Dan, Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, and Rubi von Screwtop alongside bad inventors, strange professors, and worst of all… science teachers!
• Buy the Beano & Dandy Gift Book 2025 here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Oor Wullie Annual 2025
He’s Oor Wullie, your Wullie, abody’s Wullie. Generations have enjoyed his mischievous tales as he wages war on boredom or embarks on some get-rich-quick scheme. First published in The Sunday Post in 1936, Oor Wullie truly is Scotland’s favourite son. Join him in his most recent comic strip capers in this year’s must-have comic book collection. Settle down and enjoy some fun with Wullie and his pals, Primrose Paterson, Bob, Soapy Soutar, Wee Eck, Jeemie the moose, and Harry the faithful wily Westie. And don’t forget the much-harangued PC Murdoch, Auchenshoogle’s legendary law enforcer!
• Buy the Oor Wullie Annual 2025 here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Oor Wullie & The Broons Gift Book 2025 – Doon Memory Lane
Join Scotland’s beloved family and favourite son as they look back through the years in this collection of classic comic strips from DC Thomson’s archives. Since their humble beginning in the pages of The Sunday Post in 1936, The Broons and Oor Wullie have weathered the seasons to bring joy and laughter to all. Now they invite you to take a trip through the ages in their own unique style. From 1950s poodle skirts to 1980s perms, from 1960s miniskirts to 1990s bucket hats, and from 1970s flares to the not-so-smart phones of recent years, The Broons and Oor Wullie have seen it all ― been there and done that! So put on your rose-tinted glasses and let’s wander through the last eight decades together.
Oor Wullie & The Broons Gift book 2024: Thon’s Entertainment (14th August release)
The Broons and Oor Wullie have been entertaining generations of Scots since their debut in the pages of The Sunday Post in 1936. This production is proud to present some of their finest thespian-themed funnies, cocked-up concerts, televisual trials, and diabolical dramas. One thing’s for sure ― they’ve been acting up for years, making this compilation of comic strips an epic of comedic proportions! Performing pets and preposterous police also feature, with special guest appearances from Oor Wullie’s wily westie and Auchenshoogle’s finest law enforcer.
If all that mayhem isn’t enough for you, then how about two new Beano tie-in joke-filled titles, out on 12th September?
First there’s the all-new Beano 365 Days of Fun. Join Dennis, Gnasher and friends to fill your year with fun and laughter. Each day has a new hilarious prank, silly dare, funny joke, ridiculous would you rather, and much more, so that no matter how boring your day has been, you can always find a giggle within these pages.
Plus, one for the festive season… yes, it’s coming! Join the residents of Beanotown as they enter an epic festive comedy battle to find the best Christmas joke of all time, in The Beano Christmas Joke Book!
Each resident can only enter one joke, but they have loads of ideas. Can you help them decide which joke is funniest?
And that’s a wrap! (We’ll get our coats, Beano fans!)
• BEANO is on sale every week in all good newsagents, supermarkets and available digitally from Magzter and other platforms. Check it out online at BEANO.com
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.
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