The Dandy Monster Comic sounds more likely as I think I got mine for £2.50 from a sale at the Works.

- Phil R.

^Yeah, I definitely remember seeing that there. I'd never seen the Beano one prior to seeing that eBay listing.

The brains of the family (my wife) has told me I did send off for the book. I had a flyer through the post when I was a member of the Beano club back then. Good old spouse memory!

Got a nice surprise from my mum this morning a facsimile Beano book 1942 and it's a pro one too as it's got crystal clear strips and text that definitely hasn't been produced on a photocopier even the paper used is very near to the real deal and this is where it came from http://www.broughttobook.com/product/00 ... DC+Thomson

The prices of some of the other advertised items are a bit tasty. Some are even outcompal(l)ing Compal.

Some of the good stuff they've got listed but the Dandy Monster Comic 1941 in near pristine condition is the stuff of dreams! And the 42 Beano Book facsimile is just too good for a homemade effort and I wonder if DCT have played a part in its production?

That looks fantastic! Right shade of colour, and even the paper looks off-white as in the original. Congratulations!

The paper is exactly the same as the paper stock used in the mid 1940s and right through the 1950s so the 2 tone colours look correct even the b&w strips

Woah! It's £120!

A tatty 42 Beano Book £500-700 a mint 42 Beano book around the £3,000mark so £120 isn't that expensive and if you can find an original for less than 120 notes then good luck...

£120 is cheap for an original, that's true, but not for a reprint - the price is around double what I was expecting (based on the retail price of the 1939 Dandy Monster Comic reprint, and taking into account that a lower print run would justify some premium).

It's the rarity that makes the originals so expensive. A lot of copies would've either been burnt up when houses got bombed or given up for paper salvage, or worn out from being passed around. And the print run would've probably been smaller than usual because of rationing too, just like the then-fortnightly comic. I did notice that the other original annuals shown on that page were all in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds in price.

The Beano book 1942 reprint is from a tiny print run and once they are gone that's it no more there is a 1941 Beano book reprint by the same folks that was produced last year and that was £425!

Here's an original Beano book 1942 that's seen better days a few decades ago and I reckon the final price will be £150-£200 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Beano-Boo ... 4d22fcd47a

The Dandy Monster Comic 1939 reprint was mass produced and sold in shops whereas the 1942 Beano Book isn't as it's from a very small print run plus the original up for sale on feebay is currently at £124 with 33 bids at the time of typing this post and that is falling to bits and will only get worse over time unless you are prepared to have it restored and that isn't cheap and at the same time devaluing the book swings and roundabouts as the saying goes...

It is actually possible to get a 1942 original for less than 120 notes as this car crash is living proof just about the price I hear you ask? £5 but it's gonna take a lot of work to bring this back from the brink....