Beano - "promotional copy"

[Jon]

I was at a car boot sale today and picked up, amongst other items, an issue of the Beano. Upon further inspection of this Beano, I see that where the box with the barcode and price and date SHOULD BE, there is just a black box with the words "PROMOTIONAL COPY". So this Beano is undated and unpriced. I've dug through my collection to find that this particular issue is just an exact copy of the Beano #3407, dated November 17th 2007 - identical in every way except for the barcode/price box.

I just wonder if anyone else has come across these, and where this "promotional copy" may have come from? I didn't think of asking the seller where he got it from, although I now realise I should have done.

My only inkling was that the date, November 2007, was around the time the Beano got a slight redesign, and maybe as part of this redesign a bit of extra promotion went in by distributing these free "promotional copies" - I can't think of who they would have been distributed to though.

Any ideas anyone? I've included a picture of the issue which was available in the shops (left) and the "promotional copy" (right) together.

[Jonny Whizz]

I remember a forum post in this section about Beanos being given away free on ScotRail, which I think may have been from the same time as the issue you have (probably slightly earlier in fact) - though I wasn't a member then, I did read the forums for a few years before I actually joined, and I can recall it quite clearly.

I think you're right in suggesting that it was somehow related to the Beano's revamp around that time. I'm surprised they'd do it for that issue though, which I recall was a month or so after the revamp, rather than issue 3404, which I think was the issue where the changes actually occurred, including the debut of the short-lived London B412, and the more successful Johnny Bean.

[Jon]

Thanks for the reply Jonny - giving away free Beanos on trains is certainly an excellent idea! I've done a search on the forum, is this the post you were referring to? http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtop ... 448&p=8960

If so, he says:

Closer inspection shows that the covers have no dates or prices, but are printed with "FREE PROMO COPY" and the SCOTRAIL logo.

But mine has no ScotRail logo, which makes me think my one isn't one of these. He also makes this post in July 2007, which I think would have been before the redesign, rather than just after.

It's likely that DCT have done more than one "free Beano" promotion in the past, so I'm wondering if mine comes from a different batch/different promotion.

Any ideas anyone?

[Digifiend]

Yeah, sounds like yours isn't from the ScotRail promotion. Don't know where it is from though.