Beano and Dandy Annual 2016

[Phoenix]

Is this the first time that Broons and Oor Wullie annuals have appeared in the same year? Don't they normally alternate?

They certainly used to. I imagine though, Digi, that they are appearing together this year because this is the year of their joint eightieth anniversary.

[Peter Gray]

got the new Beano and Dandy book pranks for the memories..

..its got some good stuff in it...But I don't like recent annual pages even if they say its 20 years old.. the sad thing the Dennis the Menace pages have been cut off at the bottom to cut out the last three panels Dennis being slippered...I'm sure if they explained this is what happened in those days then moved on..there are worse things in Horrible Histories...kids would find it interesting rather than shocked..

.also there's not much info again...and only one original artwork..there are print approved versions though..not much Ken Reid But some nice Leo Baxendale artwork and Dudley D Watkins...

The Leo Baxendale pages make it a worth while purchase..

[philcom55]

Along with 'Back to School' displays the sight of Christmas Annuals in the shops is a sure sign that yet another Summer is drawing to a close!

[Phoenix]

Along with 'Back to School' displays the sight of Christmas Annuals in the shops is a sure sign that yet another Summer is drawing to a close!

Yes, and for once I've moved in early, Phil, and bought the Princess and My Little Pony annuals as Christmas presents for my granddaughter Aurora, who will be four in October. Heavens, how time flies!

[Digifiend]

got the new Beano and Dandy book pranks for the memories..

..its got some good stuff in it...But I don't like recent annual pages even if they say its 20 years old.. the sad thing the Dennis the Menace pages have been cut off at the bottom to cut out the last three panels Dennis being slippered...I'm sure if they explained this is what happened in those days then moved on..there are worse things in Horrible Histories...kids would find it interesting rather than shocked..

.also there's not much info again...and only one original artwork..there are print approved versions though..not much Ken Reid But some nice Leo Baxendale artwork and Dudley D Watkins...

The Leo Baxendale pages make it a worth while purchase..

Grr. I would expect such a strip to have the slippering (or the cane in the case of Bash Street) censored if it was used in the weekly Beano (which doesn't currently use reprints but did use 80s material a few years ago), but not in the Classic Beano and Dandy annual. Present the archived material with historical context. It shouldn't be any different to the usage of Peanut, the racist cover mascot from the 1940s.

And yes, it would be nice if they provided details of when the stories first appeared. They used to do this a lot, but not so much in the last few editions.

[Old Freddy]

Agreed- intentionally censoring out slippers in reprint books- that are explicitly referred to as such- can only be described as playing it comically safe. As I've said in the pet-hates thread, kids aren't going to get traumatised by seeing comic characters get whacked, and parents aren't going to start trying out slippering on their own kids because they read it in a comic! slippering was a regular occurrence in the reprint books less than ten years ago, so unless there have been lots of complaints in recent years I can't see why DC Thomson should ever consider removing the slipper in the Golden Years books.

And apparently this year's reprint book contains recent annual strips? Groan. Recent annuals (i.e. anything from the past 40-odd years) are very easy to obtain and I imagine that a lot of people who are buying these books already own copies of said annuals.

Plus, recent annual strips tend to be quite long (from a page count point of view) with a couple of large panels- as opposed to lots of smaller panels- per page. As such, using recent annual strips seems like an attempt to pad out the reprint books, and to avoid delving through the archives for the umpteenth time to unearth some more rarely-seen material.

Recent material is fine and strips from the 1990s and 2000s will be just as new and fresh to the average reader as something from the 1960s or 1970s if not moreso. But annual strips need to be of a certain vintage and preferably short and previously unreprinted.

[Peter Gray]

I agree...keep to comics unless its an annual from the 60's...50's ..40's..
Also agree they take up to much space and look like fillers..

also we want rare original art....
photos and info on comic artists..
original ideas...discarded ideas..
also if not appropiate just write a small note...
Horrible Histories don't worry much...
Don't edit comic pages..I don't mind the Beano Peanut character being removed But no more than that..

[Digifiend]

That was my point earlier - they DON'T usually remove Peanut - he's kept in far more often than he's edited out. The History of the Beano did include a disclaimer admitting that it was inappropriate but that it was kept in to be faithful to the historical context. I'd rather the classic annuals did that rather than censor material. Just mention that it (whacking, the cane, racist stereotypes) was a cultural norm at the time but is considered inappropriate in modern times, hence why you won't see such a thing in the current issues of The Beano.

[Lew Stringer]

That was my point earlier - they DON'T usually remove Peanut - he's kept in far more often than he's edited out. The History of the Beano did include a disclaimer admitting that it was inappropriate but that it was kept in to be faithful to the historical context. I'd rather the classic annuals did that rather than censor material. Just mention that it (whacking, the cane, racist stereotypes) was a cultural norm at the time but is considered inappropriate in modern times, hence why you won't see such a thing in the current issues of The Beano.

I agree, but the problem is one complaint from a parent, justified or not, can cause a retail chain to remove the books from the shelves. We live in strange times.

The History of The Beano probably had more leeway because it was a historical book, rather than an annual.

[SID]

Having recently got Pranks for the Memories, I see what you mean. How stupid! It reminds of American TV of the 80s where they made sure that no villains were hurt during the show. Pathetic.

I rather they had put a warning sticker on the book rather that cut out the ending of the strip.

Also got The Dandy Annual which was not only great but also featured some of the characters from the last revamp.

[Lew Stringer]

Having recently got Pranks for the Memories, I see what you mean. How stupid! It reminds of American TV of the 80s where they made sure that no villains were hurt during the show. Pathetic.

I rather they had put a warning sticker on the book rather that cut out the ending of the strip.

Also got The Dandy Annual which was not only great but also featured some of the characters from the last revamp.

I haven't seen the book myself yet. How many pages are censored?

[Peter Gray]

Just been reading more of Pranks for the memories...
the 16 page story set in space from a 20 year annual...I didn't see any pranks...or some of the other newish annual stories...so it didn't work for me..

There are some good pages..it is worth buying!

seen a few before from other books...like the Beano sports special..the minnie pole vauting one...
or Dennis the Menace with the snowmans going down a hill..
Korky and the bad egg one..

One big thing I like to see next time is dates..also some nice info about it...artist..etc..

[Peter Gray]

Dennis and lino edited to just one strip
two Peanut mascots are gone
Dennis and egg beater missing last three panels
not sure if the Dennis and the snowmen are missing the last three panels...not sure..

I suppose its not many...But I hope they can find away to show other Dennis strips and just use a bit of info to say the times were different..then move on.

[Lew Stringer]

Dennis and lino edited to just one strip
two Peanut mascots are gone
Dennis and egg beater missing last three panels
not sure if the Dennis and the snowmen are missing the last three panels...not sure..

I suppose its not many...But I hope they can find away to show other Dennis strips and just use a bit of info to say the times were different..then move on.

Thanks Peter. So not a lot of censoring in a book of 100 plus pages.

I think if they'd left the strips intact and added a warning sticker all it would achieve would be to draw attention to the whackings and racial stereotypes and ensure the book would be put on the top shelf or not stocked at all. As I said earlier, one parental complaint to the press about it being "inappropriate" and every copy could be removed. I don't blame the publishers for being cautious. It's not the first time they've done it and it's done for a reason.

[SID]

No, not a lot of strips were affected and my comments of 'how stupid' and 'pathetic' was directed at society as a whole rather than just the publisher.