The Beano Annual facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Beano Annual
The cover of the Beano Book 1972
Publication information
Publisher	D.C. Thomson & Co
Schedule	Annual
Format	Children's
Genre	Comic strips
Publication date	1939–present
Number of issues	80
Main character(s)	Dennis and Gnasher
Creative team as of 2015
Writer(s)	D.C. Thomson
Editor(s)	D.C. Thomson

The Beano Annual is a special book published every year since 1939. It's connected to the popular children's comic, The Beano. As of 2018, there have been 80 different editions! These annuals usually come out in July or August, just in time for Christmas. Since 1965, the cover of the annual has shown the date of the next year. Before that, no date was printed on the cover.

From 1943 to 1950, the annual was called "The Magic-Beano Book." This name was a nod to The Magic Comic, another comic that stopped being published in 1941. This happened because of World War II and the paper rationing that made it hard to print comics. After 1950, the name went back to "The Beano Book." This name continued until the 2003 book came out in 2002, when it was renamed "The Beano Annual." The 2011 Beano Annual was even bigger than the ones before it.

Even though The Magic Comic never came back after the war, some of its characters, like Koko the Pup, became regular stars in The Beano Comic.

Because he's so popular, Dennis the Menace has been on the front cover of every annual since the 1979 book was released in 1978. The newest annual came out in 2020 and is dated 2021. Since 2009 (when the 2009 annual was released in 2008), the book has cost £7.99.

A Look at Beano Annual Covers Through the Years

The Beano Annuals have changed a lot over the years, especially their covers! Here's a quick look at some of the interesting things that have happened.

The Early Years: The Beano Book (1940s)

The very first annuals, called "The Beano Book," featured characters like Big Eggo.

• 1940: Big Eggo and other characters were on a seesaw.
• 1941: Characters were popping out of giant eggs.
• 1942: Everyone was dancing around a spinning Big Eggo.

The Magic-Beano Book Era (1943-1950)

During this time, the annual included "Magic" in its name, linking it to The Magic Comic.

• 1943: Big Eggo and Koko the Pup had a three-legged race. Koko came from The Magic Comic.
• 1944: Big Eggo and Koko had a pillow fight.
• 1945: Characters were playing leapfrog.
• 1948: Big Eggo and friends played musical instruments. This was when Big Eggo got arms and hands!
• 1949: Biffo the Bear and Koko were fighting in front of a taxi.
• 1950: Biffo the Bear was painting a picture of Big Eggo and other characters.

Return to The Beano Book (1951-2002)

The annual went back to being "The Beano Book" and saw many new characters appear on the covers.

• 1951: Biffo rode Tick-Tock Tony, a clockwork horse.
• 1954: This was the first time Dennis the Menace appeared on the cover! Biffo was hanging from a tree, and Dennis was holding a lobster near his foot.
• 1957: Dennis kicked a football that bounced off other characters.
• 1958: Minnie the Minx appeared at full size on the cover for the first time.
• 1960: Biffo was putting together a jigsaw puzzle of The Bash Street Kids.
• 1961: The comic's title was shown in big letters with many characters around it.
• 1964: Biffo was lifting a heavy barbell, and Buster was tickling him.
• 1965: Little Plum and Minnie the Minx were blowing up a giant balloon shaped like Biffo's head.

Dated Annuals Begin (1966 onwards)

From 1966, all annuals started to have the year printed on their covers.

• 1966: Biffo was spinning a giant drum with his feet.
• 1967: General Jumbo was controlling other characters with his radio.
• 1968: Biffo wore a crash helmet, and Dennis, Minnie, and Roger threw snowballs at him.
• 1972: This was the first annual to have a price in new decimal currency (like 50p) instead of old shillings and pence. Biffo was dressed as a lollipop man.
• 1974: Biffo was tossing pancakes while wearing a chef's hat.
• 1975: Dennis, Gnasher, and the Bash Street Kids played in the snow.
• 1979: Dennis and Gnasher started rolling a giant snowball down a hill. This was the first year Dennis appeared on every annual cover.
• 1981: Dennis jumped on a seesaw, sending Gnasher flying over a fence.
• 1984: Dennis and Gnasher chased cats through the snow.
• 1985: Dennis, Biffo, Walter, and the Bash Street Kids took part in a "Beano Marathon."
• 1987: Dennis, Gnasher, Minnie, and others flew in a hot air balloon.
• 1988: Dennis and Minnie had a paintball fight in the snow.
• 1991: All the characters had a Christmas party.
• 1993: Characters raced through the countryside in wheelie bins.
• 1995: Characters raced on rafts down a river.
• 1997: All the characters were inside a Chinese Dragon with Dennis's face.
• 1999: Dennis and Gnasher gave each other "five" with computer-generated pictures of other characters in the background.
• 2000: Dennis, Gnasher, and other characters flew through space in special vehicles.
• 2001: Dennis and Gnasher drove their Menace Car through a computer-generated world, escaping robots.

The Beano Annual (2003-Present)

The annual changed its name again to "The Beano Annual" and continued to feature exciting new covers.

• 2003: All the characters played on a giant 3D mechanical Gnasher.
• 2004: This was the first hand-drawn cover since 1999, showing a Loch Ness monster that looked like Plug.
• 2005: Characters bounced on spacehoppers, with Dennis riding his pet pig, Rasher.
• 2006: The characters appeared to be in a jungle, which turned out to be Dennis's back garden.
• 2007: Many characters were crammed onto the cover, including Edd Case from The Numskulls.
• 2008: Dennis won the "Menace of the Year" award. The endpapers of this annual showed the covers of all previous Beano Annuals.
• 2009: Dennis's Dad drove a parade float with a giant model of Dennis and Gnasher.
• 2010: Dennis, Gnasher, and Minnie practiced karate.
• 2011: Dennis and Gnasher bounced on a trampoline.
• 2012: Dennis rode a Gnasher-themed snowboard. This book also celebrated Dennis the Menace's 60th birthday.
• 2013: All the characters were at the Beano's 75th birthday street party.
• 2014: Characters stood on an open-top double-decker bus with the number 75 on it.
• 2015: Dennis and Gnasher walked onto a high-speed train at Beanotown Station.
• 2016: Most characters were on a rollercoaster, with Bananaman flying nearby. This was the last annual with the old Beano logo.
• 2017: Dennis, Gnasher, Minnie, and others burst through a yellow background, showing off the new Beano logo.
• 2018: Dennis was on a skateboard in space, powered by new Beano comics.
• 2019: Dennis was on a poster, with a hairy Gnasher on his jumper.

Images for kids

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  The cover of the Beano Annual 2005