The Dandy Annual facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Dandy Annual
The cover of the Dandy Book 2001
Publication information
Publisher	D.C. Thomson & Co
Schedule	Annual
Format	Children's
Genre	Comic strips
Publication date	1938–present
Number of issues	76
Main character(s)	Desperate Dan

The Dandy Annual is a special book published every year. It's connected to the famous children's comic The Dandy. These books have been coming out since 1938! As of 2015, there have been 78 editions. Even though the weekly Dandy comic has now ended, the annuals are still published. They usually come out in July or August, just in time for Christmas. Since 1965, the annuals have the date of the *next* year on their cover. Before then, no date was given.

For many years, the annual had different names. From 1938 to 1951, it was called The Dandy Monster Comic. Then, in 1952, its name changed to The Dandy Book. This name stuck around for a long time. In 2002, when the 2003 book was released, it was renamed The Dandy Annual. Even when the comic relaunched as Dandy Xtreme in 2007, the annual kept the name The Dandy Annual. This was probably because the annuals mostly featured classic Dandy comics, not the newer Xtreme content.

Meet the Cover Stars: Korky and Desperate Dan

For a long time, the front cover of the annual usually featured Korky the Cat. He was a very popular character! But in 1984, Desperate Dan started appearing on the main comic's front page. So, the annual covers began to show both Korky and Dan together.

This continued until the 1991 book was released in 1990. This was the first Dandy Annual ever that didn't feature Korky on the front cover at all. Since then, the main focus has shifted to Desperate Dan. However, Korky has still made several appearances on the covers over the years.

In 2006, the very first Dandy Monster Comic from 1939 was reprinted. It was a special facsimile edition, meaning it was an exact copy. It came in a collector's slipcase.

A Look at Some Dandy Annuals

It can be tricky to identify older annuals because they weren't always dated. If an annual says "1940" on it, it was actually published in August 1939. Prices used to be in shillings and pence. One shilling was equal to 5p (five pence) in today's money.

The Dandy Monster Comic Era (1939-1952)

• 1939: Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat, Keyhole Kate, and the Bamboo Town monkeys are holding up the letter "Y" from "Dandy". Price 2/6.
• 1940: Korky the Cat is swinging on a trapeze. Freddy the Fearless Fly is sitting on Korky's tail. Price 2/6.
• 1941: Korky the Cat is leading a band with other Dandy characters. Freddy the Fly is on Korky's baton. Price 3/-.
• 1942: Desperate Dan is pulling a rowing boat with his teeth. Other Dandy characters are in the boat. Price 3/6.
• 1952: The cover shows "Korky's Toy Shop". A mechanical Desperate Dan is pushing a tin of red paint onto Korky from a shelf. Price 6/-.

The Dandy Book Era (1953-2002)

• 1953: Six pictures show Korky chasing mice who stole his food. Then he enjoys a big meal. Price 6/-.
• 1957: Three pictures show Korky on a train with four fishermen. They go through a tunnel, and Korky eats all their fish! Price 6/6.
• 1965: Two pictures show Korky getting revenge on a pantomime horse. The horse stepped on his tail, so Korky uses itchy powder. Price 7/6.

Dated Books Begin (1966 onwards)

From 1966, all Dandy annuals started to have the year printed on them.

• 1966: Korky is swinging in a giant boot. He borrowed it from a circus stilt-walker. Price 7/6.
• 1972: Korky is holding a Santa Claus glove puppet. On the back cover, he squeezes it to squirt two interfering mice. Price 50p.
• 1977: Korky is blowing up a giant yellow balloon with Santa Claus's face on it. On the back cover, four mice throw harpoons at it, making it explode and knocking them out. Price 90p.
• 1984: Korky's nephew Lipp takes a photo of Korky dressed as a footballer. Bully Beef gets ready to squirt Korky with a water pistol. On the back cover, Korky stands on the football, which squirts Bully Beef in the face. Price £2.
• 1985: Desperate Dan carries Korky's car over a footbridge. On the back cover, we see that cars have a £1 toll to cross it. Price £2.25.
• 1991: Dimples squirts his water pistol into one of Desperate Dan's ears. The water comes out the other ear and hits Cuddles in the face. This annual also explained how Bananaman got his powers: Eric became Bananaman after eating a radioactive banana as a baby. Price £3.55.
• 1995: Desperate Dan is bouncing across a field on a pogo stick. Other characters rush to get out of his way. On the back cover, he jumps over the moon. This is a reference to the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". This annual also revealed the real names of Bananaman's enemies. Price £4.50.
• 1998: Desperate Dan and Beryl the Peril are having a pillow fight on a balance beam. On the back cover, Dan sneezes from the feathers and falls off. Beryl wins! Price £5.25.
• 2001: Cuddles and Dimples have broken all the glass in a greenhouse. An angry policeman is writing notes. Desperate Dan, Korky, Brain Duane, and Bananaman are watching. Price £6.20.

The Dandy Annual Era (2003-Present)

• 2003: Cuddles and Dimples are sledging down a snowy hill. They splatter Desperate Dan, Korky, Bananaman, the Sneaker, and Beryl the Peril as they pass. This was the first annual officially called "The Dandy Annual". Price £6.45.
• 2005: Desperate Dan is holding a giant snow globe. Inside, Cuddles and Dimples are having a snowball fight. On the back cover, Dan is trapped inside the snow globe while Cuddles and Dimples laugh. Price £6.99.
• 2012: Desperate Dan is sitting on an angry horse that is jumping into the air. Other characters watch. This annual had a "75th Birthday Edition" logo. Price £7.99.
• 2013': All the characters are at a party celebrating The Dandys 75th birthday. Price £7.99.
• 2015: Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat, Brassneck, Keyhole Kate, the Smasher, Winker Watson, the Jocks and the Geordies, and Corporal Clott are playing football. Price £7.99.
• 2017: Korky, Brassneck, Desperate Dan, and Beryl the Peril are taking a selfie at Mount Laughmore. This is a funny version of Mount Rushmore with their grumpy faces. On the back cover, Brassneck and Dan play music while Beryl covers her ears and Korky eats chicken. The faces on Mount Laughmore are now happy! Price £7.99.
• 2018': It's The Dandys 80th Anniversary! Different characters are at the Cactusville 80th Anniversary celebration. Desperate Dan is winning a tug-of-war against several characters, including Corporal Clott (who is using a tank!). Dan wins by having the rope tied only around his little finger. Aunt Aggie is bringing a Cow Pie for the winner. Price £7.99.