The Dandy Annual
|
|
The Dandy Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1938, to tie in with the children's comic The Dandy. As of 2004 there have been 67 over the years, with another (The Dandy Annual 2006) to follow in 2005. Since they are traditionally published in the autumn and in time for Christmas, since 1965 (with the release of The Dandy Book 1966) they have had the date of the following year on the cover. Before then no date was given.
From 1938 to 1951 the annuals were called 'The Dandy Monster Comic'. The name changed to 'The Dandy Book' from the following year. This name continued, the year changing for each different annual, until the release of the 2003 book in 2002 when it was renamed to its current name, though the following year still appears at the end.
In unison with the comic at the time the cover usually featured Korky the Cat. After Desperate Dan took over the front page in 1984, the annual cover reflected this by featuring both Korky and Dan until the 1991 book- the first ever Dandy Annual not to feature Korky on the front in any way. He has made several appearances since then, though, despite the main focus shifting to Dan.