The Beano & Dandy Giftbook 2021: A Celebration of Dudley D. Watkins (Annuals) (The Beano & Dandy Giftbook: A Celebration of Dudley D. Watkins)

Finally got this book after my concerns about the cover (noted in an earlier review) and DC Thomson's treatment of its annual specials - and thankfully it's much better than expected. Don't purchase it for the humour - much of it will seem very dated, and even today, as DCT note - there are some references of their time not considered suitable today (Treatment of animals being the obvious example). It's the art that's all-important here.Inside we can find reproductions of Watkins' pre-Dandy/Beano work for the midget comics that appeared in the story papers 'The Rover' and 'The Skipper', these being the forerunners of those famous comics, and see how his art developed over the years.Watkins is most famous for the creation of Desperate Dan in the UK, a strip still going (albeit in the Dandy annuals only) since his debut in issue 1 of the Dandy in 1937 and the Sunday Post's Oor Wullie and The Broons in Scotland (with these strips written in thick Scots dialect!). We also see plenty of collected strips from these characters from other comics and papers, along with 'Biffo the Bear' from the Beano, 'Ginger' from the Beezer, and 'Mickey the Monkey' from the Topper.The book is split into the decades of his work (from the thirties to the end of the sixties when he died at his drawing board working on a Biffo the Bear strip), each section with introductory text, along with additional information to some of these famous characters. There are also examples of his more realistic work mainly done for text stories.The book itself - a solid hardback with glossy pages - is of much better quality than the DCT specials without interference to any of the art published.But I dropped one star for a number of reasons. The cover features Dennis the Menace, which is not a Watkins creation or strip, although the picture is an edited version of Dennis from a summer special cover that Watkins drew for the first-ever holiday special (which was a joint Beano/Dandy). It would have been nice to have had a little bit more biographical detail on the artist, and the publishers seem to have deliberately chosen to keep the impression that these strips were all lifted straight from the comic with little thought to cleaning the page up.If you're in your sixties, you'll be lost in the nostalgia of your childhood reading of The Dandy and Beano through this book. If you're younger, well, the stories will seem a bit dated and of their time.Perhaps DCT are testing the waters for more of their classic artists' work. If so, the likes of Ken Reid (Jonah), Leo Baxendale (The Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Little Plum) and Davey Law (Dennis the Menace, Beryl the Peril and Corporal Clott) are the obvious choices. Their styles are much more chaotic and anarchic - something Watkins' work was not - and would be enjoyed by all British comic fans. But hey - this is Dudley D. Watkins. This is the man who played the most important part in laying down the foundations of British comics today.This book is a case study of how he set the standard for artistic excellence.

Good to have this archive material; BUT Dennis should not be on the cover, the interesting strip of the visit to DCT's printing press is unreadable because of bizarre graphic design and the artificial distressing of the strips may reflect the quality of paper of the originals, but could have been cleaned up with modern technology to make them more reader friendly. The lack of more precise dates than decades is an omission, yet, the comics were very conservative during this period and show little change in style or content between the 30's and the 60's. This may be why the reprint volumes don't hold their price. Time for a Ken Reid retrospective.

How on earth is it acceptable to let an image of Dennis the Menace occupy 25% of the cover of this book when there is not a single Dennis the Menace cartoon or even image (other than another Beano cover reference) inside?!? The Advertising Standards Authority code with respect to misleading communication applies to websites and Amazon's site is included under this regulation. Utterly disappointing: my 8-year-old (autistic) Dennis-mad son was inconsolable as a consequence of what was either reckless or wilful lack of authentic representation of the content of the book. Disingenuous and slap-dash marketing really hurts real people. DC Thompson and Amazon should take more care. What a disappointment! If you want Dennis and Gnasher: avoid like the plague!

Annual turned up quite quickly and as it is a christmas present it has been hidden away. I just hope I remember where I have hidden it.

As a kid often I was bought the Beano comic and if I was lucky that years annual at Christmas. So when olders son was growing up he some years he would get a Beano annual.So when I saw this book on the artist who created some of my favourite characters growing up I had to buy it.

This celebration of Dudley D Watkins shows what a versatile artist he was. There are examples of his work throughout the book beautifully reproduced in colour and black and white. This is a great insite into his life and well worth a visit.

What a beautiful book of artwork from childhood in the 1960’s and 70’s (though I kept on with the Beano until the early 80’s

Great to go back to your childhood. Worth the money