FREE FACSIMILE OF BEANO #1 AT SAINSBURY'S...

It pays to shop around. This year's DANDY and BEANO ANNUALS (for 2011) are priced at £7.99 each, but already various sellers are offering their own deals on the books. SAINSBURY'S are charging £5 each, but buy both annuals together and you get them for £8 for the pair (essentially a two-for-one offer).

However, whether you buy it on its own or with its sister publication, THE BEANO ANNUAL comes with a high quality facsimile of the comic's first issue from 1938. True, some liberties have been taken with the cover by omitting the white margin, and the contents are abridged from the original 28 pages to 24, but it's still a nice little collectors' piece.

Run out and but them both NOW!

And for those who want to know what the cover of the first issue SHOULD look like - from my own personal collection - feast your eyes on the illustration below...