Beano Annual 2023

Product Information

Bringing you and your mischievous minions a barrel of laughs every week, Beano is a tried and tested assortment of family friendly fun that will keep you and your kids engaged and entertained. Charles wonders if he is in charge of the place, until Camilla points out that the ­children are. Each of the stars featured will become the owner of a Golden Dennis & Gnasher Fan Club badge. Congratulations to this year’s winners, Indigo 1 (Year 5) from Greasley Beauvale Primary School in Eastwood, Nottingham! They truly unearthed the root of the problem with their joke: “What happened to the maths teacher’s garden? It grew square roots!” For fans of Halloween, the month of October is spent counting down the days until the 31st like some sort of pumpkin-shaped advent calendar. Then it’s all fun and scary games for one night only! Halloween is basically an excuse for monster-sized mischief and we are most certainly here for it. More than 4,100 issues of The Beano have been printed since its launch in 1938 with over 70,000 comic strips and 700 characters, including Dennis and Gnasher, the Bash Street Kids and Billy Whizz.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla featuring in a special edition of the Beano to mark its 85th anniversary. Credit: PA Indigo 1 have been immortalised by legendary Beano artist Nigel Parkinson in this week’s issue of the comic and were handed the trophy by Minnie’s illustrator Laura Howell. They have also won Beano subscriptions and a fun-filled Beano Day for the class. Vanessa Andreis, Franchise Planning and Partnerships director, added: “2023 is going to be Beano’s biggest year yet. Kids and their families won’t be able to miss our celebrations as we commemorate both the iconic comic and our incredible characters which are so loved.” The special year will be commemorated across 2023 with a special comic issue, a national press and media campaign, schools’ activity and special appearances from the comic’s celebrity fans. More details of the celebrations will be announced soon.

This mischievous guide contains everything you ever wanted to know about Beanotown – character profiles for all your favourite residents, including Dennis, Gnasher, Minnie and Bananaman, and much more. It’s getting darker earlier, there’s a chill in the air and the leaves are turning brown. That can mean only one thing. Halloween is on its way! It's the most wonderful time of the year, especially if you love ghosts, pumpkins and things that go bump in the night. A baker becomes a teacher, what’s the first the thing she asks the children to do? A ‘surpies’ test! Inside, the celebs help Beanotown kids stop Mayor Brown from carving his own face into Mount Beano. Since its conception in 1938, Beano has been leading the line in entertaining the young, and the young at heart. For over 80 years, the brains behind Beano have brought joy and happiness to the youth with a unique blend of comedy and carnage. A Beano digital magazine subscription keeps you and your kids up to date with the weekly shenanigans of iconic characters like Dennis the Menace & Gnasher, The Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Mix.

Harry Styles, the King, Marcus Rashford, Lewis Hamilton and Stormzy feature in a special 85th anniversary edition of the popular comic. Other stars from the worlds of showbiz, sports and royalty include Adele, Ant and Dec and Wrexham FC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob ­McElhenney. The cover, drawn by Beano artist Nigel Parkinson, also features comic regulars Dennis the Menace, Gnasher and Minnie the Minx. The Beanopedia: The ultimate guide to Beanotown and its inhabitants was first published in 2020, still available here.

Spooktacular videos, quizzes and more!

Jokes poured in from all corners of the country for this year’s competition, and whittled down to a shortlist of the Top Ten funniest schools by Beano’s gag masters before the public crowned the winner. All of this year’s finalist jokes have made the nation laugh and giggle and we thank every single class that took part in the competition. Meanwhile, 2,023 issues will be given out to classrooms across the country through the Beano for Schools programme. Here’s to the next 85 years, and we dedicate this birthday issue to every child out there, because being a kid never gets old.”