The Broons and Oor Wullie Annuals

The Annuals

CLICK ON ANY SMALL COVER PICTURE TO SEE THE FULL SIZE IMAGE

The Scottish publisher D.C. Thomson first introduced The Broons and Oor Wullie in their Sunday newspaper 'The Sunday Post' on 8 March 1936. They featured in a new 8 page pull-out supplement called 'The Fun Section'.

The first annual was The Broons published on 17 November 1939. The following year the first Oor Wullie annual was published. The annuals have continued to be published on alternate years ever since with the exceptional years of 1943, 1944, 1945 and 1946; no annuals were printed on these years because of a paper shortage caused by World War II.

I have given some guide prices for the annuals but be aware that some annuals are extremely rare and are seldom offered for sale so prices may vary wildly. The overall condition of an annual will greatly affect it's value so again prices will vary. As with most things collectable, if someone really wants an item, the price guide goes out the window. (You can offer me all your 1940's, 50's and 60's annuals here).

The covers of all the annuals follows so this page may take a few minutes to load up.
Click on any small image to see a larger version of the image.

1939
The first annual in the series was published on
17 November 1939 (priced 1/6) with soft card unlaminated covers. It contained 128 pages.
The internal title page of this book has Watkins' first printed signature ('Watty'). Click here to see title page.

Very rare and very hard to find. Condition will affect value but expect to pay £2000 - £3000 to own this one.

Thanks to Sally Crawley for providing the scans from her own copy of this annual.

1940

The first Oor Wullie annual
Published Tuesday, 8th October 1940 (priced 1/6).

Annual has 96 pages which became the standard number. (A title page illustration, a poem/song and 94 cartoon strips reprinted from Sunday Post Fun Sections)

1944

No Annual This Year

1945

No Annual This Year

1946

No Annual This Year

1947

Expect to pay £350 - £500 to own this annual

	1950 Expect to pay £300 - £400 to own this annual
	1951
	1952
	1953 Expect to pay around £200 - £250 to own this annual
	1954 Last of the soft card covered annuals.
	1955 The first annual to have the now standard cloth spine. Also has stiff, unlaminated card covers. Expect to pay around £80 - £120 to own this annual
	1956
	1957
	1958
	1959

	1960 Last annual issued with unlaminated card covers. Expect to pay £50 - £80 to own this annual
	1961 The first annual to be issued with laminated card covers.
	1962	Not Available
	1963
	1964
	1965 Expect to pay £40 - £50
	1966 The first Oor Wullie annual to contain a copyright date. All previous annuals were undated.
	1967
	1968 Expect to pay around £30 - £40 to own this annual
	1969 Watkins died in August this year but the annual was produced as usual. The first Broons annual to contain a copyright date. All previous annuals were undated.

	1970 Thomsons continue with the annuals using reprints of Watkins work. They continue to do this until 1979 when they gradually phased out Watkins work by mixing it in with replacement artists. There is a noticeable decline in quality of the cover artwork and the strips during this period as Thomsons use different artists.
	1971
	1972 Expect to pay around £15 - £20 to own this annual
	1973 This cover is made up from 1949 front cover.
	1974
	1975
	1976
	1977
	1978 Expect to pay around £10 - £15 to own this annual
	1979 The last annual with Dudley Watkins reprints. The strips by replacement artists included in this book are mostly appallingly bad ('though admittedly better than I could do).

	1980 New artists, poor 'artwork', weak storylines. Who cares? Expect to pay around £5 - £12 to own this annual
	1981
	1982
	1983
	1984
	1985
	1986
	1987
	1988
	1989

	1990 Expect to pay around £2 - £10 to own this annual
	1991
	1992
	1993
	1994
	1995
	1996
	1997
	1998
	1999

	2000
	2001

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	1939 The first annual in the series was published on 17 November 1939 (priced 1/6) with soft card unlaminated covers. It contained 128 pages. The internal title page of this book has Watkins' first printed signature ('Watty'). Click here to see title page. Very rare and very hard to find. Condition will affect value but expect to pay £2000 - £3000 to own this one. Thanks to Sally Crawley for providing the scans from her own copy of this annual.
	1940 The first Oor Wullie annual Published Tuesday, 8th October 1940 (priced 1/6). Annual has 96 pages which became the standard number. (A title page illustration, a poem/song and 94 cartoon strips reprinted from Sunday Post Fun Sections)
	1941	Not Available
	1942

Not Available	1944 No Annual This Year	Not Available
Not Available	1945 No Annual This Year	Not Available
Not Available	1946 No Annual This Year	Not Available
	1947 Expect to pay £350 - £500 to own this annual
	1948
	1949