Do you remember the days of the Annuals?

[The Legendary Shark]

Maybe they could re-think the annuals. Have them as a kind of add-on, full of stats and lists for the year, features on notable stories, "filler" from small press volunteers (working just for kudos, I guess), maybe interviews and such. Something purely for the fans with genuinely useful elements.

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

the covers uncovered annual (which arrived today) is a truly beautiful thing. i just hope it really is a tradition revived - for any further winter solstices this benighted planet might have left ...

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

I *think* I've said this before, but it would be very agreeable if Rebellion would make the end of year progs available in hardback, through the webshop, at an inflated print on demand price. And, further, to eventually make *all* the previous similar 100 pagers available in the same format. Perhaps with a new, special, spine calling it the 'yearbook' etc. I know it's spectacularly nerdy and completist, but I'd certainly free up a shelf for them all- even if they were around £20 a throw.

SBT

[Woolly]

I *think* I've said this before, but it would be very agreeable if Rebellion would make the end of year progs available in hardback, through the webshop, at an inflated print on demand price. And, further, to eventually make *all* the previous similar 100 pagers available in the same format. Perhaps with a new, special, spine calling it the 'yearbook' etc. I know it's spectacularly nerdy and completist, but I'd certainly free up a shelf for them all- even if they were around £20 a throw.

SBT

An annual sized, hardback version of the xmas prog?

*Absolutely* sold!

[alphadogau]

I *think* I've said this before, but it would be very agreeable if Rebellion would make the end of year progs available in hardback, through the webshop, at an inflated print on demand price. And, further, to eventually make *all* the previous similar 100 pagers available in the same format. Perhaps with a new, special, spine calling it the 'yearbook' etc. I know it's spectacularly nerdy and completist, but I'd certainly free up a shelf for them all- even if they were around £20 a throw.

SBT

An annual sized, hardback version of the xmas prog?

*Absolutely* sold!

I would be totally down for this.
The print on demand option would be a good route.
They could add some additional material just for the hardcover version. (They did toy with this idea once, where additional material was included in the digital edition).

[alphadogau]

As an aside, does anyone remember attending the Annuals signing events at Forbidden Planet in London.
They were great days and one of the few times I got to meet other fans.

[sheridan]

As a nipper the annuals were definitely a Christmas highlight.  I think we forget how many there were at times.  Some of the ads in the progs around the 80's give some sense.

I covered the full line-up from one of the ads in my prog slog.

[norton canes]

As for annuals in general, I can't imagine we'll ever see them from Rebellion. They're essentially loss leaders for those that create good ones these days, or full of junk content that costs naff-all to make for the rest. And since hardcovers in general are seemingly hard to shift at full price (look at how even The Out isn't getting one), I can't imagine Rebellion would want to commission a 100+ page annual that'd end up being on sale in WHSmith for a fiver

While I absolutely get that a 2000 AD annual isn't viable on that sort of retail basis, it does surprise me that with an aging contingent of the readership hankering after past glories (going by many of the Regened comments) there hasn't been an attempt at a new, retro-styled annual sold through the website at a premium price. I mean we live in a world where it's possible to get Star Wars books styled like Haynes manuals, so I imagine there must be interest for that sort of thing. 

[AlexF]

And it's relevant that the Beano Annual is ALWAYS in the top 10 bestsellers for children's books each year, along with the Guinness Book of Records. 2000AD never had the same level of recognition but there are clearly a LOT of Brits who like to get the same gifts each year.

Although I suspect Rebellion would have better luck with a sort of 'Best of IPC' Annual, mashing up all the comics they bought, rather than just focussing on 2000AD

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

that would be great. but for the proper nostalgic feels, half the strips should be printed in red and black.

[Barrington Boots]

As a child I always looked forward to an annual at Christmas, but my favourite was always something from Buster or Whizzer and Chips than Eagle or Battle - the fomer was packed with strips and felt like getting 100 comics at once, whilst the latter did seem quite filler-y even then, although I enjoyed it when you got a full strip printed in one (I'm sure I first read Shako this way). The less said about a TV tie-in annual like Terrahawks or The A-Team the better.

I probably wouldn't buy a Rebellion annual if it were a couple of new bits and then reprints of Visible Man, Night Zero and Joe Two Beans: I'd definitely buy one that was a load of Tom Paterson / Reg Parlett etc humour strip reprints but not sure the market is there for that! I generally take the end of year Prog and my annual nowdays.