Any fans of The Broons, Oor Wullie or Dudley Watkins will surely be interested in reproductions of the first Broons and Oor Wullie annuals. Originally published in 1938 and 1939 and dated for the following years, the originals are worth a considerable sum and it isn't rare to see them fetching £1000 at auction. That makes these two reprints, published in 2007 by D.C Thomson and Aurum Press, a good affordable alternative. They are a high quality reproduction of the original books, bar the covers and Oor Wullie's title page all the artwork has been restored to how it would have looked originally on bright white paper, so it is pleasing to read and Dudley's artwork is nice and clear.
Asides the date for the copyright information the only other change I noticed was that the reprints are hardbacks whereas the originals were softbacks. I suppose the reason for this change is that the books are made to be more durable, and at £20 for the two of them you'd expect them to be of a high standard. D.C Thomson did produce a few hardback versions of each book originally but these went to Robert Duncan Low, possibly Dudley Watkins and their own files, so were never sold to the general public.
My copies come in a combined box set but they were also available in individual sleeves, of which The Broons one is still available from D.C Thomson's website for £6. You can pick up a box set, which I would recommend, from ebay - the lowest price currently is £13.63.
2 comments:
I got them when they first came out in their individual slipcases. Nice little collectors' items to have. Watkin's art isn't quite as polished as in later books, but is still great to see.
Yes, he was improving all the time. His stuff in the 1960's for the Broons and Oor Wullie (and probably everything else too) is great.
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