The Dandy Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1938, to tie in with the children's comic The Dandy. As of 2015 there have been 78 editions. The Dandy Annual will still continue to be published, even though the weekly Dandy comic has now ended. The annuals are traditionally published in July or August, in time for Christmas, and since 1965 they have had the date of the following year on the cover. Before then no date was given.

From 1938 to 1951 the annual was called The Dandy Monster Comic. The name changed to The Dandy Book in 1952 and continued, the year changing for each subsequent annual, until the release of the 2003 book in 2002 when it was renamed The Dandy Annual. Despite the comic's relaunch as Dandy Xtreme in 2007, the annual was still known as The Dandy Annual. This is likely because the annuals of the time were mostly made up of Dandy Comix, due to the topical nature of the magazine's Xtreme content.

In unison with the comic at the time, the front cover usually featured Korky the Cat. After Desperate Dan took over the front page in 1984, the annual cover reflected this by featuring both Korky and Dan until the release of the 1991 book in 1990 – which was the first ever Dandy Annual to not feature Korky on the front cover in any way. He has made several appearances since then, despite the main focus shifting to Dan.

In 2006, the original 1939 Monster Comic was reprinted as a facsimile edition in a collector's slipcase.