Thanks to the folks at Buster Books, I’ve had a chance to take an early look at the upcoming LEGO® Annuals. Three different LEGO Annuals are being published this year, one themed around LEGO Star Wars, another featuring LEGO Harry Potter and the other inspired by LEGO City, LEGO Minifigures and for the first time LEGO NINJAGO. Annuals are a sort of Christmas tradition in some countries, used as the perfect stocking fillers. As an added bonus, each of the LEGO-themed annuals also includes a minifigure.
The content of each annual is fairly similar with a mix of puzzles, stories and comic strips featuring various LEGO characters. As with other LEGO titles, the annuals are also wonderfully illustrated. As mentioned for the first time, the standard LEGO Annual now features content inspired by NINJAGO. So the first half of the book features general LEGO characters and the other half includes characters from the world of NINJAGO.
LEGO Official 2024 Annual
Pages: 64 | LEGO elements: Gamer Ari minifigure | RRP: £7.99 | Release: August 31st
The LEGO Annual isn’t based on a particular theme but the minifigure is best described as a LEGO City character. Ari is a gamer and this minifigure is created from parts found in various LEGO City sets but the minifigure is exclusive to this book. The torso has appeared in three LEGO City sets and the hair in four other sets. Although it’s hidden by the hair, the character is also sporting a hearing aid plus she includes a game controller which is the same element used in the NINJAGO: Prime Empire sets.
LEGO Star Wars 2024 Annual
Pages: 64 | LEGO elements: Endor Luke Skywalker minifigure | RRP: £7.99 | Release: August 31st
The annual is themed around the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi and features a Luke Skywalker minifigure. This minifigure is technically unique as it uses the torso and legs from the Endor Speeder Chase Diorama, but switches out the Endor Trooper helmet for hair. So this is a great way to add the Endor variant of Luke Skywalker to your collection at a far cheaper price point.
LEGO Harry Potter 2024 Annual
Pages: 64 | LEGO elements: Albus Dumbledore minifigure | RRP: £7.99 | Release: August 31st
The Harry Potter annual features an Albus Dumbledore minifigure. It’s the red-robed version of the character and includes his wand and a dual-expression head. This particular version of this minifigure has only been featured in one Harry Potter set, 76402: Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office. So although it’s not an exclusive minifigure is a much cheaper way to own it.
The LEGO Annuals are published in the UK on August 31st and you can pre-order them now from Amazon and other book retailers. Many of the LEGO Books are based on titles created by Ameet, which are then published by various partners. In the UK many of the LEGO titles are published by Buster Books. So for those outside the UK, you may find this title available through other publishers. Thanks to Buster Books for providing the books for this review.
