Opinions sought: should Crikey! go transatlantic?

[tony ingram]

Hi, all-hoping to get some feedback from you regarding a question that's been floating around the metaphorical Crikey! shed for some time: though our core readership remains fairly stable, `the current economic climate isn't doing Crikey! any more favours than anyone else: subscriptions are (perhaps understandably) slightly down, as they are with many magazines, and we're floating ideas to try to boost some interest and, indeed, our circulation. A couple of people have asked if we'd consider either starting a new magazine (not really do-able right now) or just expanding Crikey's remit to cover not just British but American, European and other comics (still focusing mostly on the nostalgia side, obviously) but what we need to know is, how do our current readers feel about that? Would it add to Crikey!'s appeal or dilute it? Would it attract new readers or drive away our existing ones, horrified at the intrusion of four color superheroes and big eyed Manga characters into our happily, eccentrically monochrome world? Your thoughts, please...

[Lew Stringer]

The appeal of Crikey, and what makes it worth supporting IMHO, is the very fact that it's the only magazine devoted to UK comics. Move away from that to include other countries and you become Comic Heroes but without its bigger budget.

Also, unless you have any new revelations about old US comics to bring to the mag (like Alter Ego does with its interviews) I don't think it would increase sales significantly and might drive more readers away. As we've seen from comments on this forum a lot of fans into British comics simply aren't interested in US/Japanese/European comics. (Not a criticism, just an observation.)

That said, it might help to interview creators who have worked in both UK and US comics, as you did with your Bryan Talbot issue. There are a lot of potential interviewees out there in that respect.

What's the average age of Crikey's reader do you think? Maybe more of a focus on the nostalgia of that era might help, and a smaller typeface to give more value for money perhaps? Or is it the nostalgic aspect that should be cut down in favour of more news and interviews pertaining to current UK material?

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Hope you don't mind. Feel free to ignore all of 'em if you think they're unworkable.

[tony ingram]

At the moment Lew, I'm not writing anything off as unworkable-though the nostalgia aspect is really the appeal of Crikey!, I think, and the news side of things, while important, will never become the main focus. To be honest, I was thinking of maybe a regular separate section dedicated to non UK stuff in order to pull in another section of the potential readership, but obviously we can't afford to start alienating our core audience which is why I asked for feedback. So far, the only two comments I've had (yours here and one over on the Crikey! forum) have both been in the 'nay' camp.

As for the question of the average age of the Crikey! reader, it appears to be somewhere in the 35-50 range, though leaning more towards 50, I think.

[colcool007]

...As for the question of the average age of the Crikey! reader, it appears to be somewhere in the 35-50 range, though leaning more towards 50, I think.

Hoy! I don't resemble that...just! My honest opinion is that Crikey's main appeal for me is that is devotes a large chunk of its space to UK comics, be they weeklies or newsprint and I don't see anyone else trying to fill that niche.

If you look at current comics, then you are moving into the Megazine or Comic Heroes (and that still hasn't been found by me) territory, then I lose a chunk of an enjoyable mag to an area, while interesting, hold less of an appeal to me.

Trying it out with a couple of pages to get some more readers makes sense, but not if you end up alienating your current core subscribers.

[tony ingram]

OK, so what would be an acceptable compromise? Two pages? Four? Or should we tailor individual issues to the requirements of specific articles?

[Lew Stringer]

OK, so what would be an acceptable compromise? Two pages? Four? Or should we tailor individual issues to the requirements of specific articles?

I can't see how a few pages of U.S. comic features would boost the readership in any way. The strength of Crikey! is that it covers UK comics which haven't been particularly well covered over the years. American comics have already been analyzed to death by numerous books, mags, and websites.

I can't see the lack of international material being the reason sales are slipping slightly. The only criticisms of Crikey I've heard/read are regarding the cover price and the errors. There's not much you can do about the price (and £4.99 is economically realistic IMHO) although a smaller typeface would give more value for money. As for the errors things have definitely improved under your editorship and the days of that error-laden Smash article (issue 3) are in the past but I do feel that sometimes there are basic mistakes that shouldn't have slipped through (eg: crediting Rob Nixon & Tom Paterson art in the current issue for Ken Reid & Leo Baxendale when it wasn't even Tom's "Baxendale" style).

I hope that doesn't sound harsh. I know producing Crikey must be incredibly time-consuming and I certainly appreciate the magazine and hope it can continue for a long time yet. With it being the only mag out there focused on UK comics the world of comics needs it to survive and all of us on this forum should be supporting it.

[chrissmillie]

I think it's either full-on integration or nothing. A couple of pages probably won't do much for sales but may lose some readers. Having a full-on US/UK mag might well lose some readers but also gain some. No idea how the numbers will work out. However, the name might be a problem for US comics after DCs Silver Age (can't see Wolverine or Hulk shouting 'Crikey!').

[Digifiend]

I don't think Americans ever used that expression at all, to be fair. It's a British slang term. Americans are more likely to say bejesus or holy smokes.
http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/CRIKEY

[tony ingram]

OK, so what would be an acceptable compromise? Two pages? Four? Or should we tailor individual issues to the requirements of specific articles?

I can't see how a few pages of U.S. comic features would boost the readership in any way. The strength of Crikey! is that it covers UK comics which haven't been particularly well covered over the years. American comics have already been analyzed to death by numerous books, mags, and websites.

I can't see the lack of international material being the reason sales are slipping slightly. The only criticisms of Crikey I've heard/read are regarding the cover price and the errors. There's not much you can do about the price (and £4.99 is economically realistic IMHO) although a smaller typeface would give more value for money. As for the errors things have definitely improved under your editorship and the days of that error-laden Smash article (issue 3) are in the past but I do feel that sometimes there are basic mistakes that shouldn't have slipped through (eg: crediting Rob Nixon & Tom Paterson art in the current issue for Ken Reid & Leo Baxendale when it wasn't even Tom's "Baxendale" style).

I hope that doesn't sound harsh. I know producing Crikey must be incredibly time-consuming and I certainly appreciate the magazine and hope it can continue for a long time yet. With it being the only mag out there focused on UK comics the world of comics needs it to survive and all of us on this forum should be supporting it.

And having seen the responses here and elsewhere-I think you're right. Ah well, back to the drawing board...
Incidentally, no you have not come across as harsh Lew, and your continual unstinting support is and always has been appreciated. I'm trying to keep the errors out but I just don't have enough time to check every piece as assiduously as I'd like and sadly, hiring anyone else to help is not really a viable proposition right now.

One day, we'll be millionaires Rodders...

[tony ingram]

I don't think Americans ever used that expression at all, to be fair. It's a British slang term. Americans are more likely to say bejesus or holy smokes.
http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/CRIKEY

Coming soon to a comic shop near you: Bejesus, the great Irish American comics magazine...

[PaulTwist]

On the subject of losing subscribers... it used to be significantly cheaper to subscribe than it was to pick up Crikey! in the shops. Now it's actually more expensive (albeit by pennies, but still). This is the reason I no longer subscribe - I still buy every issue, but I wait until I see it in a comic shop.

[tony ingram]

On the subject of losing subscribers... it used to be significantly cheaper to subscribe than it was to pick up Crikey! in the shops. Now it's actually more expensive (albeit by pennies, but still). This is the reason I no longer subscribe - I still buy every issue, but I wait until I see it in a comic shop.

Basically, that's because we were losing so much on the postage-the change was resisted as long as possible but became unavoidable after Royal Mail moved the goalposts.

[bubbadog]

Hi Tony,

It's another dissenting voice re US coverage. I can pick up (either online or in FP) any number of mags devoting some or all their coverage to US comics, there is only one Crikey! however.

I have been with you since the start, I have seen goodish issues and I have seen great issues but either way I am still so chuffed whenever it lands on the mat. I really don't think that I could summon up that type of enthusiasm for US coverage.

I have spent some time recently in Belgium and have been searching for some sort of European Comics history (to no avail) so I would be less "turned off" by coverage of TinTin, Lucky Luke, Etc although not at the detriment of our UK coverage please.

Keep up the great work, it is appreciated by all on here.

Pete

[felneymike]

Indeed, a bit of European-focused material wouldn't be so bad. Then again though if it's for nostalgia purposes who would remember any European comics outside Tintin and Asterix?

One other possible route is looking at the British strips that were exported to Europe and then explaining what locally-grown content they had to go up against, or perhaps how they were changed. Lew Stringer did some blogs on that recently...

[steelclaw]

Is Issue 16 of Crikey out this week?