Why wasn't Pow more successful?

[tolworthy]

It was a little before my time, but Pow combined some otf the things I like best about comics, so I was disappointed so see that it only lasted a year. Though judging by the few issues I own, I can maybe guess why.

On the plus side, it combined the best of British with the best of American. The hot new Marvel stories at the peak of their powers (and DC too? I can't remember), and some fabulous Ken Reid stuff. It had an amazing energy - so sixties, I absolutely love the idea of the two way conversation between the readers and the (allegedly) bohemian editors in "the garret." I also loved the one-off Marvel adventure stories. Finally I like how they crammed so much onto each page (i.e. re-editing two American pages into one British poage) So how could it fail?

But on the minus side, I don't think they edited the American stuff enough. They mechanically printed half a story each week, and sometimes that half story just wan't the interesting half. And as another post said they didn't explain to new readers who these characters were.

Regarding the British stuff, it was extremely variable. Besides the truly great strips they also had some really poor ones. And I haven't checked but I suspect their cover price was higher than other comics?

In summary, it seems to me that they didn't make the most of what they had, and instead had a comic that was extremely hit and miss. So I can see how readers failed to latch onto what could have been a very successful idea.

Does nayone have any more info? That's how it looks to me from the few issues I own. Is there more to the story than that?

[NP]

POW! ran from January 1967 to September 1968. It's cover price was 7d, same as most British comics at the time (with the exception of TV Comic, 6d, and the Thomsons comics of course!)
It wasn't alone, it was the third of 5 Power Comics from Odhams, modelled after SMASH! (which was modelled after WHAM!)

[Lew Stringer]

I think the main reason it failed was that kids tend to go for familiarity and tradition. (Perhaps why Beano still outsells many comics.) When I was at school in the sixties most kids thought superheroes were "stupid" and avoided Pow! like the plague. A pity, because the Odhams comics were more streetwise and friendlier than most other comics of the time.

One item worth seeking out is Pow! Annual 1971. A bit of an oddity, this, because it features all brand new British superheroes that only ever appeared in that book. The mystery as to how and why still remains.

Lew

[tolworthy]

I think the main reason it failed was that kids tend to go for familiarity and tradition. (Perhaps why Beano still outsells many comics.) When I was at school in the sixties most kids thought superheroes were "stupid" and avoided Pow! like the plague. A pity, because the Odhams comics were more streetwise and friendlier than most other comics of the time.

That makes sense. Thanks.

One item worth seeking out is Pow! Annual 1971. A bit of an oddity, this, because it features all brand new British superheroes that only ever appeared in that book. The mystery as to how and why still remains.

I think I may have owned that once. Near the top of my list of life time regrest is that I used to have a reasonable annual collection, but sold it for pennies (back in the early 1980s I had maybe 300). I vaguely remember that volume, but at the time I didn't appreciate its significance.

Comic conservatism (with a little "c") makes sense, and probably explains why my tastes have always gone against the mainstream. I loved Pow (when I later discovered it), and loved Krazy, and adore stuff like illustrated classics in digest format. All the stuff that never lasts more than 18 months in Britain because nobody else buys it.

[Kremmen]

I only got Pow! very infrequently, I'm afraid to say. Usually if I'd lost a tooth and got 6d for it which would usually go by Saturday on some other comic. I rather liked what I saw of it, though. But you know what they say about all good things...