S.O.S (Save a student!)

[Steve Henderson]

Hi Everybody

My name is Steve and I am an MA researcher at the University of Sunderland. My topic is Animation and Design but I am studying the appeal of traditional British comics such as those by D.C Thomson, IPC and others.

I wish to use peoples opinions on the nature of appeal to aid my critical evaluation and hopefully back up a few of my theorys.

I would love it if you guys could lend me a hand by answering as many of the questions as you can, It doesn't matter if you work within the industry or are an avid reader who works elsewhere.

If you don't want to reveal your age or occupation but feel a need to answer the questions (hopefully!) Then you can e-mail them to me I don't mind.

I find the study of comics as important as I do entertaining and would like to imagine a world were this artform is appriciated in the way it should be. Lets hope there are plenty more people out there that feel the same

All the Best

Steve


The Questionairre
The purpose of this questionnaire is to determine the appeal of traditional British comics with particular emphasis on the Beano and Dandy although other titles that fit within this category are relevant. Comic titles that do not fit within this category are free to be mentioned if required!

1. What is Your Name?

2. What is your Date of Birth?

3. What is your profession?

4. What is your location?

5. At what age did you become aware of comics and which comic did you enjoy the most.

6. What was the nature of the appeal? Why did you like this particular comic?

7. Was there a particular Character or humour style or Design that attracted you to the comic?

8. As your tastes developed with age did you find yourself trying out other comics? What titles were you drawn to and why?

9. Does a comics appeal exist as an overall entity or do different artists offer different levels of appeal that are separate from the particular comics entire universe?

10. Can this appeal be translated successfully into an animated form?

11. If only certain aspects can be translated which parts are they?

Thank you very much for your assistance

[felneymike]

1. What is Your Name?
Michael Martin

2. What is your Date of Birth?
21st June 1984

3. What is your profession?
Student

4. What is your location?
Cambridgheshire fens, or Lincoln

5. At what age did you become aware of comics and which comic did you enjoy the most.
Must have been around 4-5 when mum would get me TV-tie-in "turtle comics". Then she got the Beano for me after that (presumably) ended. I can also remember having Thunderbirds comics at one stage

6. What was the nature of the appeal? Why did you like this particular comic?
I liked the turtle ones because i liked the TV show and "all my friends did". The Beano was more "just because" than any other reason, though when i was old enough to "go round the shop" i'd buy it myself, along with Classics. I think i liked to get "inspiration" from Dennis and The Bash St Kids to "get" the teachers at school. I'd also buy old Beano annuals at car boot sales and really loved a Beezer one i got too. Maybe it was the letter B

7. Was there a particular Character or humour style or Design that attracted you to the comic?
Bash St Kids as i wanted to "use it to learn" how to muck up school, Dennis was good for inspiratons for "splat weapons" and making go-carts too

8. As your tastes developed with age did you find yourself trying out other comics? What titles were you drawn to and why?
While still getting the Beano i got into playing war games with toy soldiers whilst camping once (i had done it sporadically before). This led me into liking Commando comics. Also my brother moved from The Dandy to 2000AD, and i'd get Judge Dredd, but it went "all adult" at one stage and i had an "attack of the morals" and stopped getting it, though my dad wouldnt have minded still buying it for me (er, shouldnt that be the other way around? XD?). For the end of the 90's and start of the '00's i stopped getting anything, but then gradually began on Judge Dredd again around 2004. Then got back into 2000AD "when Savage or Sinister Dexter are in it", but then i just didnt stop. More recently i began getting Commando again too, first only now and then but regularly after that, though sometimes supply to Lincolm Smith's could be sporadic. (Still annoyed at missing "Czech Ace")


9. Does a comics appeal exist as an overall entity or do different artists offer different levels of appeal that are separate from the particular comics entire universe?
The characters of Dennis and Bash St appealed to me when i was younger, but i liked the detailed art of Calamity James the most. I also loved Ogri in my dad's Bike Magazines, but apart from that i didnt really appreciate the art very much, even though i was also making my own comics. Perhaps they wouldnt have been so awful if i had done XD. In more modern times Commando's by Jose Maria Jorge are always a treat, but John Ridgway's wobbly, vague art annoys me.

10. Can this appeal be translated successfully into an animated form?
I don't think the art of either of those would work well in animation I tend to appreciate comics for what they are and don't try and "see them" in animation or something

11. If only certain aspects can be translated which parts are they?
Well stories are stories, so you can write something and it'll be translated equally well into any form if the translation is done by people who work in that field. And the written story is good enough in the first place, of course XD.
Then again the comic has the power of telling one story and maybe several others "in the background" but which can still share as much "time" with the main story, that can't really be done in books or any type of "film" nearly as well

[Steve Henderson]

Very interesting data thanks for helping out a fellow student!

[steelclaw]

I wonder what else your going to use the data for?
Do you really need so much information name, address location,birth, thats a lot of info to give out on the net.

[dandy mad]

Dose sound iffy you dont need all that info on someone just to answer a few questions

[Steve Henderson]

I need to know ages and occupations so I know who I am dealing with. For example if people under the age of twenty prefer 2000AD to the beano and people over the age of thirty like it the other way around I can use that as relevant data. The same goes for location and occupation. That way I get a much better picture of what Im dealing with because the Data is more precise. No questions are uncalled for but if you don't want to answer some of them I gave that option too.

The Data will be used to create a profile for my critical evaluation of a film I am creating that backs up my studies into the appeal of traditional british comics in animation. I'm not too happy to think that people believe that I am using this Data for anything other than that - check my website link below I'm legit. If your interested in answering the questions but don't want everyone else to read what you put then e-mail them to me, I would be very grateful for that.

[dandy mad]

i understand what you are saying steve but the internet is not the best place to give out personal data of any kind what you have to undestand is that people are very wary about what data they put on the net for fear of being duped or worse so i appologise if ive upset you

[Steve Henderson]

No offense taken mate.

I thought that getting results from a forum dedicated to UK Comics would get the best results. The people who use this site (presumably) are of all ages and occupations with one thing in common - A love of comics. Many researchers find this the best way to gather information on their chosen subjects as forums such as these offer the best opinions and more in depth answers as the subject matter is closer to the individuals interests.

If you wish to answer the questions that do not intrude upon your age or location or name or whatever you object to then I would be glad for the data. Feel free to e-mail them to me post them here or not bother if you would prefer.

I see what you mean about giving away your name and location but the main thing I'm after is a pov on peoples attitudes towards comics and their appeal in relation to animation. Thats the main thing for me Im not out to con anyone, If I was the last place I would be is a comic forum!

All the best

Steve

[AndyB]

Is the best thing to do to say e-mail the info to Steve? I think normal users have an "E-mail" button at the bottom of his posts, if not, Steve could always give us one.

PS - Steve, if you give your e-mail address, use a URL tag!

[Steve Henderson]

If people wish to contact me they can do on either the e-mail link provided by this forum or on my personal e-mail address

steven.henderson@sunderland.ac.uk

I hope this is more inviting!

{edit - I tried putting Steve's e-mail into a link, but it wouldn't work! - andy}

[steelclaw]

Sorry steve didn't mean to put the cat among the pigeons, but after watching a few programmes on TV about stolen identities I'm reluctant to give out much or any personnal infomation.

[Steve Henderson]

Thats fine, your right about identity thefts and stuff but you should have every confidence that I only need the info for one thing and thats to aid my research.

[alex_collier]

1. What is Your Name?
Alex Collier

2. What is your Date of Birth?
September 1980

3. What is your profession?
Atheistic cartoonist & student.

4. What is your location?
My sofa, Newcastle.

5. At what age did you become aware of comics and which comic did you enjoy the most.
Too young too remember. I know it was my uncle's collection of 1970's Beanos that I got into. He had kept them from when he was younger and I would read them cover to cover time and time again. In the end I ruined them and I still feel dreadful about that now. I remember they only cost between eight and twelve pence, and I also remember thinking they were of a higher standard than the current version of the Beano on sale at that time. It was probably sometime between 1987 - 1990.


6. What was the nature of the appeal? Why did you like this particular comic?
I loved the drawings. I also distinctly remember loving the colour mono colour splits! I thought it had a real sense of anarchy (although I didn't know the word at the time). It felt naughty. Its fair to say that at the time it had more bite and inventiveness than I think it has now, what with Dennis's Dad's whacking machine, and Granny's Demon Whacker. Bea's fart gags aren't anywhere near the knuckle these days to a bit of physical child punishment!

7. Was there a particular Character or humour style or Design that attracted you to the comic?
When I was younger, Rodger the Dodger. I wish I had sent a question to Rodger's 'Dodge Clinic'. I also loved Minnie the Minx as she struck me as being the most mentally unhinged of all the characters. It took me a while to get it, but Calamity James soon became my all time favourite, and he remains that to this day.

8. As your tastes developed with age did you find yourself trying out other comics? What titles were you drawn to and why?
Viz. For much the same reasons as I found myself becoming drawn to the Beano when I was younger. As I grew out of the Beano I grew into Viz. I have grown back into the Beano recently though!

9. Does a comics appeal exist as an overall entity or do different artists offer different levels of appeal that are separate from the particular comics entire universe?
I adore the work of Tom Patterson. See also Hunt Emmerson and Lew Stringer. From experience I know though that the greatest artist in the world cannot help a truly terrible script. Luckily those artists mentioned always have good scripts to work from.

10. Can this appeal be translated successfully into an animated form?
I think so. Not always though. There needs to be a lot more time and talent invested into an animation, otherwise lots of flaws can show through. The Viz animations tended to drag and looked fairly bad due to low cost production, and I felt that this detracted from the enjoyment of them. However, that said, I think it worked in the favour of 'Billy the Fish', which was my favourite of those animations. Perhaps it reflected the production values of the strip very well!

11. If only certain aspects can be translated which parts are they?
I think all aspects can be translated to varying degrees. When animating an established comic character the only thing you are really adding is the voice, which is usually a let down to most 'fans'. I find that readers often have a voice in their head which is the voice of their character. This simply cannot be represented satisfactorily for everyone. Also in case of most other cartoons, from Batman to Dennis the Menace, new characters are introduced. I felt let down by the Dennis the Menace cartoon, as I didn't want these new characters introduced and it felt like a very watered down world to that which I knew. But then again, I'm a balding, mildly overweight 27 year old. It's not aimed at me. Usually you can blame 'focus groups' for any crap meddling.

[Steve Henderson]

Thanks Alex very big help

[Steve Henderson]

{edit - I tried putting Steve's e-mail into a link, but it wouldn't work! - andy}

I can't see why this is a problem and I have only just noticed your edit Andy, some people have been using my e-mail to get in touch, a very big thank you to them - the more the merrier!