Why Are There No New Comics?

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Michael Anden
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Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Michael Anden »

"Ah, but you see, Michael, they're all still out there, except you have to hunt for them in specialty stores, and specialty sites, and specialty this that or the other- and the thrill of the hunt is half the fun etc, etc..."

Great that plenty of people feel that way, but I'd be interested in what British fans make of the below article (whether or not you agree that comics are dying a death):

http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/ ... ustry.html

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Digifiend
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Digifiend »

That article is completely US-centric, but the fact comics now sell thousands instead of millions has nothing to do with the direct market, considering the same thing has happened in the UK where comics are still on newsstands!

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paw broon
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by paw broon »

Well, Digifiend, you say that, but a fan or casual reader can no longer find current British comics on the shelves in my local town. Beano excepted. No Commando, no Doctor Who, no Titan reprints. The local comic shop stocks 3, I think, localish small press titles and the rest is American imports. Since he moved to his new location, I haven't seen his box of girls' comics back issues either.
As to the article, there is lot to think about in there and I believe, from experience, that his argument stands up.
I'm sure others will have comments to make so I'll hold off till I read them. In any case, I have to get out for the bus.

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Michael Anden
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Michael Anden »

Digifiend wrote:That article is completely US-centric, but the fact comics now sell thousands instead of millions has nothing to do with the direct market, considering the same thing has happened in the UK where comics are still on newsstands!
...

Well, I have nothing but respect for the newsstands you're obviously lucky enough to be living near, Digifiend! Mine has Dangermouse, Toxic and other titles for infants-to five-year olds, and if those are some peoples' definition of 'comics' these days, more power to them. The Beano and 2000AD are legit comics, I think we're all still agreed, but hardly new, and the latter available only at very scattershot vendors. If we're talking reprint DC and Marvel found at some branches of Smiths, I think the article still has some interesting things to say relevant to the British market... even though there's some obvious devil's advocate emulsifier spooned into the mix!

In terms of your point about comics' dwindling sales having nothing to do with the direct market, I suspect that's not completely literally true, as there is next to no chance of the impulse purchases that used to be available to the public. Certainly things were bottoming out long before the Direct Market, hence the creation of the latter to compensate, but a compromise somewhere in between might be the answer for reintroducing the real breadth of comics to a wider public of all ages.


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Michael Anden
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Michael Anden »


Thanks Richard, looks all good stuff. My thread header was admittedly a bit click-baity. Of course - of course there are new comics, more new comics than anyone in their right might could get around to reading. My real point in directing visitors to the article was to highlight the decline of the medium's presence in the mind - and homes - of the general public, and ways that might be remedied.

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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Richard S. »

yeah, the decline in a massive choice of comics in every corner shop is a massive blow, those (early years) casual comics readers are hard to replace...
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tony ingram
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by tony ingram »

Michael Anden wrote:
Digifiend wrote:That article is completely US-centric, but the fact comics now sell thousands instead of millions has nothing to do with the direct market, considering the same thing has happened in the UK where comics are still on newsstands!
...

Well, I have nothing but respect for the newsstands you're obviously lucky enough to be living near, Digifiend! Mine has Dangermouse, Toxic and other titles for infants-to five-year olds, and if those are some peoples' definition of 'comics' these days, more power to them. The Beano and 2000AD are legit comics, I think we're all still agreed, but hardly new, and the latter available only at very scattershot vendors. If we're talking reprint DC and Marvel found at some branches of Smiths, I think the article still has some interesting things to say relevant to the British market... even though there's some obvious devil's advocate emulsifier spooned into the mix!

In terms of your point about comics' dwindling sales having nothing to do with the direct market, I suspect that's not completely literally true, as there is next to no chance of the impulse purchases that used to be available to the public. Certainly things were bottoming out long before the Direct Market, hence the creation of the latter to compensate, but a compromise somewhere in between might be the answer for reintroducing the real breadth of comics to a wider public of all ages.
I don't know where Digi is, but I'm just outside Ipswich and the local WH Smiths and several local supermarkets, and even at least three small convenience stores in that area, still stock Beano, 2000 AD, Judge Dredd Megazine, Doctor Who Magazine, sometimes Commando, and the Titan Doctor Who title, and Smiths also stock about a dozen Titan and Panini reprint titles of US material.

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paw broon
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by paw broon »

Thanks for those reviews of new comics. I'm glad they're out there although none of them appeal to me - can't stand anything football based and I groo at the Elephant Man material, despite rather liking the illos I have seen. And I say that deliberately as the small amount of pages I have seen appear to me to be more a paste up of well drawn illos than sequential art. A bit like Bisley - great illustrator but can't lay out a comic to save his life. I'm sure I'll get pelters for that but it is my opinion. Also, anthropomorphic unless it's D. Duck esq. doesn't float my boat.
Back to Michael's question and I was pondering it as I wandered round the supermarket this morning. There is no doubt that when comics, o.k. American comics, were available in every newsagent and corner shop, they were visible to many more potential readers than nowadays. Late 1959/1960, depending on where you lived, saw the start of regular distribution of American comics in the majority of newsagents and corner shops throughout the U.K. I have no idea how many were sold and how many were returned to Menzies etc. but I and many pals bought and devoured them as often as pocket money would allow. Then they were swapped. Great fun. Around and just after this time, readers were treated to first/early appearances of F.F, Spidey, Green Lantern, Flash, Challengers and so much more - a golden part of the Silver Age, you might say.
By the time we get to comics being only available through specialist shops the potential audience obviously takes a nosedive. You have to be looking for a comic and some comic shops in Britain would have put people off entering. Meanwhile British comics were still in newsagents and in corner shops but just weren't selling as well - other things taking up time and money that younger people would previously have spent on comics? Also some of this is due to the British public as a whole looking down their noses at comics, a characteristic that exists to this day in many adult minds.
Going slightly off-argument here, I remember being at the London con as a comic shop owner when Steve Geppi addressed the room telling us Diamond would be taking over distribution in Britain and I was the first to ask Mr. Geppi why he, an American capitalist, thought a monopoly would be a good thing. Waffling followed.
Marvel and DC, as the article claims, have an easy time of it, taking no risks and putting the risk on individual comic shop owners, and having talked to some owners of smaller, non chain outlets, I know how bad distribution can be and how unsatisfactory after sales service can be. I really don't want to be the person who does all the work to get hold of a comic I might want to read. I would much prefer to have an array of titles on shelves or spinners, so that I could choose. But that is not going to happen.
Yes as Richard points out, there are new comics out there. Finding them for the vast majority of the population, or those who might be interested, is almost impossible and until this and other material becomes once again universally visible, it'll remain a small, specialist, niche market. Fortunately for me, I collect old stuff.

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paw broon
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by paw broon »

Tony, I'm glad you still have outlets with British comics but in Falkirk we don't. WHS closed a while ago and the wee newsagents here and in Linlithgow have little or nothing in comics. The closest to me is Edinburgh - half hour by train, or Stirling - 20 minutes by train. Falkirk and Stirling have small comic shops but they only take the latest mainstream American comics, unless you get in on time to order other stuff. Even the supermarkets no longer stock anything other than Beano.

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

There are loads of comics still on sale, but the ones I see are almost all glossy tie-ins of media properties which look really bland to the point I can't pinpoint or recall a single individual cover-------or specific image---- of any of them.

It is the equivalent of almost every comic on sale in 1970 looking like a variant on YOGI and his Toy: which has proven to be the template of the future, going by the stuff on view today---overpriced and gimmicky.

The biggest loss in my view is of the perochial, quirky UK-originated comic output that many of us on here remember, that had next to nothing to do with media tie-ins, at least in comparison with the bland output that we are saddled with today.

However, somebody must be buying this stuff, as it is always 'there'.


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geoff42
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by geoff42 »

In my home town, Batley, and the nearest - Dewsbury - 2000 ad is not available; thee reason why I had no choice but to subscribe from this time last year. Judge Dredd Megazine was sporadic, so much so I decided to subscribe that title as well. If old stalwarts such as 2000 ad and the Megazine are struggling to make the local newsstands, any new comics don't stand a chance. We all know it's inevitable; some just won't accept it. The digital age is here and nothing will stop it.

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Michael Anden
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Michael Anden »

geoff42 wrote:In my home town, Batley, and the nearest - Dewsbury - 2000 ad is not available; thee reason why I had no choice but to subscribe from this time last year. Judge Dredd Megazine was sporadic, so much so I decided to subscribe that title as well. If old stalwarts such as 2000 ad and the Megazine are struggling to make the local newsstands, any new comics don't stand a chance. We all know it's inevitable; some just won't accept it. The digital age is here and nothing will stop it.
I don't think anyone's contesting that the digital age is here to stay, but new paper books and magazines still sell in presumably high enough quantity in the UK to stay commerically viable in newsagents, supermarkets etc. Why not new British comics?

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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by Lew Stringer »

Michael Anden wrote:
I don't think anyone's contesting that the digital age is here to stay, but new paper books and magazines still sell in presumably high enough quantity in the UK to stay commerically viable in newsagents, supermarkets etc. Why not new British comics?
As we've discussed numerous times before, it's very difficult, and expensive, to launch a new, non-licensed, comic in newsagents these days. Strip made a commendable attempt a few years ago, and The Phoenix has limited distribution in WH Smiths, but retailers prefer licensed children's magazines bagged with toys.

The days of every UK comic being found in newsagents is long gone. That hasn't been the norm for years. We have to accept that comic speciality shops, mail order, bookshops, digital, and comic conventions are legitimate methods to reach the audience these days. It's not ideal that newsagents are rarely part of that now, but things aren't going to go back to how they were.

Yes, it's difficult to reach new younger readers with comics that way, but I have noticed a vast increase in families attending conventions these days so the potential to get kids interested in new comics is increasing.
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philcom55
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Re: Why Are There No New Comics?

Post by philcom55 »

If vinyl LPs can make a comeback in supermarkets then I guess anything's possible!

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