Buster Special 2009

[Digifiend]

Checked two branches in Hull city centre today, neither have any Busters - seems the one I bought was the only copy the Prospect Centre branch got. The Mistys are gone now, as are the unsold copies of last month's Classics from the Comics.

[steelclaw]

I've been to 401 WH.SMITHS, and still can't find it.

[Peter Gray]

Stil none in Guildford...I just don't get it..

[Lew Stringer]

Stil none in Guildford...I just don't get it..

...but not for want of trying.

Presumably once this limp "exclusive" is over with Smiths on 4th March Egmont will be able to sell it via mail order, so hopefully you'll get a copy eventually!

Lew

[Digifiend]

Well they're selling the others that way, there's an advert on the inside back cover of the Buster special.

Have you missed these other Egmont Classic Comics? To order, please email comicarchive@egmont.co.uk

Guess it can't harm to email them.

[Lew Stringer]

Guess it can't harm to email them.

As I said, Smiths have an exclusive at present. Egmont won't be able to sell the Buster one yet.

Lew

[Phoenix]

None in Liverpool today either. I'm actually not at all impressed by the comics display there, unlike the layout they used to have in their spacious premises in Church Street before they closed it down and trotted off to a prime site in the Liverpool One development. The new place is much more cramped and the comics are all placed on a narrow stand at the fag end of one of their modest aisles. From what I could tell, although some effort had been made to separate the various titles, virtually every comic was TV linked, although the half dozen remaining Christmas issues of The Beano were at least standing upright in their own tub.

[Digifiend]

Sadly, just about the only non TV-linked comics now are 2000AD, Toxic, Dandy Xtreme, The Beano, BeanoMax, Commando, Fun-Size Beano/Dandy and adult fare such as Viz. There are many more TV and film tie-ins than comics with original characters these days.

[Jonny Whizz]

Even the Beano (and BeanoMax) now have Dennis and Gnasher, which has been reduced to a TV spin-off strip.

[Kashgar]

And it seems that two further issues have been discovered by two kids named Verruca Salt and Charlie Bucket!

[Peter Gray]

it is getting a bit like that..

this issue has got very huge in our minds..it has brought out the kid in us..

Well it is Buster!
shows how much we've missed it..

[Digifiend]

Even the Beano (and BeanoMax) now have Dennis and Gnasher, which has been reduced to a TV spin-off strip.

and BeanoMax has Wallace and Gromit as well. Dandy Xtreme will also have a TV tie-in once the Marvo the Wonder Chicken TV series starts. They aren't dedicated TV tie-in comics though, unlike Doctor Who Adventures, for example.

[Lew Stringer]

Sadly, just about the only non TV-linked comics now are 2000AD, Toxic, Dandy Xtreme, The Beano, BeanoMax, Commando, Fun-Size Beano/Dandy and adult fare such as Viz. There are many more TV and film tie-ins than comics with original characters these days.

Unfortunately publishers have made a rod for their own backs. By pursuing licensed titles over the last couple of decades it's created a readership that expects comics to be based on a tv show/toy/movie. Worse, retailers also expect this now, and they place their orders to suit, based on how well they recognise the "brand" or how well trade mags tell them it's going to be part of a bigger merchandising campaign (so they want a piece of the action). It's now become impossible to get a new, non-licensed comic in their stores.

One can't blame publishers for chasing licenses. After all, the "traditional" comic had finally had its day. The problem was that comics could have survived if they'd moved with the times a bit faster. Sadly, even when that was attempted fuddy-duddy retailers weren't ready for comics like Action and Oink! and did their best to destroy them based on the outdated and unproven assumption that comics corrupt kids.

Comics still sell well in Europe, Japan, and Brazil, so why not in our tiny island? Even in the UK some kids still like comic strips, as The Beano letters pages prove every week. It's now a case of expanding that audience, getting comics out there, making them contemporary enough (and cool enough) to appeal to kids. If that means finding a new way of distribution outside of retail giants that's the way to go, before it's too late.

Lew

[philcom55]

To date the only two copies I've seen were in Stafford last week. Passing through again today I noticed that they remained unsold, in spite of the fact that the store was heaving with people desperate to buy almost anything. I'm afraid it's looking as though the majority of Smiths branches might actually have known what they were doing when they decided to devote their shelf space to the usual polybagged TV mags instead. Darn!

- Phil Rushton

[Digifiend]

Maybe the people who do want to buy it just don't know it exists? Apart from this site, a couple of comic related blogs, and bustercomic.co.uk, where has it (and the previous three) been advertised? Egmont's website mentions them - but neglects the WHSmith exclusivity: http://www.egmont.co.uk/ProductCat.asp?Catid=59

All our current titles are available from grocery outlets and all good newsagents.

Not the ones specifically mentioned on that page though.