Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

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colcool007
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by colcool007 »

That's a shock. Only one left from the original trio. Got to admit that Crikey has gone from strength to strength IMHO as I think that each issue has improved on the last.
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

steelclaw
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by steelclaw »

colcool007 wrote:That's a shock. Only one left from the original trio. Got to admit that Crikey has gone from strength to strength IMHO as I think that each issue has improved on the last.
I agree, I will continue buying whatever happens.

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stevezodiac
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by stevezodiac »

I wonder if we'll ever see Crikey on sale in Smiths? Print run too small probably but wouldn't it be nice?

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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by Lew Stringer »

stevezodiac wrote:I wonder if we'll ever see Crikey on sale in Smiths? Print run too small probably but wouldn't it be nice?
Well, Book and Magazine Collector and TV Film Memorabilia magazines are there so it's possible. One step at a time though, so it may not happen for a while yet. Switching from black and white to full colour throughout is an ambitious step so let's see how that fares first.

It's already on sale in comic shops of course, although I know at least one shop received far less than they'd ordered of issue 6. (Not Crikey's fault by the way.) Personally I'd be happy to see it continue as a subscription-only mag without Smiths enforcing their demands on it.

Lew
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
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tony ingram
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by tony ingram »

Lew Stringer wrote:
stevezodiac wrote:I wonder if we'll ever see Crikey on sale in Smiths? Print run too small probably but wouldn't it be nice?
Well, Book and Magazine Collector and TV Film Memorabilia magazines are there so it's possible. One step at a time though, so it may not happen for a while yet. Switching from black and white to full colour throughout is an ambitious step so let's see how that fares first.

It's already on sale in comic shops of course, although I know at least one shop received far less than they'd ordered of issue 6. (Not Crikey's fault by the way.) Personally I'd be happy to see it continue as a subscription-only mag without Smiths enforcing their demands on it.

Lew
WH Smiths no, but there is a possibility that Crikey might become rather more readily available in the near future...

and Lew-thanks for all the support you've given the mag, it's much appreciated by Glenn I know, and by me too-Tony Ingram

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tony ingram
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by tony ingram »

OK, I mentioned awhile back that there might be changes in store for Crikey! Well, I can now confirm just what those changes are and when they'll be happening, although subscribers should already be aware of them if they've read the final page of the now on sale Crikey! #10. As of #11, due on sale in August, the mag returns to a bi-monthly schedule. It's also, following the success of a tryout a few issues back, going to be moving into full colour-and while it's true the cover price has recently risen, the page count will be rising too from 48 to 84; still value for money in anyone's book, hopefully. More significantly though, in recent months it has become clear that there have been problems with distribution. Well, as of #11 that should no longer be a problem as, in addition to the regular outlets Crikey! will now be available in Borders, one of the country's leading retailers of books and magazines!

It's been a long, hard journey and at times seemed a very uncertain one, but the new Crikey! seems to have finally arrived. Thanks to all of you who've helped us get this far, and I just hope you'll continue to support the mag in the future. With some of the stuff Glenn has lined up, hopefully the best is yet to come.

Tony

nostalgicdon
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by nostalgicdon »

I`ve only just regained my interest in comics after 20 years or so and read about Crikey! while surfing comic related websites.
I had to go to Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham to find issue 10 and was surprised to find they had no back issues.
I was even more surprised to learn that Marvel, DC etc. are now £3 each for mostly glossy advertising, made the cover price of Crikey look a bargain!

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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by tony ingram »

nostalgicdon wrote:I`ve only just regained my interest in comics after 20 years or so and read about Crikey! while surfing comic related websites.
I had to go to Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham to find issue 10 and was surprised to find they had no back issues.
I was even more surprised to learn that Marvel, DC etc. are now £3 each for mostly glossy advertising, made the cover price of Crikey look a bargain!
Back issues are available directly from Crikey! Just go to the website or write to the editorial address (or, indeed, just contact me!). :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that the average US comic is now basically two thirds strip to one third ads. You are essentially paying a quid for the privilege of reading the ads.

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Digifiend
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by Digifiend »

I was even more surprised to learn that Marvel, DC etc. are now £3 each for mostly glossy advertising, made the cover price of Crikey look a bargain!
That's not uncommon - The Beano, Fun-Size Beano and Fun-Size Dandy are the only comics with a cover price less than £2 now. Dandy Xtreme is £2.25 minimum, the Marvel/DC Collectors Editions are £2.50, which is around the same as most of the other (mostly licenced) comics.

Actually that makes the US comics a good price, because I would've expected them to cost more due to the cost of importing them.

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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by Lew Stringer »

tony ingram wrote: I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that the average US comic is now basically two thirds strip to one third ads. You are essentially paying a quid for the privilege of reading the ads.
The ratio is actually slightly better than it has been for decades! In the mid to late Sixties the format of a standard 32 page Marvel comic was 20 pages of strip. Today the format is 22 pages of strip.

In the 1970s Marvel's strip pages gradually decreased to just 17 in a 32 page comic!

The cover price is generally $2.99, so if anyone's paying three quid for that they're being ripped off. Around £2.20 is the usual rate. (Less on eBay.) Some titles are now $3.99 so they might cost £3 but most times you'll get more story pages. (Detective Comics for example now features 22 pages of Batgirl and 8 pages of The Question, within a 40 page comic.)

Lew
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Digifiend
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Re: Changes in store for Crikey! magazine

Post by Digifiend »

Update. I previously said the Marvel Collectors Editions were £2.50. They've just gone up to £2.99. Funny thing is, that makes their price the same as their US counterparts - 2.99 of the local currency. In real terms, due to the page counts and exchange rate, the Collectors Editions work out cheaper than the originals.

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