Comics UK

Ask not for whom the bell tolls. The writing is on the wall and only us diehards will ever buy comics in any format to speak of. The golden age is well and truly over. We still have our memories and through the good works of various digital preservation groups we can once more glimpse that which brought us so much joy in our youth. Pessimistic I may be , but that is the stark reality of it. I'm just glad that we have the various interest groups online to keep alive all those treasures from when we were young.

regards,

The Cap.

STARBOY wrote:They can't stockpile if the art isn't available to them from the US in the first place (unless you mean a stockpile 0of alternative art / strips which is a fair point) as that itself is running late. Fair point though about publishing later (maybe more than a month later though) but then hindsight is always a wonderful thing after the event.

True, I guess. I did mean a stockpile of anything, not necessarily the same material that was due to appear.

The announcement about the revised date should've been made when the issue was due out, IMHO, not two weeks later. At least you know when to expect it now.

Captain Storm wrote:We still have our memories and through the good works of various digital preservation groups we can once more glimpse that which brought us so much joy in our youth.

Unfortunately one man's file sharing is another man's copyright theft, but we've been down that road before. It's unfortunate that there aren't enough British collectors to make UK reprints an ongoing reality. There seem to be enough fans in the USA with ready cash to buy numerous nicely produced archive books. Sadly this country couldn't even muster enough support for a £2 Classics from the Comics every month. Even Titan have delayed or shelved some of their intended reprint books because the market isn't interested enough or isn't large enough.

I'm not having a go at British collectors. I'm just saying that sadly there aren't enough of us to support an ongoing British archive scheme like there is in the States with the Marvel Masterworks, Warren Archives, various horror comics books etc. We're a niche of a niche of you like.

Still, 2010 brought us The Best of Victor and Black Bob so perhaps 2011 will surprise us.

It's not collectable comics i don't like, you can bet i'll be rushing out to buy Strip Magazine on it's first day. I just don't like Clint! It's so bad it makes the Judge Dredd Megazine's "improvements" of a few years ago (eliminating text stories and "British Icons", replacing them with crap film reviews. And completely ignoring the brilliant Life on Mars in favour of gushing about the latest yankee McTelly) look good!

Hi Lew,yeah we've been down that road before for sure , but the main thing is that we're both happy The sad thing is as we grow older the interest in the old comics and apparently any new ones becomes even less and will surely go with us when we shuffle off this mortal coil. Until then , ce la vie!

peace brother,

The Cap.

Captain Storm wrote:Hi Lew,yeah we've been down that road before for sure , but the main thing is that we're both happy The sad thing is as we grow older the interest in the old comics and apparently any new ones becomes even less and will surely go with us when we shuffle off this mortal coil. Until then , ce la vie!

peace brother,

The Cap.

I think there will always be comic collectors, just as there always have been. Most UK collectors tend to favour their own nostalgia so sadly there's not so much interest in comics of the 1930s for example now, as there was 40 years ago.

In 30 years time there will be collectors on the equivalent of eBay hunting back issues of Toxic, The DFC and Beano etc. But, you're right, on the whole they won't be interested in Lion and Thunder, any more than most current collectors of 1980s comics are interested in Funny Wonder or Larks.

The only problem with that scenario Lew , is that the most probable demographic for buying Toxic , DFC and Beano is the likes of us lot here who are trying to live our comics youth by buying what ever is available today. Most new projects unfortunately fall far short of expectations and quickly get cancelled and even the best sellers only attract younger readers for their free gifts. So it would seem that the future may be bright but it will be full of crusty old codgers like us clinging onto a medium that will be forgotten by everybody else and the kiddies of today will maybe remember the toys that came with their throwaway "comics" but will be busy being immersed in their holographic blu ray games.

The Cap.

Captain Storm wrote:The only problem with that scenario Lew , is that the most probable demographic for buying Toxic , DFC and Beano is the likes of us lot here who are trying to live our comics youth by buying what ever is available today.

There's no evidence of that. Most of the Beano/Dandy/Toxic readers are children. If there were 60,000plus comic-nostalgic adults out there why didn't they support Classics from the Comics and other UK reprints?

Captain Storm wrote:Most new projects unfortunately fall far short of expectations and quickly get cancelled and even the best sellers only attract younger readers for their free gifts.

I disagree Cap. We receive feedback from kids all the time. There aren't as many kids reading comics as there used to be but the thousands that do still love the characters.

Back to Clint. I saw #6 in Smiths today and had to have a look. I got as far as the editorial, well the first few paragraphs of it and was tempted to through it down in disgust. Didn't, of course. Is Mr. Miller being deliberately controversial and "edgy"? Is he out to hypnotise the loose thinkers with his strange Top Gear attitude to global warming (and I know he's intelligent enough to know the difference between weather and climate)? Is he really trying to be oh so cool with all that swearing? Actually, I don't care and prefer to leave Clint on the shelf and my money in my pocket.

I'd been avoiding this. Everything about it, the articles, the title, the editorial, shouts that it's everything I despise.

Read it. Liked it.

Comics are (generally) good. What more can I say?

paw broon wrote:Back to Clint. I saw #6 in Smiths today and had to have a look. I got as far as the editorial, well the first few paragraphs of it and was tempted to through it down in disgust. Didn't, of course. Is Mr. Miller being deliberately controversial and "edgy"? Is he out to hypnotise the loose thinkers with his strange Top Gear attitude to global warming (and I know he's intelligent enough to know the difference between weather and climate)? Is he really trying to be oh so cool with all that swearing? Actually, I don't care and prefer to leave Clint on the shelf and my money in my pocket.

I was just reading the issue whilst having my lunch. I find it better in small doses. 100 pages of people trying to shock gets very boring if read in one go.

I've bought the first 5 issues, it's OK, I don't think I will be buying anymore though I've given it a chance and it's not really for me, I will give a 'Strip' ago as well and see how I get on with it when it's published.

steelclaw wrote:I've bought the first 5 issues, it's OK, I don't think I will be buying anymore though I've given it a chance and it's not really for me, I will give a 'Strip' ago as well and see how I get on with it when it's published.

I think Strip Magazine definitely shows more potential. Being aimed at all-ages it'll be a more pleasant read than Clint and won't be relying on shock value to impress readers. (Not that I'm adverse to bad language in adult comics, - I contribute to Viz, - but Clint lacks the additional social satire aspect that Viz has.)

Viz was the only comic I bought in the 1980s.

Viz has the added advantage of having a sense of humour. And, oddly enough, I can happily take the language and filth that is Viz. Anyway, any comic that can spawn Roger's Profanisaurus has something going for it.