Comics UK

http://m.digitalspy.co.uk/comics/news/a ... -week.html
Jamie Smart's new webcomic Moose Kid Comics starts this friday. Out of the two strips on the Digital Spy post, I think I'll prefer the Laura Howell one better.

The article states that a print run will be funded by Kickstarter. It's a sorry state of affairs that Jamie has to rely on that.

DS cited this: http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2 ... id-comics/

Digifiend wrote:The article states that a print run will be funded by Kickstarter. It's a sorry state of affairs that Jamie has to rely on that.

DS cited this: http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2 ... id-comics/

Sign of the times unfortunately. Not just for this project but for everyone. The major publishers are only interested in licensed properties, and smaller publishers find it too expensive to get onto the shelves of Smiths, Asda, etc. Also, there's a generation and their parents who have now been conditioned to expect comics to be related to licensed properties.

The only solution seems to be to start small (self financed or Kickstarter) and hope it'll catch on in the way that Viz did. But very few full time artists can afford to work for free on the hope that it develops like that.

Either that or find a millionaire comic fan with a bottomless money pit to publish it.

Just checking what you mean by 'licenced' properties Lew. Do you find they necessarily have to be an established franchise, or just well known?

I was also wondering if you know of any successful marketing strategies of British unlicenced comics in recent times, that have enabled a title to become relatatively reconized?

I'm thinking maybe Persepolis might be the closest- though that's hardly a household name, and I'm only assuming it was produced here. Come to think of it, might have been more word of mouth than an actual active marketing campaign, but it is pretty unusual to see a comic book featured so heavily in the mainstream.

Michael Anden wrote:Just checking what you mean by 'licenced' properties Lew. Do you find they necessarily have to be an established franchise, or just well known?

I was also wondering if you know of any successful marketing strategies of British unlicenced comics in recent times, that have enabled a title to become relatatively reconized?

I'm thinking maybe Persepolis might be the closest- though that's hardly a household name, and I'm only assuming it was produced here. Come to think of it, might have been more word of mouth than an actual active marketing campaign, but it is pretty unusual to see a comic book featured so heavily in the mainstream.

I'd never heard of Persepolis I'm afraid but I've just looked it up. I should clarify that I was talking about ongoing traditional children's comics rather than graphic novels. Yes, there is a market for graphic novels in the UK (Grandville, Gum Girl, etc) so that's an avenue worth exploring.

By licensed properties I mean that publishers of children's comics/mags are only interested in something tied into a brand, such as a new TV show or toy that's either well established or will have a big marketing push behind it.

It's out: http://www.moosekidcomics.com/

Had a little look at this this morning, will look properly once I find a decent comic reader for Android.

Meanwhile, anyone know who did those "adverts" for dangerous holidays? Temples, squids, caves and all that. I can't see a signature anywhere.

Oh, the thing with the badgers was funny, I liked that

Mark Stafford
http://www.moosekidcomics.com/artists/

Cheers for that - it's quite the gallery he has there!

TwoHeadedBoy wrote:Had a little look at this this morning, will look properly once I find a decent comic reader for Android.

Meanwhile, anyone know who did those "adverts" for dangerous holidays? Temples, squids, caves and all that. I can't see a signature anywhere.

Oh, the thing with the badgers was funny, I liked that

You need "Perfect Viewer" - I use it all the time, works a treat.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... r&hl=en_GB

Moose Kid Comics is very funny, I hope it gets a print run, well done Jamie!

Cheers for that - I've got LOADS of comics on my hard drive that I haven't been able to find a way to comfortably read yet - this might be just the thing!

I am not particularly familiar with Kickstarter, has one started for a print version of Moose Kid?

Issue 2 was announced a couple of months ago but it won't be out until summer.
https://twitter.com/moosekidcomics/stat ... 5452127232

I think the difficulty in producing a comic today is finding the right audience.Something is needed that appeals to a large percentage of the population young and old.Comics containing cute animals that are not well know will only have a limited appeal and I would think that would reflect in the sales figures.If you can remember the golden age of US comics there were often photos seen of the same comics being read by children and adults.Artwork can also be another negative i've seen a number of comic strip panels lately where I have had to spend ages trying to work out what exactly is being portrayed.Rather than comics being made up of one page jokes,probably longer Broon type stories mixed with realistically drawn adventure strips may be the way to go.For the New Year I hope someone finds the right formula and produces a comic that sells in large numbers.

I think the big trick is finding where to sell new comics. Newsagents/supermarkets etc are very difficult to get into and comic shops have a distinct clientelle (although I think that's a self-fulling, and inherently damaging, prophecy). The internet is a leveller but a different beast, and not for a significant amount of potential comic readers. Small press is even worse as a distro channel. So where next?