Comics UK

Isn't it about time British comics had their own fanzine? Letters to Comics International, publications ranging from Dan Dare to Hook Jaw, Trigan Empire to Doomlord, websites such as Comics UK, Misty, Scream etc (some of which are looking to publish), not to mention indie press, such as Solar Wind, Starscape, Jack Staff and BAM, testify to the interest. Naturally there's already a number of 2000AD fanzines, plus 1950s Eagle's Spaceships Away! Makes sense for everyone interested to unite.

I would envisage something along the lines of a graphic novel (just as cheap to produce as a 'zine but saleable on Amazon etc.) with a few reprinted stories, some new takes on old characters (e.g. posters or new stories), features on new and classic creators, comics and characters.

Naturally licensing stories would take a bit of cash but rather than say, the Scream fans risking all their money on a Scream TPB, maybe they could pay 100 between 10 of them in a year for a 13th Floor story, or a Ken Reid fan may want to spend 20 pounds or so on a one-off page of Frnakie Stein. Combine that with a poster of Billy the Cat by Garen Ewing, or a new Big Ben strip by Martin Eden, plus interviews with, say, Ian Kennedy, Dez Skinn and Pat Mills, I'd say that was a great issue!

So, what do you think? Who's up for contributing?

Chris

Just posting the same reply as I did on the Comics International group:

On 20 Oct 2006, at 11:34, superherostore wrote:

> Isn't it about time British comics had their own fanzine?

I produced a few issues of a British comics fanzine back in the early
1980's (Metamorph/ Fantasy Express). It never really sold any more than
100 copies if I recall correctly. Okay, that was then, different world
and all that, but with several good websites providing info today I'm
not sure if there's a market for a fanzine about UK comics.

Take eBay for example; often the same dozen or so people bidding on old
British comics. Sure, there are several thousand who buy 2000 AD every
week but they're not necessarily interested in the *history* of comics,
or anything apart from 2000 AD.

Although there are tens of thousands of kids who buy British comics
(Beano, Toxic, Action Man, etc) would enough of those support, or even
be interested in, buying a fanzine?

> a Ken Reid fan may want to spend 20 pounds or so on a one-
> off page of Frnakie Stein.

I don't get it. Wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy a few of the old
comics than pay ?20 for a reprint of one page?

I might be wrong but I honestly don't feel the market for specific
'zines aimed at British comics is there. However, I do feel that there
is a market for one off *books* on UK comics, such as the one by Paul
Gravett and Peter Stanbury which comes out next week:
http://www.greatbritishcomics.com/ or the recently published "The Best
of Girl" collection.

With many creators working for various publishers across the world now,
is it wise to confine a fanzine solely to comics that just happen to be
edited in the UK? I appreciate your wish to see our history and
achievements given proper recognition but I'm not sure there's a demand
for such a publication that would break even.

That said, I would like to see existing magazines give a bit more space
to UK comics. The newsstand magazine Comics World fluffed that chance
years ago, with only a minor nod to the rich history of British comics.
And when was the last time Dreamwatch and SFX reviewed a British comic in their Comics Reviews section?

Lew

While I take Lew's comments on board, I am one of the eternal optimists and I would cheerfullly chuck money Chris' way for a fanzine.

While a fanzine would have to appeal to many, I would suggest an audience in the early '30s to mid '40s bracket featuring. if possible, one of the unpublished stories, whether it be Union Jack Jackson or Death Game 1999.

I'll get me coat now!

I like the idea Chris, but isint Redeye allready doing quite a lot of what you have mentioned?

I have only got two issues( hard to get over here) of it so I cant speak for all the issues but it seemed to focus on U.K. small press and 2000ad.

IIRC the last on had an overview of Alan Moores UK work and an article on Starlord. A weighty read and well worth the entrance fee.

Im sure they would be interested in submissions, like your idea to run do an article on Ken Reid and have a sample of Faceach or Martha or Johna, depending who were the easiest to get the permission from.

David

Lew Stringer wrote:
I produced a few issues of a British comics fanzine back in the early
1980's (Metamorph/ Fantasy Express). It never really sold any more than
100 copies if I recall correctly.
Lew

I agree with Lew's post. You only have to look at who's posting on this site and you'll see it's the same few people every time. I can't imagine a fanzine selling many copies at all.

Here's some of the comments made in the aforementioned CI forum:

I didn't have a traditional photocopied 'zine in mind, rather a graphic novel produced by fans.
Probably released once or twice a year. A fanzine as it would be
produced by fans, not as a commercial enterprise (but what else can
you call it..a fanbook?). I got the idea as I have been contacted
by people wanting a variety of comics to be published by Spitfire.
Ones that could never stand up on their own but would be of interest
if they were included within a line-up. It would also be an
opportunity to see characters being updated by modern creators. Who
wouldn't pay for the Leopard from Lime Street by Garen Ewing (well,
apart from Lew who hates him...the Leopard that is!).

I don't think it does impact on Solar Wind, RedEye, CI or Starscape
(all of which carry features) as none have updated stoies of classic characters (except as satire) or, bar Starscape, reprints from history.

Maybe it needs a webcomic for creators to indulge their fantasies of
new stories for Johnny Red or Saber? Anyone wants to, let me know!
I'm sure we could fit it in somewhere.

As for there being no market: Charley's War sold 3000 copies on Amazon in the first month alone, Dan Dare has had numerous books, Commando was a HUGE seller for DCT, easily making the top 100 Amazon books on its release. You may argue these are iconic characters but is Button Man from 2000AD, or Bad Company?

If you look at the 2000AD Message Board, there's only about 10 or 15 people regularly posting too. So, therefore there's no market for a weekly sci-fi comic? No interest in old comics being reprinted? Then no Classics for the Comics then. 1950s comics holding no interest for comic readers of today? Then no Spaceships Away!

Put it this way: would you buy a graphic novel featuring a reprint of, say, Adam Eterno, a feature on Hotspur comic, a Faceache reprint, a brand new story with Union Jack Jackson, an interview with the editor of Lion comic and a feature on Don Lawrence.

I think it would work but am a bit busy with Spitfire these days, so it's really up to other people to see if they have the enthusiasm.

Chris

I'm probably telling everyone what they already know but there was an excellent magazine on British Comics called, I think, 'The Illustrated Comics Journal' that was published by Bryon Whitworth. Does anyone know if this is still published ? I lost the subscription details a few years ago when I moved house and have never been able to find contact details (I think Bryon moved abroad but was still publishing the mag). There was also some great British comic guides for collectors from the same source (some of these can be found at http://www.bookpalace.com but are quite expensive).

Oops, that's the link to the main site. Here's the link to the guides :

http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/Home_Guides_34.html

I'm more into the 1970/80s comics myself (as far as Brit comics are concerned) and didn't really find any of them catered to my tastes.

chrissmillie wrote:
As for there being no market: Charley's War sold 3000 copies on Amazon in the first month alone, Dan Dare has had numerous books, Commando was a HUGE seller for DCT, easily making the top 100 Amazon books on its release. You may argue these are iconic characters but is Button Man from 2000AD, or Bad Company?

Fair point, although there's two major differences between those books and the fanzine project you speak of.

1) The books focus exclusively on one particular strip. So they appeal to their own readership. Those same readers are not necessarily going to pay a similar amount for a title shared amongst diverse characters they might not like. It's like saying the Lost DVDs sold well, so if you put one Lost episode on a disc with such a diverse mix as Prime Suspect, Joe 90, Huckleberry Hound and Crossroads then it'll sell equally well.

2) Those books have a long shelf life, therefore more time to get passing sales. A fanzine would, presumably, not be around for so long?

Lew

chrissmillie wrote:I'm more into the 1970/80s comics myself (as far as Brit comics are concerned) and didn't really find any of them catered to my tastes.

So going by your own admission then, you wouldn't be interested in reading about Roy Wilson, Jack Glass, or George Parlett for example?

Lew

Gary wrote:I'm probably telling everyone what they already know but there was an excellent magazine on British Comics called, I think, 'The Illustrated Comics Journal' that was published by Bryon Whitworth. Does anyone know if this is still published ?

A worthy fanzine I remember well. I believe it finished a few years ago when the editor moved to France, but I may be wrong. The publishing schedule was very erratic, - one a year sometimes if I remember correctly? To be fair though, it's hard work and difficult to find the spare time to undertake such a mag.

A couple of other British comics fanzines spring to mind: Golden Fun, and British Comics World. These were great publications, both A4 and full of info and panel samples. They both had short runs in the early 1990's I think. Golden Fun ran an interview with Ken Reid I believe. Must dig out my copies one day to refresh my memory.

Then of course there was A.C.E. the Association of Comics Enthusiasts run by the late Denis Gifford. Loose leaf mailings of press releases, an ongoing index, short items, etc. That ran for years although, again, became very sporadic towards the end. I was a member for several years but it focused far too much on comics of Denis' youth for my liking.

Lew

I'm more into the 1970/80s comics myself (as far as Brit comics are concerned) and didn't really find any of them catered to my tastes.

So going by your own admission then, you wouldn't be interested in reading about Roy Wilson, Jack Glass, or George Parlett for example?

No, nor am I interested in 1950s Dan Dare but I don't think my opinion should stop there being a Spaceships Away.

I think the idea of a traditional fanzine is misleading people. I'm thinking more strip based content with some text. More like Spaceships Away! or 2000AD Megazine but in graphic novel style, as this can be sold in more places for a longer time.

Chris,I for one back your idea of a fanzine no matter what format it should take.Why not first of all set up a "donation" site for say ?10/?15/$13 to see how much actual interest there is (you'd be surprised how many Americans love the old 60's/70's/80's D.C. Thomson/Fleetway comics)and more importantly how many fans are willing to pay.Secondly contact the artists and writers on your list to draw/write some strips of new material featuring old favs,that is of course if the copyright dooesn't tie everything up.If the two work out,voila!I'm not saying it's going to be easy.Getting the artists and writers onboard(who will have to be paid),securing the necessary permissions from copyright holders,and finally getting enough buyers onboard to make the whole project financially viable is a lot of work.A noble cause to sure.If you have the time of course,let me know and I'll fwd the money.

I'm exceptionally busy these days with tying up the final date with Hook Jaw and beyond. All I feel I can offer is to be a point of contact with Fleetway, printers, etc. I can't be the one driving it forward, so it's really up to other people whether they want this to go ahead.