2000AD Prog 1 was published on Saturday February 19th 1977, so today is the 35th anniversary of the comic. It's an impressive achievement that it's still being published, making it the most successful British adventure comic since Commando was launched in 1961. A special anniversary issue will appear this Wednesday, February 22nd.
2000AD was launched back in the days when new comics were always backed with TV advertising and heavily promoted in other comics from the same publisher. (You can see the four page ad that heralded the launch in a blog post I did five years ago here: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/02/30-year-flashback-2000-ad-arrives.html )
I can remember buying the first issue (that's the very copy I bought, shown above, now lacking its free plastic frisbee) and noticing how different 2000AD was compared to existing UK adventure weeklies such as Victor or Tiger. To be honest it took me a couple of weeks to get used to it, and I initially thought the splash pages and longer stories were too derivative of American comics. Admittedly at 17 (as I was in early 1977) I was going through an "I'm too old for British comics" phase so I wasn't exactly its intended readership. However by issue 2 I was hooked and realized that this was something that could appeal to all ages and that the people behind the new venture understood that comics had to change to survive. Indeed, 2000AD had replaced Valiant, proving that the old style comics, great as they had been, were no longer appealing to boys of the 1970s.
I don't have the time or the inclination to write an in-depth analysis on the comic, and it has been discussed widely over the years anyway, so I'll just show a few scenes from issue 1 that stood out for me at the time.
I felt the intro page was a bit of a "filler" back then, but it was a typical 2000AD "in yer face" way of introducing the strips and kicked off the comic with a bang.
Invasion was the lead strip. I instantly recognized the artwork as that of "The Steel Claw artist" as I called him (an uncredited Jesus Blasco) so that appealed to me straight away.
Flesh and its bloody violence felt like something Action would have published before it was neutered. Unsurprisingly it was written by Pat Mills, who had been Action's original editor (and was editor of 2000AD). Time travel and dinosaurs? Great stuff.
Dan Dare was given the luxury of the full colour centrespread in those days when comics were mainly black and white. Although I hadn't been a follower of the original Dan Dare I really didn't care for this version. However, Belardinelli's artwork drew me in.
Dan Dare was intended to be the main attraction of those early issues but the true star of 2000AD was promoted on the following page. "Next week, meet... Judge Dredd". A pocket illustration by Carlos Ezquerra heralding a character who would become legend.
Now, M.A.C.H.1 was the strip I had a problem with. The character looked and dressed like Steve Austin from TV's Six Million Dollar Man and the strip was obviously inspired by the show. No matter though. As time went on M.A.C.H.1 put its own spin on things and developed towards a far more interesting direction than any Bionic Man episodes.
Sports strips? Not for me usually, but Harlem Heroes was worth a look. Solid, enjoyable artwork by Dave Gibbons and, again, a story that developed into an interesting direction.
The one thing that 2000AD had more than any of its companions or rivals at that time was IMPACT! The strips were presented in a bold, exciting way, free from the formula layouts of Tiger and suchlike. Admittedly, DC Thomson's Warlord had done this first, but 2000AD did it better in my opinion, and the black humour that became part of the comic was another bonus.
Although I still buy 2000AD every week I do miss the style of those early issues. That original dynamic logo is probably considered not sophisticated enough for today's readers. Indeed, the loud, punky tone of those 1977 issues is perhaps too immature for the older demographic the comic is pitched at now. A shame, because although the weekly still features work by some of the top talents in the industry I feel the comic itself has lost some of its edge along the way. But, comics can't stand still and the fact that it survives proves it can still find an audience.
Anyway, if you're not already a regular reader, treat yourself to 2000AD this coming Wednesday with a cover by none other than Mike McMahon, extra strips, and a free poster to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic!
Above: A preview of next week's Kid Cops from The Dandy No.3572, on sale Wednesday 22nd February.
The ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) figures have just been released for publications from July to December 2011. As you may recall, the previous figures (Jan - June 2011) delivered quite a shock in regards to The Dandy, which was apparently down from 15,012 from its 2010 figures to 7,448.
There were fears that this would decrease even more, particularly as some shops no longer stock it (readers can't buy it if they can't find it) but there's some good news in that the sales seem to have stabilized. The latest figures are 7,489. A tiny increase but better than a decrease.
The issues with cover mounted toys sold above average, including the bumper Christmas issue. As distribution was better on those issues that must be taken into consideration. Getting the comic noticed is half the battle, and as some shops stuff the comics in the shelves upside down, back to front, or out of reach of children, the fact that sales have stabilized is some sort of achievement.
It's not cause to be complacent though. As production and distribution costs rise, comics still need to increase sales to survive.
The Dandy's stablemate The Beano saw a rise from 37,145 to 38,333 but its monthly version, BeanoMax saw a fall from 24,438 to 22,094. (Hopefully the fresh new cover design instigated this month will improve its fortunes.) Meanwhile, Egmont's Toxic climbed from 40,503 to 41,521. Viz fell from 67,851 to 64,233 but still remains the top selling UK comic featuring originated material (excluding nursery magazines).
You can see the full details of all the UK comics (well, the ones that submit their data) over at John Freeman's Down the Tubes site here. It's a rewarding and well researched website and shows how sales have fallen considerably on all titles over the past five years with several titles losing half their readers over that time. The information is visibly at odds with the notion voiced elsewhere by a couple of relentless critics that declining sales of The Dandy are mainly due to readers disliking the modern artwork. As sales of all comics, magazines, and newspapers have plunged over the years there are obviously other factors at play that are more noteworthy so it's sad that content is regularly pinpointed by one or two blogs as an excuse to post nasty comments to try and demoralize the editors, writers, artists and readers who are actively doing something to keep comics alive.
The Down The Tubes site also carries information on sales figures of comics in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, it was standard for an individual comic to sell a quarter of a million or even half a million copies a week! Of course that was an era before video games, computers, mobile phones, weekend adventure holidays or hanging around fast food burger bars posed a distraction from reading matter. However, the very fact that there are still several thousand kids in the UK who do still read comics is something to be pleased about.
Just a quick plug for the latest issue of Toxic which is out today and on sale for the next three weeks. It's a bumper 48 page issue, bagged with a bunch of novelties for £3.99. That should keep kids quiet for a while.
Inside, there's numerous fun features and strips including a reprint of a classic Team Toxic story I did a few years ago. There's a couple of new pages by me too, in the form of the new I-Spy double page spread which this week has a football theme.
As it's a current issue I can't really show you the spread full size but here's a tiny version of it to give you a taster. The idea is similar to the Funny Find-It spreads I did for Egmont's Know How magazine several years ago, but a bit cheekier.
This year marks Toxic's 10th anniversary and the landmark 200th issue is only a few weeks away. More details on that soon!
I'm busy working on pages for The Dandy Annual 2013 but there's just time for a quick press release courtesy of Commando editor Calum Laird about the four issues on sale this week. Take it away Calum...
Commando No 4471: The Flaming Dagger
As a 12-year-old living in Paris in the early days of the Second World War, Isaac Vidal hoped that freedom would soon come again to France. He had every confidence that it would for did not his favourite comic have a battling British hero who would thwart the Nazis at every turn? His optimism was not shared by all, for the Flaming Dagger was a character from fiction and everybody knows that fictitious heroes never win wars. Do they?
Story: Stephen Walsh Art: Keith Page Cover: Keith Page
Commando No 4474: Battle In The Snow
December, 1944. In the midst of the German Ardennes Offensive, an American GI — Corporal Joe Wallace — regains consciousness after a skirmish. Suffering from a head wound, he has no memory of who he is or what happened to him and his buddies. As he fights to regain his memory, Joe has to battle for his very survival…
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Vila Cover: Janek Matysiak
Commando No 4473: Killer Ship
Every night as darkness spread over the Mediterranean, sailors of the German Navy who were on duty grew nervous and uneasy. For this was the time the ghost ship would strike. Out of the night would roar a sleek, black E-boat with the skull and crossbones flying from its masthead. And on its bridge stood a British sailor as bold as any pirate of the Spanish Main, Lieutenant Bart Mason of the British Navy — running his own private war.
Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor
1962 was the second year of Commando’s history and they struck gold time after time. Writers like Eric Hebden used their full imagination to come up with classic characters and plots, just like here. Eric’s son Alan has the same talent. Cecil Rigby’s inside artwork works very well here, with a strong line and skillful use of black for the night scenes. There’s very little you can say about Ken Barr’s cover art that hasn’t been said before, but his capture of the speed of the killer E-boat really is something. You can almost smell the salt and the diesel!
Killer Ship, originally Commando No 44 (Nov 1962)
Story: Eric Hebden Art: Cecil Rigby Cover: Ken Barr
Commando No 4474: Hit ‘Em Hard!
Nick Bonner led a squadron of Curtiss Kittyhawks against Axis forces in North Africa in 1941. They were slogging it out with the Italians for supremacy of the skies. It was a tough fight, but one which was about to take a savage new twist when a ruthless group of Luftwaffe pilots arrived…
Introduction by Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor
This super air tale from 1987 was written by Alan Hebden, who still crafts many a cracking script for us today. Interestingly, Alan’s dad, Eric, was also a veteran Commando author. Check out his sterling work on “Killer Ship”, (No 4473) the 1962 classic reprinted alongside this story. The inside art here was by the great Jose Maria Jorge, another Commando stalwart, who sadly died in 2010 and is much missed. It’s a small consolation but at least his dynamic, wonderfully-detailed black and white line art is still with us to enjoy all over again.
Hit ‘Em Hard! Originally Commando No 2111 (August 1987)
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Jose Maria Jorge Cover: Tony Corbett
Oink! was always a comic willing to try something fresh and different and to set itself apart from the standard formula of the other IPC humour comics. So when I asked editor Mark Rogers if he'd be interested in a strip drawn by Dave Gibbons, Mark jumped at the chance.
Dave had drawn for several British comics in the past of course, most notably 2000AD, but by this time had moved on to the US market. This was 1988 and Watchmen had become one of the hottest and most important comics in decades. I'd known Dave as a friend for several years by then from attending the monthly Comic Marts at Westminster Central Hall, and the lunchtimes in the nearby Westminster Arms - then the watering hole of almost the whole UK comics industry. If I remember correctly, Dave had told me his son was a reader of Oink! (and of Transformers) so Dave was happy to contribute to the comic and we'd discussed this before I pitched the idea to Oink's editors.
I'd worked with Dave before, when he'd contributed a guest page I'd scripted for my 1986 Brickman special, and we'd team up again in 1989 on The Glut for Knockabout's Seven Deadly Sins book. (That time with Dave writing and me drawing.) Obviously I knew that, whatever I wrote, Dave would turn in a marvelous job even if I'd just posted him my shopping list as a script, so I hoped my humble effort was worthy of his impeccable talents.
Anyway, judge for yourselves as The Superhero's Day Off was the end result of our collaboration. Ever the professional, Dave went the extra mile and added additional funny details that were not in my script, such as the kid reading Oink!, the newspaper headline, and the dog's face turning blue. I believe the superhero hailing the bus, and its impact, was Dave's idea too. (I seem to recall my script just had the hero standing in a mighty pose. Dave's twist was funnier.) Dave also coloured and lettered the page by the way, including designing that eye-catching logo. Fantastic work.
The page appeared in Oink! No.49, dated 6th February 1988, with the cover running a small blurb saying "Watch Out - New superhero strip by Dave Gibbons inside". However I'd guess that many comic fans have never seen it simply because they didn't follow humour comics so hopefully this finally gives them the chance to catch it.
And if you want to keep up with what Dave Gibbons is doing now, don't miss the first issue of The Secret Service, a brand new comic book written by Mark Millar which will be on sale in comic shops this month!
