The latest circulation figures for comics and magazines make for grim reading. Many magazines have suffered falling sales but the real shocker was The Dandy apparently falling from around 15,000 readers to around 7,448 readers since its revamp last October, a loss of 48% of its readership.
I'm no expert in how statistics are worked out but this seems a little suspicious to me. Of course, some might say I'm biased because I contribute to The Dandy, and perhaps I am. However, it seems bizarre that when The Dandy increased its frequency from fortnightly to weekly it should suddenly lose half of its readership! Not only that, but this also coincided with the comic significantly dropping its price to £1.50 (from £2.50), increasing the strip content, and vastly improving its distribution. Yet allegedly it still lost half its readers?
People were swift to point the finger of blame, and there's already a Facebook group calling for the abolition of celebrity-based strips such as Harry Hill, despite the celeb content only being a small part of the comic. Truth be told, readers have actually reacted well to the celebrity spoofs and recently The Dandy has revamped its cover to parody celebrity magazines.
No doubt the big relaunch last October, which saw practically all of the old strips and features replaced by new characters, did cause some readers to abandon the comic. Some people don't like change, even when it's for the better. (Reprints and articles replaced by brand new strips, for a lower cover price? A no-brainer... one would have thought!)
Some older readers have expressed dislike of the modern cartoon style used by some of the new artists, as is their prerogative of course, but similar modern styles have proven to be very popular in childrens books so why not in comics?
Perhaps some children were confused by the satire of the celeb strips? (As we learned on Oink! years ago, kids can only understand satire if they're familiar with the subject being parodied.) However, The Dandy carefully parodies people that most children will be aware of, such as Ant and Dec, Cheryl Cole, Jamie Oliver etc. although Jeremy Clarkson might be a bit of a stretch. (Wouldn't young kids find Top Gear a "Dad's show"?) Even so, most of The Dandy's strips are not celebrity based. Perhaps the lack of free gifts put kids off? Are today's children simply not interested in comics anymore, only the plastic toy?
However, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, it's not only The Dandy that has suffered falling sales. Personally I'm putting a lot of the blame on the retail giants. Yes, I know I've banged this drum before, but things are not improving in that area. Shelf space is often too small for the number of comics and childrens' magazines out there and staff often shove them in upside down or back to front. Here's a photo I took at a local supermarket a few years ago. The situation is no better today...
How on Earth is a child or a parent supposed to find a comic in that mess? You can't even see the comics lurking in the dark at the back of the "display". More likely they'll just choose one from the front, and what comics are always at the front in most of these shops? Nursery titles and girls' magazines, which funnily enough are the two categories which are still doing quite well.
A few years ago WH Smith decided to stack comics in a display that was too high for children to reach! Again, nursery and girls' titles were lower and easier to get to:
At least Toxic is still doing well, with sales of 40,000. A case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" perhaps?
I know there are some who think that publishers should simply launch more comics. They argue that as comics are popular in Europe and Japan, they should also work here. Sadly it's not that simple. Unlike those countries, the British have always regarded comics as throwaway childish junk. As each generation reads less and less comics, respect and interest for comics inevitably diminishes. Some may argue that publishers should try anyway, but the resistance from the trade to non-licensed comics, and the high prices retail giants charge just for stocking a title every issue, make it virtually impossible. Let's hope forthcoming comics Strip Magazine and The Phoenix can pave the way for a new era. Perhaps publishers should look towards other outlets, focusing on book shops with more albums such as Garen Ewing's The Rainbow Orchid (published by Egmont), or try to get their comics into shops that kids actually go into these days (computer game stores for example).
British comics have taken a bloody nose so far this century but they're not out yet. Show your support if you can, and buy The Dandy, The Beano, Toxic, 2000AD and others to keep the industry alive.
UPDATE:
Those that claim some strips in The Dandy are poorly drawn, or look like they're done by children, are not only being insulting to the creators but they're also completely wrong. One might not like the styles, but a simpler or more abstract approach does not mean it's below professional standard. In fact there is nothing in The Dandy that could be classed as "poorly drawn". The aim isn't to draw realistically, and if one looks at the artwork thoroughly there's a sound structure and consistency to each style. Complaining that the modern style isn't "as good" as, say, The Dandy of 1970, is as off-target as saying The Dandy of 1970 wasn't as well drawn as Ally Sloper's Half Holiday.
SUBSCRIBE!
Thanks to Mike in the comments for reminding me that if you subscribe to The Dandy it's a mere £15 for 15 issues! Only £1 an issue, far cheaper than in the shops! Go to: http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Dandy.aspx
There's another issue of The Dandy out tomorrow (Wednesday). It's the 3,550th issue since the comic began back in December 1937! This week sees it revert to its regular size and £1.50 cover price now that the summer gift issues have ended. As usual it's packed with comics, including Postman Prat (above), so get a good night's sleep and then run, don't walk, to your newsagent tomorrow morning for your copy! Support Britain's oldest comic!
Here's a preview of the four issues of Commando that will be arriving in the shops this week. Once again it's a split of two brand new issues plus two reprints, including another classic from 1961! Here's editor Calum Laird with the full details...
Commando 4423: MERCY FOR NONE!
Sitting tensely together in the Dakota on their way to the night drop into Occupied Europe, ten hand-picked paratroopers jokingly nicknamed themselves the ten little soldier boys. Fate must have smiled, for it turned out to be a grim and deadly jest.
One by one, at the hands of the Nazis, they were picked off. One by one, they died the death of heroes… Mercy For None!
Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor
They say that gallows humour is the darkest of all. And this story has the blackest stripe of that type of humour running right through it. As the paras at the centre of the action begin to meet their fates, one of their numbers starts to recite a macabre rhyme which can have only one fatal ending.
Artist Gordon Livingstone, in one of his earliest outings for Commando, enhances the darkness of the tale with generous use of black ink while cover artist Ken Barr leaves you in no doubt that there’s plenty of action waiting inside.
Classic Commando — you can see, and read, why they were such a runaway hit from Day One.
Originally Commando No 4 (July 1961), re-issued as No 2547 (March 1992)
Story: Castle
Art: Gordon Livingstone
Cover Art: Ken Barr
Commando 4424: TUNNEL OF DOOM
Flat on his stomach on the railway line, Private Andy Morgan crawled forward grimly. It was up to him to stop a Nazi armoured train — and all he had to do it with was one single hand-grenade.
And what made it even tougher for Andy was that the only two guys with him were the type who would pack up and run if things got dicey.
Introduction by Scott Montgomery, Commando Deputy Editor
In this brilliant tale we meet a couple of ne’er’do’wells who seem to positively revel in their bad attitude and lack of discipline. The aptly named Dodger Harland and Scrounger Dunville are classic Commando characters and it’s not long before they’ve had a bad influence over Andy Morgan, our fledgling hero.
However, when push comes to shove, perhaps these two aren’t quite what they seem…Redemption is a common Commando theme and this cracking story, with its gritty interior art and a superbly painted cover by Penalva, has an eerily original spin on it.
Originally Commando No 450 (January 1970), re-issued as No 1271 (November 1978)
Story: Allan
Art: Bielsa
Cover Art: Jordi Penalva
Commando No 4425: PRIDE OF THE DESERT
What do you get if you send a marauding, aristocratic “Toffs Brigade” on a race against time to recover their stolen regimental silver?
You get a rip-roaring adventure, that’s what!
And if that’s not enough, don’t forget to add a battered but trusty Bedford QL lorry nicknamed “Queenie”…better known as the PRIDE OF THE DESERT.
Story: Alan Hebden
Art: Benet
Cover Art: Benet
Commando 4426: Killer Condor
“Relax, it’s one of ours.” So said the U-boat’s look out as the looming shape of a Focke-Wulf Condor appeared over them.
Unfortunately the crew of the bomber didn’t seem to realise that the sub was on their side for its lethal payload was soon tumbling down to bring destruction and death to the men below.
The Killer Condor had struck again but surely at the wrong target…
Story: Mac Macdonald
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover Art: Carlos Pino
http://www.commandocomics.com
I had an enjoyable day at 2011 BC on Saturday. The one-day event at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham saw a good number of fans, pros and semi-pros mixing in a friendly, laid back atmosphere and time really flew by. Sadly Mark Millar was ill and couldn't attend, but superstars such as Dave Gibbons, Ian Churchill, and Chris Sprouse were there.
As I was busy sketching (and signing the Spirit of Hope book) and catching up with old friends I didn't have time to take as many photos as I usually do at these events. However, here's the handful I did snap...
It's dynamic David Leach, creator of Psycho Gran (as seen in Oink! and Nemi) and currently editor of Titan's Spongebob Squarepants magazine. Smile for the camera! Oops, too late.
Here's a quick shot of the main hall, with dealers offering a variety of stock including independent comics, back issues of American titles, graphic novels, and vintage British comics. There's Tony Hitchman in the foreground, giving away his brilliantly funny four-page comic Target:Crime.
It's the inimitable Kev F Sutherland with his range of self-published comics, Hot Rod Cow, Sinnerhound, and Captain Clevedon. (Reviews to follow in a later posting.) You can visit Kev's blog here: http://kevfcomicart.blogspot.com/
Good to see Bambos Georgiou again; another cartoonist I've known for about 30 years. Bambos was the creator of Ratman way back when, and has been busy working in the industry since then, as an artist and an editor. Recently he's self-published quite a few titles too, including Fun Bumper, Weird's Finest, and Stab. I'll review them here as soon as I have time.
Eva Perkins was busy all day at the Comic Alliance table promoting Spirit of Hope. If you don't already know about this very worthwhile book, you can find out more here: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2011/07/spirit-of-hope-launched-and-looking.html
Last but not least here's inker supreme Mark Farmer, busy sketching away and not noticing the two cavegirls behind him. That's the comic biz!
Thanks once again to James Hodgins, Shane Chebsey and the gang for organizing another great show! http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/2011_BC/index.html
Just a quick reminder that the 2011 B.C. (Birmingham Comicon) is tomorrow, Saturday 27th August! The launch party is on tonight and I can't make it for that but I'll be there tomorrow for the convention proper.
Who else is going to be there? How's about Dave Gibbons, Doug Braitwaite, Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, Chris Sprouse, Mark Millar, Emma Vieceli, Dylan Teague, Phil Winslade, David Hine, and Ian Churchill to name but a few? It's the place to be.
For more details visit the official website here:
http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/2011_BC/index.html
