News Archive May 2004
EAGLE FLIES AGAIN RETURNS
18/5/04, last updated 22/8/08: Fanzine Eagle
Flies Again returns in time for the Comics Festival. #10
includes interviews with Alan Grant and Dez Skinn, plus an overview of Grant
Morrison's Dan Dare for the 1980s comic Revolver. The issue also features
a stunning one page strip by Andrew Chiu.
2008 Update: Please note, this fanzine is no longer
in production - some features are slowly being added to downthetubes with
the permission of the writers.
• Read a review of this 'zine on
Silver Bullets: Go
SMITHS CUT BACK ON COMICS
18/5/04: UK comics publishers are said to be "reeling" from WH Smiths latest magazine range review, which will see a reduction in the number of stories stocking titles such as Mighty World of Marvel and Panini's Spider-Man titles.
Over 300 stores will now no longer take MWOM and there have been cuts to the rest of Panini's US digest-size range, DTB has learnt.
Magazine titles such as Cult Times will also see cuts in availability.
The number of magazines Smiths carries varies from store to store as it is dependent on several factors (store size, catchment area, customer demographics). As a very rough guide an average store holds 1,500 titles.
WH Smiths, which is suffering finacial uncertainty at present, denied the range review had been completed when we contacted them. "News and magazines is a core category for WHSmith which we are fully committed to,"
said a spokesperson. "We are currently in the process of a full magazine range review, as we are with all product lines across the company. The review is ongoing and no decisions have been taken and we have no plans to cut the space in store which we allocate to the sale of news and magazine products.
"Range reviews are a normal part of good retail practice," the spokeseprson added. "We regularly review all our ranges to reflect current trends and ensure we stock the most relevant products for our customers. Unfortunately it is not physically possible for us to stock all the magazine titles that are currently in print instore, therefore we provide a magazine ordering service which allows customers to order any current [UK] magazine for delivery to their local store."
There is a £10 charge for ordering a magazine through WH Smiths.
BULLETPROOF LAUNCH AT COMICS FESTIVAL?
5/5/04: It looks like Matt Yeo's Bulletproof Comics project is moving forward again. His planned 52-page black and white anthology title has been in development for over a year but now a special #0 is soon to be published, available from the web site.
A major overhaul of the site is in progress, adding new sections, tweaking
others and generally tidying things up "so you folk will be able to navigate around our pages with greater ease," says
Matt.
"On the actual comic book-publishing front, work has now been completed
on the first issue of our self-titled anthology, Bulletproof! Special issue #
0 preview copies will be available exclusively from this site soon, with an all-new Redstitch cover!
"We also have serious plans to launch a number of new titles and specials next year [2005]" he reveals, "from
a wealth of new UK and international talent. We'll be showing off some of this
new material at Comics 2004 in Bristol and might be popping up at a few other
cons too...
Matt is enjoying consdierable success as editor of Toxic at Egmmont-Fleetway. The title now includes far more comics content than it did at launch, including work by one of Britain's best strip cartoonists, Lew Stringer (that's a pint you owe me, Lew!)
STRIKER LAUNCHES SHARES OFFER
5/5/04: UK football weekly Striker has
launched a shares offer to its readers in a bid to stay in publication.
Publisher Pete Nash needs at least £300,000 to be invested by readers,
otherwise it will be the end with Issue 40, with all the stories coming
to a close.
The title enjoys sales of about 20,000 a week but further investment is needed
to be able to re-promote the title and expand the content
to include strips such as the classic Billy's Boots as well as new computer-generated
3D strips centring on the Warbury Warriors.
Striker first ran in The Sun and
will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year.
CARRYOONS COMIC PLANNED
5/5/04: A comic based on the new animated Carry
On film-inspired cartoon The
Carryoons, will launch in Autumn 2004.
Early designs have been approved for the planned Carryoons
Comic, according to the Carryoons official web site.
Carryooons producer Ken Burns is said to be "delighted" by
the results and is already in discussion with publications giant Deagostini,
who have been responsible for the recent Classic Carry
On magazine for Carlton.
JUST ONE PAGE
2/5/04: This May, at the UK's premier International Comics Festival in Bristol, the second Just 1 Page charity comic magazine will be published, with all profits from sales of the magazine and auctions of the original art going to the Trinity Hospice Charity.
Just 1 Page is a collaboration of artists and writers from the whole range of the British comics community. Each contributor sends one page featuring a character with a connection to the theme. It can be a pin-up, a strip or a text piece. This time the theme is British comics characters, and already they have a startling range of interpretations - from Minnie the Minx to Modesty Blaise, from Jack Staff to John Constantine, from Judge Dredd to Fungus the Bogeyman, from Rupert the Bear to Promethea, from Dennis the Menace to Halo Jones, from Alan Moore to Andy Capp!
J1P2 will be a 72 page magazine, also including some articles about the best (and worst!) of British comics. Pros who have donated original art include Al Davison, Charlie Adlard, Gary Northfield, Paul J Holden, Mike Collins, Peter Gross, Mike Hawthorne, Dave Windett, Gary Spencer Millidge, Trevor Hairsine, Len O'Grady, Adi Tantimedh, and Hunt Emerson.
Others who have contributed text or otherwise include Leo Baxendale (who has
given a one page preview of his forthcoming book about his career at The Beano),
Bryan Talbot, Chris Weston, Mike Carey, Rob Williams, Simon Furman, Euan Kerr,
Peter Hogan, and Lee “Budgie” Barnett.
Special preview:
http://members.aol.com/just1page/stswithinsday_teaser.jpg
