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[Hugoz88]

Can anyone help me?

I'm writing an essay on why there fewer British Comics now than ever before? Why has Britain took such a decline in interest in British comics?

Is it because the imports are better?

Link: http://www.bugmonkey.com" target="_blank">Bugmonkey

http://www.bugmonkey.com">

[Thread Zero]

Well I reckon youngsters prefer music, cd singles, football, other sports, computer/console games etc.

It's hard for comics to challenge that. Particularly when the UK comic market is so small.

I mean how can 2k compete with teenagers favourite pastime - hanging around on corners bored!:O)

scojo  

[Matt]

The answer to this depends upon your perspective of what is a comic. It's true that there has been a decline in the choice of comics aimed at teenage to adult readers. Blast, Crisis, Toxic, Revolver, Deadline plus many others all ceased publication shortly after the hype generated by The Dark Knight Returns & Watchmen died down. The belief that comics had grown up couldn't be sustained because most other material was substandard and immature when compared to the work of Miller & Moore. That's what marked both those titles out as special in the first place. New readers got bored and went elsewhere. The same can be said of the hype generated by Viz. This spawned a host of adult comics, from Zit to Spit, all of which tried to mimick Viz's formula but failed miserably. Once again, once the hype died down the publications dried up. But on the other hand, take a look at the childrens magaazines section in WHSmiths. This is packed with comics, from the long running Beano & Dandy to comics that follow trends in current culture, such as Power Rangers, Sonic the Comic, Tweenies, these are plentiful but live short lives, there are american reprint comics such as Spiderman and The X-Men, and finally educational comics such as Spot the Dog, Tots TV, Rosie & Jim, Telly Tubbies. So if you only consider a comic to be a title that exists in the same genre as 2Kad, then yes there has been a decline. But if you are prepared to embrace all genres of comics, then there are stacks out there! I suggest you check out Adult Comics by Roger Sabin for an in-depth insight into the history of comics in Britain, the U.S. and Europe, which covers a lot of the areas you'll want to cover.

MATT

[Thread Zero]

Matt, was it such a good idea to admit you know about Spot the dog, Tots Tv etc?

The things you learn here!!!!!!!!!

scojo

[Leigh S]

Comics reading hasn't just dropped off in Britain - USA comics have also experienced a meltdown in the last 8 years. IMO, once comics became 'collectable', more adult and production values (and prices) increased, many kids were left by the wayside on both sides of the Atlantic, leaving an increasingly "elderly collector" reader supporting a shrinking industry.  Quality levels also fell through the floor as crossovers, marketing swizzery (multiple covers!!) and frankly rubbish titles swamped the market in the frenzy to cash in on the comics boom of the early 90s, driving reeaders away in droves.

[nathan]

"I'm writing an essay on why there fewer British Comics now than ever before?"

Someone figured out that if several people read a comic for free in WHSmith, instead of buying one copy each, the publishers won't have to print so many.

N