Stupid questions from an American

[Jim_Campbell]

The estimable Jim Campbell will be along shortly to give us an idea of the size of the ridiculous bribe any publisher has to pay just to get space on the shelves of the nation's largest newsagents and supermarkets.

I should really just save that spiel into a Word document and paste it into a post at the appropriate juncture, shouldn't I?

Cheers!

Jim

[Judge Brian]

The estimable Jim Campbell will be along shortly to give us an idea of the size of the ridiculous bribe any publisher has to pay just to get space on the shelves of the nation's largest newsagents and supermarkets.

I should really just save that spiel into a Word document and paste it into a post at the appropriate juncture, shouldn't I?

Cheers!

Jim

So you have to buy shelf space? Shouldn't the profit made by the agent pay for the space? Are the Krays running the newsstands in the UK?

[Frank]

So you have to buy shelf space? Shouldn't the profit made by the agent pay for the space? Are the Krays running the newsstands in the UK?

If the free market works at all, it's only when there's real competition at every level. There's only really one major chain of newsagents left on the high street and a bunch of food retailers who apply the same metrics to shifting books and magazines as they do to ready meals and tins of beans - if it takes up x amount of space it has to be worth y pounds to them.

If you don't like those terms you can try and flog your funny book somewhere else. You're right - there's no practical difference between a monopoly and gangsterism.

[Jim_Campbell]

Are the Krays running the newsstands in the UK?

Ever tried getting a book into US comic stores without using Diamond?

There's only really one major chain of newsagents left on the high street

Who also run the single largest newspaper/magazine distribution network in the country.

They're not as powerful as they once were, but back in the 90s they insisted on sight of a full mock-up of a new title I worked for and insisted on copy changes to remove profanities from several short stories before they would carry it.

And then charged for the privilege of being on their shelves.

Cheers

Jim

[JamesC]

Are the Krays running the newsstands in the UK?

Ever tried getting a book into US comic stores without using Diamond?

There's only really one major chain of newsagents left on the high street

Who also run the single largest newspaper/magazine distribution network in the country.

They're not as powerful as they once were, but back in the 90s they insisted on sight of a full mock-up of a new title I worked for and insisted on copy changes to remove profanities from several short stories before they would carry it.

And then charged for the privilege of being on their shelves.

Cheers

Jim

Just out of interest do you know how Viz made the transition to WHSmiths? I know they had already created quite a following in the Northeast and in student unions around the country but they obviously managed to get on the shelves without censoring their content. I guess someone at WHSmith could see the potential profits?

[Jim_Campbell]

Just out of interest do you know how Viz made the transition to WHSmiths? I know they had already created quite a following in the Northeast and in student unions around the country but they obviously managed to get on the shelves without censoring their content. I guess someone at WHSmith could see the potential profits?

Proven track record, plus Viz were (presumably) happy to be racked up on the upper shelves. This was the short-lived Skeleton Crew, which was launching cold and needed a much more mainstream bit of shelf space to stand a chance.

Cheers

Jim

[Recrewt]

Why couldn't they put out a Dredd only mag for 2.35 that was 26 pages of strips? Not Mega enough?

I know nothing of the UK's comics industry, only the one in the states.

2000AD, at its heart, is an anthology comic.  Some of the best stuff that has ever been in the prog has been non-Dredd.  Even the Megazine, whilst more Dredd focussed, was designed to include other Dredd-verse stories.

I enjoy the variety, even if that does mean that there are sometimes stories I don't like.