The PARAGON comic thread

[Bolt-01]

Ah, Davey- that's a shame- but I know what you mean. Sales for any of the books I've made in the last couple of years have been a shadow of what they were.

I'll see about doing some catching up myself- Paragon really is worthy of support!

[DrJomster]

Right! Paragon 21 in pdf downloaded and on my iPad right now! 31 pages of goodness ARE MINE!!!

I shall report back after some reading.

[Daveycandlish]

Cheers DrJomster! Good or bad, I'd love to know what you think of it 😀

[DrJomster]

I really enjoyed it!

A lovely, little, small press anthology. Nice variation in stories and art, the way it should be.

It really feels like a lot of love has gone into it from all concerned. Three cheers for small press!


A few observations.

- In the pdf, I couldn’t see the cover, just the stories. Wonder if that’s down to my settings somehow. The cover itself shows up on lulu’s page for the issue and does look great though!
- I’d suggest adding a page summarising each story, much like Tharg does on page two each week. That would help new readers settle in.
- I found I got more out of it on the second read and by reading it slowly. Interesting and I think a good sign.
- I would put the title on the first page of each strip. I’m looking at you, bulldog!
- I’d consider more intro boxes in places. Sometimes on a page turn, there was a jump in location that would benefit from a short intro. E.g. “Back in the doghouse...”. Of course, that might be me being slow!


Anyway, an absolute bargain in pdf or print. Give it a whirl, good people!

[Daveycandlish]

Thanks for the comments Jomster - glad you enjoyed it! 😀
The supportive comments I've had in various forms  since my blogpost have certainly given me food for thought about carrying on. Its not quite over yet....

[The Legendary Shark]

Let me know if there's anything I can do.

[HdE]

Quick and entirely serious question, Davey:

Do you think Paragon could do with a fresh lick of paint? As in, an overhaul in the book design? New logo, layout for interior pages, etc.

Might be a good way to make the book a more appealing prospect for punters. I mean, we KNOW the content is quality stuff, and that it has a lot of time and care poured into it. But maybe giving it a sleeker front end and overall packaging would help 'sell it' a bit better.

[DrJomster]

I’m not sure. The last cover was really quite good. I quite liked the ones before as well.

I wonder if the P&P costs are the issue? For example, issue 21 was literally 99p on lulu in pdf  but earlier issues with postage are quite a lot more individually. Perhaps the answer is more sales at cons thus dodging the P&P costs?

Or is the answer also a good quality finish in terms of physical paper quality? Would that work better at cons? Some of the recent Futurequakes have been quite (I.e. very) nice in this way.

Side note. If sales are low, would this preclude booking a table at a con?

[HdE]

I’m not sure. The last cover was really quite good. I quite liked the ones before as well.

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about quality of artwork so much as quality of design. There's a big difference between the two.

[Jimmy Baker's Assistant]

I feel your pain, Davey.

One of the big reasons why we decided to call it a day on Massacre For Boys was that it was obvious that interest was tailing off. Was hard to tell if the problem was specific to our comic or a wider decline in audience for the small press, but I strongly suspect the root cause was a little of both.

Personally, I felt the quality of our last issue was the highest ever, but that virtually no one was prepared to read it any more.

I wish you better luck with Paragon, which has been a major player for years and years now and has a really strong roster of talent.

[Daveycandlish]

Thanks for giving me so much food for thought everyone. To throw my own thoughts into the mix;
I know you thought the title logo I used for #20 was an improvement, HdE, but I don't think that would have worked quite as well with this issues cover. I didn't intend to change to it permanently but I'm willing to try anything that helps push the comic into more hands. Likewise, maybe the contents page does need to go and be replaced by 'Story so far..' boxes on the strips themselves. The whole look of PARAGON was based on Dez Skinn's WARRIOR magazine from the 80's so maybe it's time for revamp or at least a rethink.
DrJomster - if you ever get your hands on a physical copy I'm sure you'll agree that the comic is a quality product. (Big headed of me, I know!)
I know what you mean about the P&P incurred when buying from http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-21/paperback/product-23437825.html so I always offer the alternative of buying direct from me at http://paragoncomic.blogspot.co.uk/ which is a little cheaper.

BLATANT PLUG At the minute (until the end of Jan 1st) you can get FREE P&P and 10% off by quoting BOOKSHIP17 at the checkout when buying from http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-21/paperback/product-23437825.html so if any of this thread has piqued anyone's interest now is the time to buy a copy! 

One of the big reasons was ... that interest was tailing off. Was hard to tell if the problem was ... a wider decline in audience for the small press

I wish you better luck with Paragon, which has been a major player for years and years now and has a really strong roster of talent.

I really think the proliferation of non-comics taking over comic cons has had an effect on small press. I've heard so many tales of people not breaking even at the things but if I continue printing PARAGON it has to be the path to chase. I know when I did  the Canny Comic Con a couple of years ago I sold out of all I took with me so I think if I can get the comic in peoples hands they can see the quality and will buy it.

Any comic that has had the likes of Shaky Kane, Jim Campbell, Si Spencer, PJ Holden, HdE, Garen Ewing and stalwarts of the small press like Greg Meldrum, Mark Howard, Stephen Prestwood and Scott Twells as well as Star Wars sketch card artists Alex Mines and Matt Soffe contribute must be worthwhile, surely?

Sorry for the stream of conscience. I hope some of that makes sense!!

What it boils down to is; BUY A COPY AND SUPPORT YOUR SMALL PRESS - I know you will like it!

[Mardroid]

Oh go on then. Ordered.

The postage doesn’t actually appear to be free, by the way, (I’m not complaining, just so you know) but the discount is appreciated.

I hope things work out for this comic. I don’t get it regularly,but I’ve purchased issues over the years. I’ve found it well produced and interesting.

[Greg M.]

I know when I did  the Canny Comic Con a couple of years ago I sold out of all I took with me so I think if I can get the comic in peoples hands they can see the quality and will buy it.

I suspect that is the way forward - David Broughton and I recently sold the last of the first print-run of 'Martillo', but the vast bulk of that was David selling in person at cons. I handled the online sales, which were a mere fraction of his. I know myself there are small-press comics by friends of mine that I've regrettably still not got round to getting the most recent issues of, but if I saw them on sale in front of me, in the flesh, I'd undoubtedly snap 'em up there and then.

[Daveycandlish]

Thanks for your support Mardroid - perhaps the offer is UK only for free shipping.

Everybody else, be quick and buy one! Offer ends at midnight tonight!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-21/paperback/product-23437825.html

[Mardroid]

Youre most welcome. Thank you!  I'm in the UK, but don't worry, it's okay. I think the prices I saw were in dollars, so maybe I took a wrong turning somewhere.