SPACEWARP - New Venture from Pat Mills

[GordonR]

The world moves on, but not all of its inhabitants do. Similar vibes in the Regened threads, really, with people baffled that 2000 AD's approach to today's young person demographic isn't identical to the material they themselves enjoyed decades ago.

& it is equally baffling given that approach that 2000AD expects new young readers to then start reading the standard prog.

Where exactly has this been stated anywhere?

[IndigoPrime]

& it is equally baffling given that approach that 2000AD expects new young readers to then start reading the standard prog.

Given that 2000 AD people haven't outright stated what the strategy is, there's no way of knowing for sure. However, from what we can see the company actually doing, it doesn't appear to expect young readers to read the standard Prog: it appears to be using Regened as the equivalent of a quarterly special that acts as an entry point for young readers to then buy collected editions. (Some Regened strips then enter the Prog to more rapidly create content for said collections.)

As those in publishing will be well aware, the newsstand isn't where the money is these days: the trades are. Children's GNs are selling really well in some cases, far beyond 'grown up' comics collections.

[Jim_Campbell]

& it is equally baffling given that approach that 2000AD expects new young readers to then start reading the standard prog.

Except that's not the approach... as has been explained quite a few times, usually by me.

The modern all-age/YA audience is not particularly enamoured of the weekly anthology format. They do, however, buy OGNs and TPBs in extraordinary numbers. The most recent volume of Dogman shifted something insane like 900,000 copies in its first three months of sale.

So... think of the Regened issues as a quarterly 'sampler' for the target audience. The breakout hits go on to a full series, which then gets bundled up into a TPB under the Regened imprint and flogged to the kids in their vastly preferred format.

I'm not saying that definitely is Rebellion's strategy — I don't have any inside info. However, that's certainly what it looks like, and it makes a lot of sense.

(Edit to add: Gah! Ninja-ed by IP.)

[IndigoPrime]

And there was me trying to save you typing all that out again, Jim.

[GordonR]

And there was me trying to save you typing all that out again, Jim.

The important thing is that the commenter got to turn the conversation into a swipe at Regened, which is a subject that hardly ever comes up for discussion.

[Max Headroom]

Slight confusion - Is 'Shift presents: Spacewarp' the same material as 'Spacewarp 1'? If it is the same contents; what's the deal here? (Also, what happened to 'Spacewarp 2'?)

[IndigoPrime]

It's a newsstand format edition, with a better cover, bonus one-page strip and much lower price.

[Funt Solo]

Hopefully enough to cover the cost of paying the artist's twice for pages Mills had them redo because they weren't quite up to his snuff. (I'm assuming he's paying them for this "research", because he's got strong morals on that subject.)

*sad face*

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

i don't know what spacewarp's frequency is supposed to be but it is certainly going to be considerably less than annual. the target market are probably going to have one episode to enjoy during their childhood - not exactly reeled in by schedule, loyalty or cliffhangers. this is also a problem with the quarterly regened and its self-contained stories.
my child is a fan of phoenix. and she's not alone - it has been going for many years now and keeps up an astonishingly high quality weekly schedule. kids want to know what happens NEXT. she is not at all interested in regened, i am sorry to say. and, personally, for many other reasons, i wouldn't push spacewarp in her direction.

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

doesn't phoenix and its longevity pretty much show that a significant number of children do still enjoy a weekly anthology comic?

[IndigoPrime]

It's hard to say. None of mini-IP's friends (7–8) read The Phoenix. I think one other kid in her class gets The Beano. I've no idea how representative this sample would be, but I live in a fairly well-off area, and so it's not income stopping more parents buying comics for their kids.

From what I can tell, both of the mentioned publications are sustainable and likely profitable. But I can't imagine either is in any way indicative of a broader trend that can be capitalised on. By contrast, trade collections can sometimes sell like hot cakes.

As for Regened, frequency is a problem, but then that's why Rebellion's going down the route it is, and issuing collections. (And I suspect Monster Fun will mostly—like The Beano—be self-contained, so what comes next isn't a concern.) Spacewarp, though: yeah. Quarterly is really pushing it. An annual (or 'less than annual') is not going to be something kids care about.

[Jim_Campbell]

From what I can tell, both of the mentioned publications are sustainable and likely profitable. But I can't imagine either is in any way indicative of a broader trend that can be capitalised on. By contrast, trade collections can sometimes sell like hot cakes.

I'm not very familiar with the model The Phoenix is using, but as far as I can see it's had an absolute fuckload of money sunk into it for a lot of years until it's broadly sustainable on a subscription model, with high street sales being gravy on the top...

[IndigoPrime]

Plus the collections. It's notable that the publisher is switching format there too. Risking ire of idiots shopping on Amazon, Bunny vs Monkey has moved to the same size as Dogman. Looshkin is doing the same. WAY more pages. Sturdier books less prone to damage. Nice. (I do wish the Jamie Smart stuff came out in HC though—which Dogman does. I'd happily buy those for my own shelves.)

[Colin YNWA]

Plus the collections. It's notable that the publisher is switching format there too. Risking ire of idiots shopping on Amazon, Bunny vs Monkey has moved to the same size as Dogman. Looshkin is doing the same. WAY more pages. Sturdier books less prone to damage. Nice. (I do wish the Jamie Smart stuff came out in HC though—which Dogman does. I'd happily buy those for my own shelves.)

The interesting one with the Dogman format is Mega Robo Bros (a personal fav) a more action adventure story is also moving to that format and Mega Robo Bros feels more like a Regened story - its bloody brilliant for those who fancy checking good all ages comics out. I'm also getting a sense that other stories are moving that way.

Strips like 'I hate pixies' have had a 'border' image at the bottom of the page and I wondered (???) is that preparitory formating?

So I'm guessing, given the rate the BvsM volumes have been coming out and different strips moving into that format that they have been a success and this will be something I'm sure Rebellion will be keeping an eye on.

[IndigoPrime]

Yeah—that's the format kids really like. It represents great value, it's ideal for smaller hands, and the books are less likely to get damaged than flimsy trades. As I understand it, that's where all the Phoenix stuff is heading.