Hey guys.
Looong time comic reader, starting with frew Australian phantom issue 933 in late 87 ?
Worked at a comic book chain, and also the Australian phantom fan club for awhile.
Read mostly cheap stuff I find or collections I purchase of eBay.
Valiant fan, big time. USA comic that is about to be relaunched.
A friend gave me a huge collection of new eagle.
Previously never liked the uk format of comics. With different stories mashed up. But now I really enjoy it. Got to complete the new eagle as missing a few, but read scream and toxic and enjoyed them both.
Recently purchased 250 2000ad comics for cheap, and stated to read. Some are filler stories, very basic but fun. Others have more thought and storyline effort put in. Have not read any new stuff. But will try it out.
I will be arround reading through threads for a year or two. I did that at valiant fans.com before I even signed in. But now less scared of the internet so jump straight in. My post often staight away.
Be warned, may ask some dead obvious questions.
Welcome and it is good to hear that you've eventually found your way to the home of thrills, 2000AD can be an acquired taste if you've grown up on American comic books, but it is one worth acquiring ;)
And don't worry about obvious questions - they are my favourite because they are easy to answer ;)
Welcome aboard, have fun and ask away.
Welcome Phantom! I'd definitely advise jumping into some of the new stuff. 2000 AD's as good now, if not better, than it's ever been.
Welcome to the board, Phantom! Love the username by the way; not comics-inspired perchance?
G'day cobber!
Quote from: Phantom on 24 March, 2012, 08:07:39 PM
Previously never liked the uk format of comics. With different stories mashed up.
For those who came in late, with the larger format UK weeklies readily available through South Australian newagents it took Stevie until his 20s to give US stylee single story comics a go.
Grant Morrison if you're reading this Grant Morrison
it's all your fault.
Welcome.
Yeh the name is comic inspired.
Question one - So another movie? What are w talking about - the fan based one or Hollywood money spinner. I am a little con fussed. Or both.
Question two - if I dredd it up a bit and get the all the monthlies am I just getting reprints of the weeklies. This is answered in contact us details. But says 64 pages of reprints, is that on top of new stuff?
Question three - any artists or writers drop in on the forum?
Question four - the dead judge is fantastic figure to buy, any other super cool ones? Like dredd on his motorbike.?
Question five - rude - unpolite question - why would I buy full price when this site sells back issues so cheap? I could wait and buy runs at half the price or less by waiting a month. Seems counter productive on the sales fount.
Question six - do you guys met up? Once a year, or is their a convention just for 2000 ad. Where everyone sits and drinks tea discussing politics and contents of the sandwiches? Joke. But is their a convention for 2000 ad ?
Question 7 - how cool is the comic, and yuou say current stuff is better. I think comics have matured and become more sofistocated - cannot spell but you will get used to it. Spell check cannot even solve that one for me. A lot of trash dumped on the market in the 90s, now they have to work harder to sell the same product. Your thoughts
Question 8. - what's the print run of 2000 ad?
Question 9. - anyone's local shop sell 2000 ad? I went to three and found nothing, newsagents before you ask, not just random shops. Is it specialty shops only now?
Question 10. - am I banned yet because of question 5
In answer to#3, I think nearly everyone on this forum is a wannabee artist or writer. As for the pros, PJ Holden, Gordon Rennie and sometimes even the Great and powerful Carlos drops in
Someone will no doubt beat me to it, but...
Quote from: Phantom on 25 March, 2012, 05:30:38 PM
Question one - So another movie? What are w talking about - the fan based one or Hollywood money spinner. I am a little con fussed. Or both.
There's one (NOT Hollywood) movie coming out later this year- it's been shot in Cape Town, stars Karl Urban, and takes a medium budget sci-fi action approach. Think District Nine, but without aliens. The "fan based" one is JUDGE MINTY, is a short film and is approaching completion. Do you hear me Minty- I SAID IT'S APPROACHING COMPLETION! DON'T MAKE ME A LIAR!
QuoteQuestion two - if I dredd it up a bit and get the all the monthlies am I just getting reprints of the weeklies. This is answered in contact us details. But says 64 pages of reprints, is that on top of new stuff?
Currently, you get an extra 64 page reprint magazine WITH your Judge Dredd Megazine. The Meg itself is all new, and is a mixture of strip and feature.
QuoteQuestion six - do you guys met up? Once a year, or is their a convention just for 2000 ad. Where everyone sits and drinks tea discussing politics and contents of the sandwiches? Joke. But is their a convention for 2000 ad ?
People meet up as and when. There are many UK conventions throughout the year, but recently no dedicated 2000AD cons- unless you count the recent SFX weekender. In addition, Southerners meet up in London every now and again, where we go to pubs and comic shops. Northerners do their own thing too, whatever that may be. It sometimes involves Scotland.
QuoteQuestion 7 - how cool is the comic, and yuou say current stuff is better. I think comics have matured and become more sofistocated - cannot spell but you will get used to it. Spell check cannot even solve that one for me. A lot of trash dumped on the market in the 90s, now they have to work harder to sell the same product. Your thoughts
Very cool. Comic sales are massively down across the board, since the heydays in the sixties/ seventies or eighties- but the comic is still very healthy, apparently. 2000AD is still the coolest comic to come out of the UK, like ever. As far as quality is concerned, by general concensus we are in a second golden age. Which means that the last few years have been as well received as the three months in the early eighties that most people sort of agree was pretty damn good. Arguments rage on as to which three months in the eighties, and exactly how many years the second golden age has been running. Personally, I say it's been on top form for the last ten years, give or take.
QuoteQuestion 8. - what's the print run of 2000 ad?
Six hundred million issues are sold weekly, across the solar system. Pluto is surprisingly densely populated, you know.
QuoteQuestion 9. - anyone's local shop sell 2000 ad? I went to three and found nothing, newsagents before you ask, not just random shops. Is it specialty shops only now?
No, it's in regular newsagents. It depends on your area and on perceived demand. Down here, I can walk into almost any newsagent in our town on 90,000 and pick up a copy. Elsewhere, that's not true. If you want to create a demand, go into your local newsagent and order a copy. They will get it for you. It's that simple. They may even get a couple for the shelves too, and they may sell to new or lapsed punters.
Welcome, and enjoy!
SBT
Quote from: Phantom on 25 March, 2012, 05:30:38 PMQuestion three - any artists or writers drop in on the forum?
There are a few regulars and other occasional visitors:
http://forums.2000adonline.com/index.php?action=mlist;sort=id_group;start=0
Quote from: Phantom on 25 March, 2012, 05:30:38 PMQuestion five - rude - unpolite question - why would I buy full price when this site sells back issues so cheap? I could wait and buy runs at half the price or less by waiting a month. Seems counter productive on the sales fount.
I'm not 100% sure but I don't think back progs are always so cheap - there is currently a sale on. You'd need to wait a year to get those prices again and, once you are hooked on thrillpower, waiting the 4 days between subscribers getting their copy and it appearing in the shops can be difficult - waiting months would be agony!!
In terms of Question 8, I've always been under the impression that Viz way outsells The Beano, The Dandy and 2000ad multiple times, hence those crappy Viz copiers years ago; Smut and Zit are all I remember.
I thought Clint only lasted 2 issues when it disappeared from my local shelves, so was very surprised it was still going,and I think 2000ad has been very ill-served by newsstands over the last decade, if kids can't see it, they can't buy it. It is not available in many towns and that should be addressed.
These questions might justify a new thread...
The only place I see 2000 AD in my area is WHSmith, but it sells out pretty fast. There are generally five or six copies when I get there on a Wednesday lunchtime, and never any left by the weekend. The last two progs have both been gone by Thursday.
It's unavailable in Neath, I have to go to Swansea for it; similar must be true all over, yet expensive GB versions of Marvel comics are everywhere. Bah!
(Man, we really are going to need a new thread for this!)
A similar situation prevails in Dublin: One big newsagent always has 2000 AD (though at inflated prices: €5.50 or so for the Christmas Prog!) A few smaller ones tend to have it; One big comic shop has it always (as well as Jarjaz and a few backissues going back maybe a fortnight) and one small comic shop claims to get it but have always been sold out whenever I go in :/
Quote from: Onlyverysmall on 25 March, 2012, 11:29:01 PM
In terms of Question 8, I've always been under the impression that Viz way outsells The Beano, The Dandy and 2000ad multiple times, hence those crappy Viz copiers years ago; Smut and Zit are all I remember.
In its heyday Viz was apparently shifting well over a million copies an issue (hence all those rip-off), last figures (http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=1363&epslanguage=en-GB) put it at 64k, which is a massive drop but is still shifting more than most of the American comic books (especially before the New 52 relaunch), which is not too shabby when you consider the differences in population.
DTT has a summary of the last 6 years of British comics sales, where they are available:
http://www.downthetubes.net/resources/comics_links/comics_by_country/ukcomicssales.html
Stak! Those twin bastions of UK comics The Beano & The Dandy have taken a hammering & then some.
Thanks for the link, those kiddies mags kick arse over the USA sales.
They must be making a mint on those - I buy a few for the kids and they are full of nothing.
Shame NRA for 2000 ad sales.
Anyone else want to answer my questions?
another two shops that don't stock it.
May have to buy online just to check out the newer stuff.
whats with typing in this code every time. I have to gess about 10 times, the writting is so poor. Makes you not want to post
Quote from: Phantom on 27 March, 2012, 12:27:01 PMwhats with typing in this code every time. I have to gess about 10 times, the writting is so poor. Makes you not want to post
It should go away after you've made your first ten posts. (Or did for me, anyway.)
Quote from: Phantom on 27 March, 2012, 12:27:01 PM
whats with typing in this code every time. I have to gess about 10 times, the writting is so poor. Makes you not want to post
The audio function is more convenient, I found; give it a go!
Quote from: Emperor on 26 March, 2012, 02:03:17 AM
Quote from: Onlyverysmall on 25 March, 2012, 11:29:01 PM
In terms of Question 8, I've always been under the impression that Viz way outsells The Beano, The Dandy and 2000ad multiple times, hence those crappy Viz copiers years ago; Smut and Zit are all I remember.
In its heyday Viz was apparently shifting well over a million copies an issue (hence all those rip-off), last figures (http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=1363&epslanguage=en-GB) put it at 64k, which is a massive drop but is still shifting more than most of the American comic books (especially before the New 52 relaunch), which is not too shabby when you consider the differences in population.
DTT has a summary of the last 6 years of British comics sales, where they are available:
http://www.downthetubes.net/resources/comics_links/comics_by_country/ukcomicssales.html
I'm so out of touch...that...I might as well...be...no, I can't think of anything...pfft.
Went to two shops this morning, no luck on 2000 ad. One has a huge selection of mags that I thought 100 % would have it.
Looks like eBay sales are easyest or subscription. Cannot believe this cannot be found on the shelf.
Hello and welcome!
Quote from: Phantom on 28 March, 2012, 09:52:15 AMWent to two shops this morning, no luck on 2000 ad. One has a huge selection of mags that I thought 100 % would have it.
Looks like eBay sales are easyest or subscription. Cannot believe this cannot be found on the shelf.
I am surprised as I see it in most newsagents I go into and if they don't have it they will order one in for you (although a subscription is cheaper).
I just assumed everywhere would have it.
Like frew phantom in australia ~ every newsagent.
Noticed also that the large tescos don;t have it either.
Found a place so all is good.
Hi there - im a new member myself - and you are very right those numbers you have to type after every post are annoying. The big 2000ad test - its like "The Hotdog run" - are you hard enough?! Hopefully ill make it - good luck to you too.
edit: I MADE IT - they are gone!
Quote from: Emperor on 26 March, 2012, 02:03:17 AMIn its heyday Viz was apparently shifting well over a million copies an issue (hence all those rip-off), last figures (http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=1363&epslanguage=en-GB) put it at 64k, which is a massive drop but is still shifting more than most of the American comic books (especially before the New 52 relaunch), which is not too shabby when you consider the differences in population.
64k for Viz? I was expecting a drop, but still thought it might shift around the 100k mark. It'd be interesting to see how 2000 AD is doing these days, although its continued existence and largely inflation-based price-rises suggest it must be doing pretty well.
Mind you, it's all about profit anyway. I've worked for niche mags that have closed when selling 20k+, while others happily muddle on with sales of around 3000. I guess Viz is bringing in enough cash at its current readership level, and that's all that really matters.
Quoteow cool is the comic, and yuou say current stuff is better. I think comics have matured and become more sofistocated - cannot spell but you will get used to it. Spell check cannot even solve that one for me. A lot of trash dumped on the market in the 90s, now they have to work harder to sell the same product. Your thoughts
From a 2000 AD standpoint, it's all about the creators and the editors being able to curate and also care about the material they nurture and release. Really, 2000 AD has had two high points, from an editor standpoint: the first was Steve MacManus, who took the reigns from 1978 to 1987, during which time 2000 AD churned out an amazing number of hits and loads of talent. Declining sales, talent escaping to the USA and some curious decisions saw this seriously erode during the late 1980s and early 1990s, to the point where 2000 AD was damn near unreadable. Tomlinson and Bishop did their best to repair the damage, while Diggle injected some much-needed ballsiness back into the publication, and then Matt Smith arrived. And that, for me, is the second high-point of 2000 AD. Not everything in the publication since 2002 has been good, but the hit-rate is extremely high, and I hope Smith sticks around for many years to come.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 22 April, 2012, 01:05:28 PM
64k for Viz? I was expecting a drop, but still thought it might shift around the 100k mark.
According to http://www.magazinesabout.co.uk/magazines/view/Viz+Comic (http://www.magazinesabout.co.uk/magazines/view/Viz+Comic)it is at about 100k but there is no indication of when this was.
I used to subscribe to Viz but found it really difficult to renew each year from outside the UK.
Quote from: WhizzBang on 22 April, 2012, 06:30:50 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 22 April, 2012, 01:05:28 PM
64k for Viz? I was expecting a drop, but still thought it might shift around the 100k mark.
According to http://www.magazinesabout.co.uk/magazines/view/Viz+Comic (http://www.magazinesabout.co.uk/magazines/view/Viz+Comic)it is at about 100k but there is no indication of when this was.
Yeah if you look at the other link I give this has historical numbers for Viz:
Jul-Dec 2006 Jul-Dec 2007 Jan-Jun 2008 Jul-Dec 2010 Jan-Jun 2011 Jul-Dec 2011
94,364 88,165 88,165 67,851 67,851 64,233So those numbers are 6 years old.