I'm excited! A NEW ongoing kids comic???
https://2000ad.com/news/rebellion-announce-monster-fun-britains-newest-on-going-humour-comic-for-kids/
Great news! The key to this is distribution, I think. If it gets into supermarkets etc then hopefully it'll find an appreciative audience.
Well, that's good news. A pity the frequency is bi-monthly, but the reasoning (aligning with holidays) makes sense. Perhaps if it takes off, we'll get more. Although I suspect if Sweeny Toddler isn't in every issue, mini-IP is going to HAVE WORDS.
Wow well that is interesting news. The format / schedule is fascinating every 2 months is more like a regular special? I wonder whether that will allow it to find a regular audience, or is the idea more for folks to drop in and out as they stumble across it? Either way fantastic to see Rebellion trying new things... mind you all this could do is make Jim's blood pressure rise as its used as evidence of why Regened should be its own thing!
I don't think this does anything to contradict what Jim and others have said about Regened. It's a combination of tactics, markets and what distributors/stores will take. Rebellion obviously sees a possible space for Monster Fun, and there must be a level of newsstand support to allow that to happen. That said, given the Beano numbers I saw recently, I'll bet Rebellion will also be pushing the subs side of things hard. (Beano ABCs are up, but that's entirely down to subs, not newsstand.)
I don't know what its like nationally, but Beano distribution in my area was so patchy and unreliable that I had to go down the subscription route.
I am in if there will be a Leopard strip
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 20 September, 2021, 01:21:42 PM
Rebellion obviously sees a possible space for Monster Fun, and there must be a level of newsstand support to allow that to happen.
Yeah... I was just about to post something similar. You don't take a punt on an undertaking like this without a lot of really solid market research, and the support of your distributor. Clearly, they have data that says there's a strong enough market for this to make it worth a punt.
(And I've never argued that Regened
shouldn't be its own thing, only tried to provide some context as to why it
isn't.)
FWIW, if Rebellion is playing a long game here, I think this new title makes it more likely that Regened, or some variation thereon, will make the jump to a standalone at some point in the future.
If Monster Fun is targeted at the lower end of the reading ages, then adding a more YA-oriented title into the age bracket above it is a smart strategy and creates a direct pathway to feed readers into 2000AD proper — get 'em when they're young, provide something for them to move on
to when they outgrow Monster Fun, and hopefully keep enough of them in the general habit of reading comics that they'll move on again to the 'grown up' titles when they outgrow Regened.
Just an interesting question why choose Monster Fun and not something like Buster or Cor. I though both these titles where bigger.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 20 September, 2021, 01:21:42 PM
I don't think this does anything to contradict what Jim and others have said about Regened. It's a combination of tactics, markets and what distributors/stores will take.
I know I was just teasing!
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 20 September, 2021, 02:07:33 PM
I know I was just teasing!
I KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT. [spoiler];-)[/spoiler]
Quote from: broodblik on 20 September, 2021, 02:06:33 PM
Just an interesting question why choose Monster Fun and not something like Buster or Cor. I though both these titles where bigger.
Buster and Cor (as titles) are sort of meaningless to anyone below the age of 40, "Monster Fun" while both a throwback to an earlier title is ALSO a fairly good descriptor of what it is.
I have no insight here, but that seems an obvious answer to me.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 20 September, 2021, 02:00:48 PMFWIW, if Rebellion is playing a long game here, I think this new title makes it more likely that Regened, or some variation thereon, will make the jump to a standalone at some point in the future.
As a bi-monthly in the alternate months, perhaps. (That's how some of the Lego mags work: Jurassic World alternates with one of the Ninjago ones.)
Regardless, this is good news. A new newsstand title for kids really isn't something I was expecting to see—although I was hoping to see it.
Quote from: pauljholden on 20 September, 2021, 02:21:02 PM
Quote from: broodblik on 20 September, 2021, 02:06:33 PM
Just an interesting question why choose Monster Fun and not something like Buster or Cor. I though both these titles where bigger.
Buster and Cor (as titles) are sort of meaningless to anyone below the age of 40, "Monster Fun" while both a throwback to an earlier title is ALSO a fairly good descriptor of what it is.
I have no insight here, but that seems an obvious answer to me.
Correct.
As a parent of a youngling, these lines are interesting:
"awesome free subscriber gifts the kids will love"
Given the point about plastic tat in the press release I got, I would hope the free gifts would be meaningful and relatively eco-friendly and also not tat. My kid has so much _stuff_. She doesn't really need more.
"You'll also receive regular emails filled with fun activity ideas to keep everyone enthralled"
It'll be interesting to see how that works out. Printers are thinner on the ground than they used to be, and most children won't have their own email. But some will have devices. So: curious to discover what this will entail.
(Mini-IP will be coming up 8 when this coming launches and so seemingly the target age.)
The past year and various stints of home schooling has kept our printer busier than it has ever been.
Wow this is fantastic news.
I'll be having a subscription to this as soon as it's available.
I don't have any children....it'll be for me! Cough.
Great news! There'll be two reader in this house.
Holy Joe Smith!
You've made a squaxx who has been reading since Prog 6 cry today.
Wondrous news.
Thanks you.
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
That's in the press release...
QuoteEvery issue, young readers will laugh out loud all new adventures from familiar faces such as Sweeny Toddler, Frankie Stein, The Leopard from Lime Street, and Draculass, while new stories like Tokoloshe, Hell's Angel and Scare Salon will quickly become firm favourites thanks to breakout talents like Juni Ba (Monkey Meat), Robin Etherington (one half of the Etherington Brothers (How to Think When You Draw, the world's most successful crowd-funded art and writing tutorial series), Matt Baxter (The Phoenix), and kids' comics legends like Tom Paterson (The Beano).
Cheers IP.
Tom Paterson - good stuff.
Quote from: Link Prime on 21 September, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
He's definitely in the halloween spooktacular (as am I, I think)
Quote from: Link Prime on 21 September, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
I will join you in wishing for some Lew Stringer.
I love his humour and I love the style of his characters.
It's perfectly suited to Monster Fun.
Quote from: pauljholden on 21 September, 2021, 01:53:07 PM
Quote from: Link Prime on 21 September, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
He's definitely in the halloween spooktacular (as am I, I think)
Well two thumbs up there so. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Quote from: pauljholden on 21 September, 2021, 01:53:07 PM
Quote from: Link Prime on 21 September, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
He's definitely in the halloween spooktacular (as am I, I think)
Yes and yes.
Quote from: Robo-K33F on 21 September, 2021, 06:58:09 PM
Quote from: pauljholden on 21 September, 2021, 01:53:07 PM
Quote from: Link Prime on 21 September, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
I'll be picking this up next year for a 5 year old Beano fanatic.
And maybe a flick through myself too!
Any word on the creative teams?
Can we assume the ever excellent Lew Stringer will be involved?
He's definitely in the halloween spooktacular (as am I, I think)
Yes and yes.
HURRAH!
Is this going to be a more traditional take on The Leopard from Lime St. than we saw in The Vigilant?
Quote from: The Corinthian on 21 September, 2021, 09:04:53 PM
Is this going to be a more traditional take on The Leopard from Lime St. than we saw in The Vigilant?
Bleedin' hope so as I didn't enjoy that
at all
Just to wet our appetites here is a great preview of the upcoming Monster Fun special (looks awesome):
https://www.comicon.com/2021/09/27/preview-monster-fun-halloween-spooktacular-time-for-the-special-scares/ (https://www.comicon.com/2021/09/27/preview-monster-fun-halloween-spooktacular-time-for-the-special-scares/)
Trev is back with Kid Kong! One of my favourite strips from the Cor!! & Buster specials. YES
*
Just noticed Lizzie Boyle is back on Gums too!
Brett Parsons on Creature Teacher. Oh my!!!
This looks incredible!
It'll be interesting to see what makes the cut for the 32-pager. My kid's wish list would be, roughly in order: Sweeny Toddler (which, IIRC, hasn't been mentioned but must surely be a cert?), Gums, and "something by Lew Stringer", who is one of a handful of creators she knows and really likes. (Jamie Smart and Jess Bradley would be two others I imagine she'd love to see more of.)
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 28 September, 2021, 09:33:08 AM
It'll be interesting to see what makes the cut for the 32-pager. My kid's wish list would be, roughly in order: Sweeny Toddler (which, IIRC, hasn't been mentioned but must surely be a cert?), Gums, and "something by Lew Stringer", who is one of a handful of creators she knows and really likes. (Jamie Smart and Jess Bradley would be two others I imagine she'd love to see more of.)
Just take Stevie's goddamn money!!!
On another note, congrats are in order for Len O'Grady on getting the opportunity to prove that there is more to this bot than just colouring.
Also, would that be two former 2009ad scriptbots whom Kek-W & Lew Stringer are taking a poke at there in
Wiz War?
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 28 September, 2021, 06:13:11 AM
Just noticed Lizzie Boyle is back on Gums too!
Last time I saw Lizzie & Conor, I greeted them with "Hey, it's the creator of the greatest shark story in recent years ... and her husband"*
*If you didn't know, Conor drew the fantastic Hookjaw reboot a few years ago
Re: Hell's Angel...
There was a Marvel UK character with the same name in the '90s that got into some slight legal bother due to a certain biker group not being happy with the use of the name.
Quote from: WikipediaDark Angel (Shevaun Haldane), originally Hell's Angel, is a fictional superheroine from the Marvel Comics imprint Marvel UK. She first appeared in Hell's Angel #1 (July 1992). The character and the comic book were both renamed to Dark Angel with issue #6 due to legal threats from the Hells Angels biker club. Their lawsuit was settled by Marvel agreeing to pay $35,000.00 as a charitable gift to Ronald McDonald House in the name of both Marvel and the Hell's Angels, in addition to renaming the character.
Thought I'd better point that out, (assuming nobody else has), just in case.
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 28 September, 2021, 02:46:22 PMAlso, would that be two former 2009ad scriptbots whom Kek-W & Lew Stringer are taking a poke at there in Wiz War?
Wiz War's been around since 1968 so it's
probably just a coincidence.
Wiz War is a bit shite, mind, as are a few of the other "new" strips
https://comicscene.org/2021/10/06/comicscene-review-monster-fun-special-second-opinion/
My local WHSmith faced the comic with the teen stuff too. Odd—and not ideal.
Good review BCB although it's different strokes for different folks as I enjoyed Wizwar and Jump Junior but found Evil Eye and Gums both fell flat. That's the beauty of a comic like this though, there's so much in it.
Disappointing to hear it's being stocked at Smiths alongside 2000ad instead of with the regular comics: I'd have thought that'd be hurting it, distribution wise.
Yes, it's always subjective and I applaud that effort and the fact Rebellion are giving this a go.
In my Smiths it was by the 2000ADs and computer mags. I made them move them to the Beano/Phoenix area where they belong.
The placement is set by head office, so it'll be the same everywhere
QuoteEvery issue, young readers will laugh out loud all new adventures from familiar faces such as Sweeny Toddler, Frankie Stein, The Leopard from Lime Street, and Draculass, while new stories like Tokoloshe, Hell's Angel and Scare Salon will quickly become firm favourites thanks to breakout talents like Juni Ba (Monkey Meat), Robin Etherington (one half of the Etherington Brothers (How to Think When You Draw, the world's most successful crowd-funded art and writing tutorial series), Matt Baxter (The Phoenix), and kids' comics legends like Tom Paterson (The Beano).
Sweeny and the Leopard from Lime Street? Brilliant!
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 20 September, 2021, 03:39:14 PM
As a parent of a youngling, these lines are interesting:
"awesome free subscriber gifts the kids will love"
Given the point about plastic tat in the press release I got, I would hope the free gifts would be meaningful and relatively eco-friendly and also not tat. My kid has so much _stuff_. She doesn't really need more.
I think the first free gift is a PJ Holden or a Lew Stringer:
Quote from: pauljholden on 21 September, 2021, 01:53:07 PM
He's definitely in the halloween spooktacular (as am I, I think)
Yes, I'm knackered from running from house to house of everyone who bought one. I should read my contracts more carefully.
While I wasn't taken by most of the Halloween special (to be fair it's not aimed at a middle aged bloke like me... but I do enjoy some entertainment targeted towards kids. This is no criticism of the artwork, by the way, that was great.) I enjoyed the new Leopard strip. I did raise an eyebrow at the [spoiler]Totem[/spoiler] theme, as I remember that being an arc in Spider-man as well and Leopard borrows a lot from that already. They seem to be doing something a bit different with it here though, so fair enough.
I will probably buy the next issue or two to see how it goes. Not sure I'll get it just for The Leopard of Lime Street as that would prove expensive, but the rest of the strips were not awful, and I'm happy to give them more of a chance.
Regardless of whether I continue to get this or not, I am very glad it exists and that Rebellion are expanding their comics output.