It is that time again when the regular prog gets replaced by a regen prog. Love it or hate it, I believe it is here to stay. I have seen many arguments for or against it. So here we are here is the question: Should regen prog exist or in which capacity? So how do you feel:
- Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year
- Yes, keep it but do it like the Meg make it a floppy each quarter
- Yes, keep the regen prog but depending on economics make it is own publication
- Let's go guns blazing here and replace the prog with the regen prog
- No stop this we know what happened to doctor Frankenstein's monster
- Regen is its some funky new energy drink?
I love the Regenes as an idea, I like the execution a lot of the time, though as with the Prog, its not always successful but it needs to continue as a way to attract new readership to replace us aging ol' relics, but beyond that to push the comic into new and interesting places. It improves the diversity in thrills, characters and creator and all in all is a massive positive.
In the real world I doubt the economics would justify it becoming its own thing, at least for now so I'd keep things as they are. In this fantasy world of a vote I'm happy to be able to forget all that and go
Yes, keep the regen prog but depending on economics make it is own publication
Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year.
My son really likes them, and in answer to "what are young readers meant to read the next week", the answer seems to be buy the Regened collections and then hopefully migrate to the main Prog when old enough.
It becoming a separate publication, has been discussed a lot and stated as not being viable, so I'm discounting that.
I think we've been told definitively that a seperate publication isn't viable.
So, Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year, it's already had enough breakthrough stories to justify its existance.
I wouldn't buy the Regened Progs if they were a seprate thing, and even though they do aim at younger readers and as such don't often appela to me, I do massively appreoctate the fact that they force creators to try new ideas, and to some extent encourage Tharg to take a chance on new creators, and that injection of innovation has been as successful as e.g. the early 1990s Megazine.
So yeah, I vote to keep on going with the current version of a handful of Progs per year interrupting the regular Prog, and good luck to the trade collections!
Pretty sure Rebellion (in one capacity or another) have said they'd like Regened to be its own publication but it isn't them you'd need to convince - it's WHSmiths and the other distributors / high street retailers.
I'm not a fan of Regened and ideally I'd prefer it not to mess with my Prog schedule, either by existing independently or not existing at all. But it seems like it's essential to the Progs survival, so with that in mind I'm going for Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year - I can easily live with it if it's securing the future of the comic and bringing in new readers.
Ideal world, as noted, would have this spun out as its own thing. But launching a new comic is phenomenally difficult under the best of circumstances, and we don't have those, what with COVID, paper shortages and now a cost of living crisis. Also, I'm happy enough with Regened, even if I wish it didn't scythe its way through ongoing series so often.
Anyway: Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 May, 2022, 06:28:02 AM
I love the Regenes as an idea, I like the execution a lot of the time, though as with the Prog, its not always successful but it needs to continue as a way to attract new readership to replace us aging ol' relics, but beyond that to push the comic into new and interesting places. It improves the diversity in thrills, characters and creator and all in all is a massive positive.
In the real world I doubt the economics would justify it becoming its own thing, at least for now so I'd keep things as they are. In this fantasy world of a vote I'm happy to be able to forget all that and go
Yes, keep the regen prog but depending on economics make it is own publication
This ^^^
plus the WHSmith comment. Its great other comics have now ditched the plastic 'throw aways' from their covers in line with 2K ;-)
One of the things that has helped a bunch of kids comics become massive sales smashes is, of course, TV (ok Netflix) adaptations: Hilda, Captain Underpants, most recently Heartstopper.
Are there any Regened stories that may ever entice some animation comapny to have a go, I wonder?
Sadly it's still much easier to get animation made when it's aimed at kids/youf, miuch as we're all still waiting on that (presumably more grown-up) ABC Warriors thingy.
If it wasn't a numbered prog and was separate I wouldn't buy it. If it helps finance the prog then so be it.
Quote from: Southstreeter on 04 May, 2022, 07:00:01 PM
If it wasn't a numbered prog and was separate I wouldn't buy it. If it helps finance the prog then so be it.
There's some interesting psychology going on here - you wouldn't buy it if it was separate, but the fact it technically means having a gap in your collection if you don't, means it has to be purchased. I'm sure there are people better qualified than me to analyse that one.
We can add the following option as well:
Yes, I will buy only just to keep my collection intact
I mean, if you're a subscriber it's not really possible to choose not to buy 4 Progs each year. But if I was walking into a newsagent and picking a Prog off the shelf each week, I might choose not to buy a Regened Prog.
I'm afraid curiosity would get the better of me... and habit, it has been almost 40 years!
Quote from: Magnetica on 04 May, 2022, 08:27:42 PM
Quote from: Southstreeter on 04 May, 2022, 07:00:01 PM
If it wasn't a numbered prog and was separate I wouldn't buy it. If it helps finance the prog then so be it.
There's some interesting psychology going on here - you wouldn't buy it if it was separate, but the fact it technically means having a gap in your collection if you don't, means it has to be purchased. I'm sure there are people better qualified than me to analyse that one.
I'm a subscriber. Probably also a completist (hell, I hung in there through the 90s!) but I don't have the luxury of that choice.
Keep it, but make it its own thing if possible.
I'm not the biggest fan of Regened, but I'm a completist who has invested 45 years into the prog and I'm not going to suffer gaps at this stage. To make it slightly worse, I buy two copies of each prog- one for my son- and even he, at 18, thinks Regened isn't for him.
Having said that, I've quite enjoyed this week's- with Dredd, the Harry Potter/Grange Hill one and the Future Shock not being at all bad. I have no objection to them continuing.
I wish the real prog had the same production value though. Those shiny covers are lush.
SBT
i love the idea of regened. but the execution just doesn't seem right. my earthlette sprog, who adores phoenix and lots of ya graphic novels, is just bored by regened -- unfortunately. so keep it going, but look at what jamie smart and neill cameron et al are doing. personally, i would say - don't talk down, don't patronise, stop with the censored versions of our favourites, be original, and let the target readers identify themselves ...
Quote from: The Mind of Wolfie Smith on 05 May, 2022, 11:19:37 PM
... but look at what jamie smart and neill cameron et al are doing. personally, i would say - don't talk down, don't patronise, stop with the censored versions of our favourites, be original, and let the target readers identify themselves ...
And more fart and poo jokes. if there's one thing Jamie Smart embraces more than any other creator it that a good fart a poo noise, well executed never gets old. The fella is a genius.
Also I think on the Neil Cameron front Mega Robo Bros is the perfect example of what a Regened story could be. I was literally on tender hooks after the end of the last story. it might be aimed at a primarily younger audience, but a good story told with good craft is absolutely for all ages. The last series of MRB was as good as any of the 'classic' kids adventure comics and even knocked Jamie Smart's stuff off the top of my fav in the Phoenix list... the boy child still went for the fart and poo jokes mind...
Quote from: Magnetica on 04 May, 2022, 08:27:42 PM
There's some interesting psychology going on here - you wouldn't buy it if it was separate, but the fact it technically means having a gap in your collection if you don't, means it has to be purchased. I'm sure there are people better qualified than me to analyse that one.
The 'gap in the collection' is a huge deal for me as a collector.
Doubt I'm alone in that.
No point discussing the topic further for me personally, I just bag & board 'em after a cursory flick through.
Seems poor fare, even for the supposed demographic.
If / when it ever does get it's own separate publication I won't be buying it for any young uns.
The Phoenix comparison is also interesting when you look at Monster Fun. Mini-IP enjoyed the first issue but wasn't bowled over. The action strips were a problem, primarily in terms of the storytelling. It lacked clarity. I don't remember that being the case with The Phoenix at any point when she was old enough to understand the strips. More chaos would also be good in Monster Fun (again, looking at Jamie Smart there – Sweeny Toddler being the closest thing in the material so far, and which was bafflingly removed from the newsstand edition).
With Regened, the big problem for me remains Dredd. I know why 2000 AD went with him as the lead, but he just feels like the kind of character others are fighting against in The Beano and The Phoenix. He's the straight guy – the boring stick in the mud. Sometimes, he's the hero, but he's also no fun. There's no mischief or subversion. Other strips in the comic fortunately do that kind of thing a lot better and have a lot more energy too.
At this point, I've not tried mini-G on Regened yet. Perhaps I'll give that a go and see what she thinks. Given how comics-literate she is, and how much she loves comics, that would be another indicator of whether the publication is hitting the lower end of the age bracket.
Wednesday we will see how our old timers feel about "the name we shall not speak"
It's not my thing at all, and I don't have sprogs. But I do like the idea of making a Sprogprog, and realise there aren't the resources to start a new regular comic from scratch.
So - Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year
Quote from: SmallBlueThing(Reborn) on 05 May, 2022, 05:27:53 PM
To make it slightly worse, I buy two copies of each prog- one for my son- and even he, at 18, thinks Regened isn't for him.
Not sure I understand that sentence. The word 'even' suggests that your son is in the target audience - but at 18 they're an adult, and the target audience of Regened is children.
I am quite surprise about the final result especially the fact that no one has voted to drop the regen as a mad science project.
Voting Closed:
Yes, keep it as it is 4 regen progs and 46 regular progs a year