Any of you writer/aritst types seen this ad?
http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/?page_id=6 (http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/?page_id=6)
One day someone will make a comic fro 8-12 year olds work, and maybe it'll be these guys.
Another new comic? Good news!
No information about rights etc in the submissions though- or indeed if it will be paid and how much!
I've got an idea and need an artist, BTW...
Isn't the Phoenix rising out of the ashes of the DFC? [edited to add: yes it is]
Quote from: pauljholden on 14 April, 2011, 02:18:35 PM
Isn't the Phoenix rising out of the ashes of the DFC? [edited to add: yes it is]
Yup! I just read that on their blog!
Good news all round then.
I'll do some drawing - if anyone's up for it. ...If only Crabcake could be adapted for children...
Submission guidelines:
http://downthetubescomics.blogspot.com/2011/05/phoenix-comic-post-submission.html
Quote from: CrazyFoxMachine on 15 April, 2011, 12:15:02 AM
I'll do some drawing - if anyone's up for it. ...If only Crabcake could be adapted for children...
I keep throwing hints your way, but I fear you have me on ignore ;).
Rise, necrothread: RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!
Been buying this title for a while now and as it enters its second year of publication I have to say I am disappointed there's not much love here on the board for it. Despite Strip having started first, as of tomorrow there will be 51 more issues of The Phoenix published than it's main non-Toothy rival, and that is damn good going for a book that has yet to resort to free cover-mounted toys (in my time reading, anyway) and regularly features short prose stories like it assumes kids can actually pay attention for more than five seconds to read something.
Instead of assuming children want to drink cheap store-brand energy drinks while texting on their phones and calling a complete stranger a racially insensitive and/or sexually inappropriate name on Call Of Duty while looking at violent animated Japanese pornography on their computers because kids don't read as that's what nerds do and kids want to beat up nerds and not be one themselves, The Phoenix seems to assume it lives in some strange parallel reality where comics are fun and appropriate for all ages without being oppressively puritanical or talking down to their audience - Star Cat is ostensibly a child's strip, for instance, yet featured a multi-part homage to John Carpenter's The Thing that was actually quite amusing. Some rough edges, certainly, like the odd bit of overly-familiar material like "Troy Trailblazer" being what looks like some sort of fanart mash-up of Major Kusunagi, Johnny Quest and Henry McCoy set in Buzz Lightyear continuity, but overall it's a solid weekly anthology of creator-owned adventure and comedy strips of a very European flavor and well worth your three bucks.
So BUMP.
I got the first few issues of this ans I was much immpressed, but I missed a few issues and they didnt have back issue at the time and it kindof fell by the wayside.
If anyone has back issues Im interested, Brendan has nothing to read since the Dandy went.
Still looking to get back issues of this, if anyone has any to sell PM me, Cheers!
Necropost again!
There's a feature and extracts in the Guardian's G2 section today - describes it as heralding "a new golden age of weekly children's comics"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/20/-sp-phoenix-kids-comic-girls-boys-corpse-talk-tamsin-deep-children (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/20/-sp-phoenix-kids-comic-girls-boys-corpse-talk-tamsin-deep-children)
http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2014/jul/20/-sp-the-phoenix-comic-in-pictures (http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2014/jul/20/-sp-the-phoenix-comic-in-pictures)
For those of you reading the Phoenix, what age group is it suitable for? I'm thinking of getting a sub for my six-year old nephew and wondering if it would be a good idea.
Pretty suitable for all ages. Hell, i'm seriously enjoying Pirates of Pangea!
You know the Prog has a special offer on at the mo, right?
Cheers for the swift replies.
It was the add on the back of this week's prog that got me thinking about it.
NECRO!
Anyway so what. I've been thinking about this for a while and finally bite the bullet and get the kids a subscription to The Phoenix and my gosh what a boon it is.
Only three issues into the sub and the kids are fighting over who gets to open it. I have to read it too them (no chore!) to stop the arguments on who gets to read it first.
Bloody wish Rebellion had the resource / whatever to get a nursey slopes version of 2000ad as this is great, my kids are so into a weekly dose of comics after only 3 weeks.
Oh and its a great comic too!
Still going and will soon hit issue 320. Not bad at all for a title aimed at kids who don't read - because vidya games and phones - and which has a subscription-based distribution model. It also has those big and square-ish pages old progs used to have before they changed size to accommodate the US trade format, and the dimensions really helps the occasional double page spread come to life.
Comics were never the problem. Bonkers business models were. On that scale, the high street is broadly broken (mags for kids mostly being tat and activity pages that can be endlessly recycled). On that basis alone, it's great The Phoenix is doing well. As for Rebellion, it would be a colossal punt to enter that market, especially on the newsstands.
Its a great comic, the only bad thing about it is that it makes me wish there was more comics like this on the shelves.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 17 February, 2018, 12:07:57 PM
Comics were never the problem. Bonkers business models were. On that scale, the high street is broadly broken (mags for kids mostly being tat and activity pages that can be endlessly recycled). On that basis alone, it's great The Phoenix is doing well. As for Rebellion, it would be a colossal punt to enter that market, especially on the newsstands.
Rebellion producing an all-ages comic? They couldn't give it away ;-)
Well just bagged the first 100 (plus) issues from eBay in binders for less than a quid each including postage. I'M SO EXCITED...
... for the kids you understand, for the kids.
Bunny Vs Monkey is bloody brilliant
Well once again this thread rises like a phoen.... well you can work that one out for yorselves NECRO!
Anyway meant to pull this one back onto its feet last week to mention that The Phoenix hit issue 400! Thats right issue 400 and alas I've barely seen mention of it. I don't think the normally reliable John Freeman at Downthetubes mentioned it (may have mised it?), though to be fair it was in the week that Beano hit issue 4000 so ya know...
Anyway I just think its something we should celebrate and salute. The Phoenix is going from strength to strength storywise. My kids still love it - though the girl child now insists on taking it to her room to read rather then read it with her brother. The boy child is having a half birthday this weekend (don't ask) and almost all his presents are Phoenixy in some way or other AND going to a friends party he is, as he always does these days, taking on of the compendiums as a present.
The Phoenix Weekly Story Comic is 100% recommended to any folks with kids between 5-12 and those who don't to boot.
I've taken a punt on a test sub for mini-G, although she was nonplussed with the issue we bought a couple of months ago. She's five; reading abilities are coming on fast. But it's more complicated than kiddie picture books.
However, we found Bunny vs Monkey book one in the library, and that went down a storm. And then I had a chat with The Phoenix online about gender representation, and they roped in Jaime Smart. I was blown away by the professionalism and thoughtfulness of the replies. No excuses. No pushback. Just a recognition that early stories failed in that one key area, and a desire to offer more balance. Great to see, and made me want to continue.
(I've also been surprised by The Beano. The classic tales are rather dated, but some of the newer content like Betty and the Yeti hit the mark – and also avoid the problem with so much of the humour relentlessly relying on wordplay. Yes, we get it. You're very clever with words. But that joke hammered home 50 times every issue becomes tiresome compared to Smart's bonkers and breezy fun.)
I really ought to pick up some of the collections of Phoenix material, any recommendations for myself and the Hawk chic's who haven't yet flown the nest?
Its a broad church. If you want out rageously funny then you can't go wrong with any of Jamie Smart's output. I personally think Lushkin is probably just about funnier than Bunny vs Monkey. Adventure then look no further than Pirates of Pangaea, why is there only one volume of this??? Though I'm also a fan of Troy Trailbrazier the latest story was fantastic.
A bit inbetween Mega Robo Bros is fantastic and possibly my favourite thing in the comic?
Corpse Talk is fun education in the Horrible Histories mode
Best answer though is go for The Phoenix Colassal Comics Collections - there two currently and these give a really good impression of the variety of strips AND you get Squid Bits which is just superb and also possibly my favourite thing in the comic.
Star Cat and Useleus are superb, but appear about as often as Bigfoot sightings.
My 5yo is now infatuated with Bunny vs Monkey to the point it has a pet name "BUNNY VS MONKS", which is shouted at an impossibly loud volume. The rest of The Phoenix doesn't go down as well as The Beano, but, well, she's young. I'm still tempted to keep the sub going, depending on the terms of the direct debit.
EDIT: It's £9.99 monthly.
THURSDAY PHOENIX - I'll say that again in case you didn't hear my CAPS!!!
THURSDAY PHOENIX.
Yeah size 24 font AND Bold ya hear me now don't you.
I mean I was fully expecting the delievery to slip back not jump forward. Tharg you got competition for best run comic during madness that I can only assume was started by Looshkin.
Mini-IP's previous one arrived this Tuesday — the first time Phoenix had ever been that late. But they said recently they've started sending them out two days early, to try and get more of them to arrive in time, so we also got ours today. Looks like they've cut back a little on comic strip content (at least this issue), but it's still a really solid mag. Frankly, anyone that adapts The Call of Cthulhu for kids — and puts Lovecraftian horror on the cover is OK by me.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 14 May, 2020, 07:44:36 PM
Looks like they've cut back a little on comic strip content (at least this issue), but it's still a really solid mag. Frankly, anyone that adapts The Call of Cthulhu for kids — and puts Lovecraftian horror on the cover is OK by me.
There's been interesting changes to how they are producing story of late. The one I like least is they've started to recycle interior art for the covers, which is a bit disappointing - but I guess they have to make savings. The stories are getting longer, but with bigger panels like they are now designed more for the reduced trade size.
I'm glad the current Looshkin run is back to the typical wonderfully dense format, rather than the wider more spacious tractor story a wee while ago.
I'm cool with all that if it helps them stick around, just a shame they have to (assuming they do?)
I've noticed a lot of those 'flow chart' games creeping in. They're... not great. The spreads of informative and educational stuff (Dinos! Rockets!) were much better — but probably quite expensive. But, yeah, whatever's needed to keep them going, really. (It'd be interesting to know how much they've been affected — probably less than many, given the subs-first approach of that publication.)
Mini-Solo really enjoys the flow charts. I've not been paying much attention to the content - although I'm roped in often to do Gorebrah read-alouds.
I still get to read it aloud to the boy. The girl reads it herself still. One of the great joys of parenthood. My Gorebah voice is a kinda faux Arnie Conan.
Quote from: Funt Solo on 14 May, 2020, 08:14:58 PMroped in
I guess that at least means you don't have to sneak a read yourself later.
We just got a delivery of about four issues, all held at the post office because here (Belfast) they're prioritising parcel delivery over letters. No the fault of the Phoenix, but it sure is annoying.
Bloody hell - we now have Wednesday Phoenix - this is getting silly!
Not here! But then I'm not too fussed — and mini-G was into reading a million Beanos today instead anyway.
My favourite bit about The Phoenix of late: when mini-G was deep in reading, and she looked up and told me she was just "re-reading the one about that writer". So, yeah, the 5yo was checking out a comic strip about Tolstoy. In the issue this week, they're doing War and Peace in Corpse Talk. Don't ever change, Phoenix.
Yeah it might all be a bit middle class but its still a wonder!
GODDAMNIT!
I'm about 60 issues off getting the boy a complete set... yes, yes it is for the boy not me - and I finally broken and decided to go for a bundle I'd seen on eBay which would have completed the set but left me with a LOAD of duplicate. I finally buckled thinking I'd be able to sell the majority of the dups at a decent price and hassle aside make my money back... probably.
Contact the seller to check postage (as per the listing as it was a BIG lot) and their son - who she was selling them for, has decided to keep them now and she's withdrawn the lot.
Now given it took me about 4 days to break and decide to go for this you might thing it was almost a relief BUT now having been in touching distance of a complete set I find I'm gutted... gutted... the quest goes on...
Argh @ eBayer. We're looking at mini-IP's shelves right now and thinking "yikes" about the future of weekly Beano and Phoenix. But she reads them and re-reads them, and so that's good. She's currently grumbling about the lack of Squid Bits in the comic, mind, and Legacy (which she used to skip but now at nearly 6 has decided she likes). I barely get a look in these days, mind.
Yeah the boy misses Squid Bits and wants it back. He's still Jamie Smart obsessed, but getting really into Trailblazers, which is good as I see that as my gateway drug to Star Wars comics and then...
He's 8 now.
Anyone got the latest Phoenix?Jamie Smarts' second strip in it Flember (well I think its called Dev something or other but its based on the book Flember - anyway I'm way off track) was colours by one Darren Stephens and judging by their very vibrant tones I'm pretty damned sure its Darren from this here Board.
If so AMAZING job Darren, working with Jamie Smart must be a massive thrill!
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 July, 2020, 05:18:44 PM
Anyone got the latest Phoenix?Jamie Smarts' second strip in it Flember (well I think its called Dev something or other but its based on the book Flember - anyway I'm way off track) was colours by one Darren Stephens and judging by their very vibrant tones I'm pretty damned sure its Darren from this here Board.
It is!
Cool to have it confirmed. Well done him!
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 July, 2020, 05:18:44 PM
Anyone got the latest Phoenix?Jamie Smarts' second strip in it Flember (well I think its called Dev something or other but its based on the book Flember - anyway I'm way off track) was colours by one Darren Stephens and judging by their very vibrant tones I'm pretty damned sure its Darren from this here Board.
If so AMAZING job Darren, working with Jamie Smart must be a massive thrill!
Yes, thank you so much Colin! This is the second series of 'Dev' I've been lucky enough to colour. ( I'm a huge fan of Jamies, so it is indeed a MASSIVE buzz to work with him!)
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 05 July, 2020, 09:21:23 AM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 July, 2020, 05:18:44 PM
Anyone got the latest Phoenix?Jamie Smarts' second strip in it Flember (well I think its called Dev something or other but its based on the book Flember - anyway I'm way off track) was colours by one Darren Stephens and judging by their very vibrant tones I'm pretty damned sure its Darren from this here Board.
If so AMAZING job Darren, working with Jamie Smart must be a massive thrill!
Yes, thank you so much Colin! This is the second series of 'Dev' I've been lucky enough to colour. ( I'm a huge fan of Jamies, so it is indeed a MASSIVE buzz to work with him!)
Oh wow sorry I missed it the first time. I read the comic with the boy and always read the creators names and for some reason must have not clicked when the first 'Dev' stories were in last year (I think it was it was just as Flember came out as I recall). I do wonder if it clicked this time as for some reason the colours just popped and when I checked the name it made sense given your art we've seen here.
Anyway more importantly fantastic stuff and long may you continue to work with Jamie.
Thanks again! I think the colours in this series are more 'me', if that makes sense? Take care.
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 05 July, 2020, 09:58:13 AM
Thanks again! I think the colours in this series are more 'me', if that makes sense? Take care.
Its definately does and that entire explains the penny dropping.
I see that Phoenix now has joined the 500 club.
2000AD extended congratulations as well:
Having a wraparound cover for your 500th issue cover gets you into a select club! Congratulations on the milestone,
@phoenixcomicuk
!!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7h5n1xWUAQIsyi?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
We're just heading home after a brief holiday and I think the boy child is as excited about this being there when we land than seeing the cat again.
The child was very excited about this one—Bunny vs Monkey has returned!
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 30 July, 2021, 11:49:35 AM
The child was very excited about this one—Bunny vs Monkey has returned!
Yeah good as Mega-lo-maniacs has been nothing says Jamie Smart like Bunny vs. Monkey.
500 issues is AMAZING!
Follow the link to see the whole 500th issue online:
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/Page/Index/500 (https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/Page/Index/500)
I read the 500th issue at the weekend and really enjoyed it, and I'm 45. It's almost worth having a child so I could get this every week.
Mostly unrelated fact: Neill Cameron (Pirates of Pangaea, Robo-Bros) drew my wedding tattoo.
Plenty of grown-ups read comics for kids. But good to know you enjoyed it. I will say that if you liked Bunny vs Monkey, the new pocket books are worth picking up. Looshkin is soon being redone in the same format too. (I figure anarchic and silly comedy strips are good for any age!)
Funny also to go back through this thread and see my non-committal stance on the initial subscription. I can't imagine cutting it now. Mini-IP would go nuts. She bloody loves the comic (although I think still loves the Beano a little bit more).
Yeah I have to say even when the Boy Child goes the way of the Girl Child and decides he's too 'grown-up' for the Phoenix I strongly suspect I'll carry on with it. Its just good craft plain and simple and therefore the real definition of All Ages.
Good comics is good comics.
Just finished reading issue 500 with the boy (he reads it himself first then we read it together) and while its good - love the cover - if you enjoyed that one DEFO check out another issue or two I would say that one wasn't as good as a 'typical' issue of late.
Bloody hell how good has the latest run of Mega Robo Bros been and man that ending. Just FANTASTIC!
Well this is interesting YouTube launched a load of 'YouTube originals' on Friday (13th May) and one of them was apparently The Phoenix's own Corpse Talk
https://youtu.be/rqZQ2wMPtO0 (https://youtu.be/rqZQ2wMPtO0)
There are a number of the videos up already - though I had to do a specific seearch to find them. Well done to Adam and Lisa Murphy!
As learnt from Downthetubes
https://downthetubes.net/corpse-talk-joins-the-youtube-originals-animated-line-up-this-month/?fbclid=IwAR38dyqj8FYQBJKN_R_w5LpE5umCCBVyDt3UCGd3kafp5KY3HHPaL6bcC9c (https://downthetubes.net/corpse-talk-joins-the-youtube-originals-animated-line-up-this-month/?fbclid=IwAR38dyqj8FYQBJKN_R_w5LpE5umCCBVyDt3UCGd3kafp5KY3HHPaL6bcC9c)
The child's a massive Horrible Histories fan and loves Corpse Talk, so this seems like a cert to get her watching something new. I barely see the comic these days, alas. Very occasionally, I get to flick through a new issue if it's lurking and sneak a read of the latest slice of Jamie Smart madness.
Speaking of Jamie Smart, if you have kids and an hour of spare time on the 29th, this: https://www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/jamie-smart-live-stream-draw-along
Great news. My daughter loves their Lost Tales book and, in fact, was reading it this morning when she should have been getting ready for school.
We watched the first two of those Corpse Talk shorts last night (Cleopatra and Mozart). They went down very well! Good quality stuff.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 16 May, 2022, 08:30:55 AM
The child's a massive Horrible Histories fan and loves Corpse Talk, so this seems like a cert to get her watching something new. I barely see the comic these days, alas. Very occasionally, I get to flick through a new issue if it's lurking and sneak a read of the latest slice of Jamie Smart madness.
Speaking of Jamie Smart, if you have kids and an hour of spare time on the 29th, this: https://www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/jamie-smart-live-stream-draw-along
Damn the boy is has a football game at 11 we won't be able watch.
Anyone else noticed the drop in the amount of strip content? I've noticed a few bits of what seems like budget saving over the last few years but its never been as pronounced as it has over the last few weeks. We're down to just two longer (4-5 page strips), a Jamie Smart - or two if we are very lucky! and a couple or three one pagers. Some of the strips as also written by editorial if I'm any judge and you can feel the quality dip in those.
The rest is well crafted stuff, puzzle page, posters, art tutorial and other editorial but you can feel the corners being cut. Even the shorts have dropped from 4 to 3 strips, with very clumsy boarders filling the gaps.
I hope its not a permanent thing and just helping the comic get through a pince point. This is still a great product and I'm a long way from dropping off ... and the boy still enjoys it and the sub is going nowhere but I just hope the comic is doing okay. After 554 issues this comic should be being lauded all over and isn't. That really needs to change.
Yep. I noticed it's getting increasingly slight. A pity. It's still just about the only comic my local WHSmith doesn't stock. Frustrating.
Feels safe to say this now. Saw this week's issue on the kitchen table last night and YEP completely fell for the April's Fool gag.
Well done The Phoenix Team very, very well done joke. One of the best April's Fools I can remember!
Do wonder how it will affect off shelf sales though!
Yeah. Very bold for the newsstand. But perfect for the subs. And they went all-out in the actual comic.
Not read it yet. Doing a catch up tonight with any luck...
Ooh, gonna have to raid my daughter's copy, you've got me intrigued!!
Does Waitrose or any other high street store still stock this?
In theory. I've never personally seen it in a Waitrose. The only place I've seen the comic in the wild is WHSmith (and only in Reading) and one of the massive Waterstones in London. We've found the subs solid though. It's more reliable than 2000 AD these days. And the one time we didn't get a copy, one was dispatched via next-day delivery.
Yeah as a sub I don't look out for it in the wild but have stumbled across it in Waitrose and Smiths from time to time.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 19 September, 2023, 11:53:06 AMIn theory. I've never personally seen it in a Waitrose. The only place I've seen the comic in the wild is WHSmith (and only in Reading) and one of the massive Waterstones in London. We've found the subs solid though. It's more reliable than 2000 AD these days. And the one time we didn't get a copy, one was dispatched via next-day delivery.
Thanks. Will head to Waterstones next time I'm in central London. My eldest is at an age where she'll happily read a Beano, but would be good to be able to get the Phoenix on an occasional basis. Managed to order volumes 2 and 3 of the collections for cheap from World of Books.
It's worth noting that The Phoenix is halfway between The Beano and 2000 AD in terms of story structure. So if you buy a one-off issue, you're going to have part X of at least one multi-part story, alongside a bunch of single-shot cartoons (which range from anything up to four pages down to three panels). And sometimes even Bunny vs Monkey has arcs, although you can always enjoy a standalone DPS of that.
I'd never say to not buy The Phoenix, but I would suggest two alternatives instead of buying one-off issues: first, the comic has a trial, where you get [six issues for a quid](https://thephoenixcomic.co.uk). After that point, it's £29.99 per 12 – £2.50 each via direct debit. But I imagine within the first few issues, you'd get a feel for whether your kid's into it or not.
Alternatively, there are quite a few collections available, although they certainly don't cover the full range of what's in the comic. The heavy hitters are anarchic Jamie Smart comic Bunny vs Monkey and action strip Mega Robot Bros. My nipper also enjoyed Georgia and the Edge of the World and Claire: Justice Ninja, along with most of Corpse Talk. (She's also like to see a Fawn collection, but there's no sign of that.)
Probably avoid No Country, though. That's... quite the read. (I bought it for myself during a sale. It's definitely at the upper end of the Phoenix age range.) The ones you've grabbed off of World of Books are good. We have three such books here. They have a solid range of strips.
One other thing: The Phoenix also has its own reading recommendations that cover a range of publishers. That was a good way here to find new books for a while. (Now, mini-IP just blazes through the library and carts a stack of whatever she finds to the scanning machine.)
Thanks for the tips IP.
My daughter loved the two Loshkin collections, but oddly wasn't so keen on Bunny V Monkey.
Also thinking of picking up Evil Emperor Penguin at some point.
I really want to try The Phoenix comic but I have several comic subscriptions at the moment, plus my USA comic pull list. I really like the multi-part stories and single self-contained stories aspect similar to the weekly Le Journal de Spiriou in Europe. I really wish The Beano would have some kind of multi-part stories.
The Beano is an odd one. I find it horribly formulaic and the publisher apparently has no interest in collections. For me, the best thing in there is Betty and the Yeti, but we're never going to see anything beyond the usual Dennis books, bar perhaps a Minnie one.
The Phoenix: maybe try that six issues for a quid offer. See how it clicks for you. After that point, every issue costs less than one US floppy, so you could always swap something out.