Is anyone starting to become concerned over what is possibly nothing more than a few unconnected and minor details and the current financial position of 2K.
The first of these was the "wonderful" "The Droids Decide" filler in the Christmas prog, which was then followed by the two-cover edition of prog 1335. Both of these seem to be the work of a company trying to cut costs and increase sales, which is technically what all companies do I know, but it's starting to make me wonder just how healthy the current financial state of 2K really is.
The final detail came with the advert for next week's prog, which carried the always-dubious "STILL ONLY" message. As most people may have realised this sort of message normally appears a few months or weeks before a magazine goes up in price. It's a common enough ploy to convince you that the company has done well to keep it so low, for so long before whacking an extra five or ten pence on the cover price and mentioning the ever spiralling costs of printing.
Could the recent Bolland cover and the return of the old skool writers and artists to 2K be a last desperate gamble to tempt lapsed readers back into the fold and increase sales? Do I seriously believe we have reason to worry? Am I deliberately picking key words out and highlighting them for dramatic effect or am I merely trying to relieve some monotony by being an evil scaremonger who just wants to see the widespread panic as you consider the thought that your weekly fix of 2K might be in jeopardy? Well yes I am, but that's just the way I am today. Discuss...
I saw a copy in Asda today.
Was it in the reduced goods section?
No, in the comics section. Duh.
They have a reduced comics section now? And don't you mean MAGAZINE section.
No, they have a newspaper section, magazine section, comic section. And this weeks 2k was in the comic section. If you have any further difficulty in understanding this please e-mail me becuase we seem to be knocking this thread a little off-topic.
Well 2000AD hasnt had a price rise for what must be a record length of time - if things were really bad, surely they would have just rounded up to ?1.50 a long time ago. In fact - we've yet to see a price rise since the 10p hike back in prog 1200 - almost 3 years.
Everything you say here, Karne, seems reasonable, even logical.
But I can't help thinking one of two things:
1) You are adding 1+1 and getting 3.
2) You are sort of bored and decided to start a thread with the intention of pervoking an arguement.
Both honourable reasons, might I add.
But if you are serious, I don't agree with you. If the comic (yes comic) is loosing money, and Rebellion are, as you say, desperate to pull in readers, spending however many hundreds, or possibly thousands on a Bolland would seem foolhardy to me.
And yeah, the price will probably go up soon, but it always does. So does the price of a pint, but we still buy it, don't we?
I would do some dramatic bold letters if I knew how to, but I don't.
Yeah, I think this is a bit silly Karne!
You idle speculator you!
Could this thread go anymore Off-topic?
Anyway I suggest that you attack the Manager of Asda in an extremely brutal fashion, letting him know as you do so that 2000ad is not a comic in the convential sense and as such should not be placed alongside the Beano.
P.S. You seem a little grumpy DXB, did you not get any sunshine in your parts today. (f'nar, f'nar)
"spending however many hundreds, or possibly thousands on a Bolland would seem foolhardy to me."
Well there is the old saying: "You have to speculate to accumulate."
Which roughly translated means you have to spend cash to make cash. Are you worried now?
'Are you worried now?'
No. Your going to have to throw out better bait than that...
No, Karne, 2000AD is fully capable of supporting itself and making money.
I think you are reading something into a quarterly promotion as some signs of desperation. Considering there are over a 100,000 lapsed readers of 2000AD and other fresh souls out there waiting to be claimed, a bolland cover isn't a silly move. I'd be more worried if they weren't promoting the comic.
This really is idle mischeviousness of the highest order Karne, you ought to be ashamed!
'This really is idle mischeviousness of the highest order Karne, you ought to be ashamed!'
Yes he should, but you should not be encouraging him by answering his posts!!!
And I shouldn't be either!!!
Bugger
The mutated form of the half-man, half-spider hybrid that karne has become sits in his web and cackles evilly to himself.
Mmmmwwwwahhh ha, haa, haaaa!!!
Karne, maybe you mis-read a post I made a few days ago... I said you should NOT turn your talents to evil.
Oops! I guess I mis-read that one.
Anyway, sales are just part of the picture.
As long as the comic (yes, it's a comic) continues to turn some sort of profit and Rebellion can use its characters for other ventures to add to its revenue, then it'll survive.
Karne, you're a doomsayer. Behave yourself.
- Trout
In actual fact I plucked a copy from the pile, showed it my niece and pointed out all the funny robots whilst she looked with indifference and slight bemusement at her funny uncle (not a 'funny uncle' in that sense, just a funny uncle).
I then coralled her into taking a couple of copies and inserting them at random at the front of the racks at strategic intervals so that whatever sort of periodical you look for you'll come across a copy.
Oh, and we got plenty of sunshine, and I had the day of work which I was free to spend with my loved ones doing as I so pleased. If I seem grumpy it might be because some people just wind me up...
"If I seem grumpy it might be because some people just wind me up..."
I know exactly what you mean DXB, some people just seem to totally miss the point don't they ;)
(Did you see what I did there?)
Yes Karne, I can see exactly what you're doing... and I gotta love you for it!
Sorry, I don't understand what you are getting at Karne. Could you explain again, slower this time?
Anyone got any idea how much bolland got for the cover???
I remember back when Frank Miller supplied that cover for the Meg that Andy Diggle gave up his fee for the script to Lenny Zero to secure the mighty Millers work os I suspect he could supply us with a good guess to the Bolland fee...
Well Andy, san YOU shine any light on this matter?
My Mummy says she doesn't want me to play with you anymore DXB. She thinks you're strange, but I still like you...even if you do always pick on me.
Karne, I think this is a little off the track.
Considering nothing happened of any interest whatsoever from about 1996-2000, the fact that Rebellion are promoting their product doesn't mean that it's not doing well. If 2000ad (the flagship comic) was doing poorly, would they be ploughing the creds into the Meg like they are? No...
And we can be fairly certain the readership has gone UP since the Rebs took over.
"would they be ploughing the creds into the Meg like they are?"
Just remember that re-print material is popular and above all a lot cheaper than commisioning new stories and art.
The ship's bobbing along nicely. They gassed the rats.
if this ship is in trouble then its a titantic style ending.
we have not been this good on such a sustained level for many a long year.
the lastest issue is so good its amazing im here and not reading it all over again.
im sure the readership is up. didnt andy diggle say something about that recenlty somewhere?
re prints are good in many ways,cheap, great way of introducing new and lapsed readers to the new standards.
i would say 2000ad is looking strong.more international markets now avaible and the guarnteed money from subscriptions.no sale or return on them.
lets hope we are still here in 25 years.
Are they ploughing creds into the meg? They've saved some money on Format and possible other things and still have the reprints (which I like, it's like having the old Dredd megazine, the best of 2000AD monthly, a new comic, a comic history channel and a classic 70's comic rolled into one big bad dollop of thrills).
2000AD isn't in crisis as far as I can see, though it has at many times in the past, and always survived anyway. It makes enough money to pay for itself and has intellectual property that Rebellion was pretty keen to have.
There is one future path I can see the comic taking (nothing to do with 2000AD's performance) that gives me nightmares, but I won't speak it aloud, lest it come true!
*Shudder*
2000AD isn't in crisis as far as I can see, though it has at many times in the past, and always survived anyway.
Problem is though we readers never see it as being in crisis anyways. However, Im of the belief that its pretty strong at the moment.
I too, however, shudder like PVS if he is hinting what I think hes hinting...... Company has same initials as a recently published boarder, if so I dare not speak their name........
**SHUDDER**
"There is one future path I can see the comic taking (nothing to do with 2000AD's performance) that gives me nightmares, but I won't speak it aloud, lest it come true!"
Monthly?
Anyway- I reckon it's time the mighty Cosmic Ray and old green bonce settled their differences (and if you haven't heard about them, then you're obviously not in the loop and don't need to know) and made friends again. Maybe 2000ad could find a home in amongst the greatness that is... SOLAR WIND!!!
Obviously, Tharg would have to be relegated to 'tea boy' and we'd have to go with the title 'SOLAR WIND!!! featuring2oooad'. Despite the enormous drag factor of a clearly inferior product, I believe that SOLAR WIND could incorporate 2000ad quite nicely.
Judge Dredd might have to go though- but let's face it, nobody reads it anyway...
Matt
I wish I knew how to make my letters bold- my post kind of lacks punch. And sense, of course.
;)
What? eh?
'Agent 12 to Cosmic Ray, we have a Rogue Drone, repeat a Rogue Drone, send Solar blast to following co-ordinates...'
Heh.
Rebellion going to be bought by the Evil Empire, Games Workshop, you say ?
Crikey, thats a good rumour for a dull day.
Mercy, Master! Mercy...!
FWooooOOOOOMMMF!!!
My eyebrows... where are my eyebrows....?
:: Monthly?
Hmm, if that ever happens, itll be because the Meg and 2Thou have merged. Unlikely though, seeing as Rebellion managed to stabalise the sales some time back, which had been dropping before the buy-out.
Alright everybody, it's time to come clean. The whole point of this thread, which some of you seemed to have picked up on was, as I did actually state, a bit of mischievous fun designed to provoke what could have been an interesting debate/fight and to show how easy it is to create a plausible scenario and justify an argument without having access to any solid facts. Rather like a tabloid newspaper as it were.
If you go back and view the overall message you will see that even the title is a ambiguous. The lack of rats could have been either the ship sinking or the suggestion of a tighter run ship, free of metaphorical vermin, hence the "is this, or".
I was hoping for a bit more information from you all concerning the reasons why this
speculation could or could not be true, but all I seemed to have got is your unshakeable commitment to the Galaxy's greatest. A commendable action in itself, but do you not feel that all those years of stories and Future Shocks involving conspiracy theories, hiding the truth and taking things at face value may have been wasted?
Was your faith even slightly shaken? Didn't I at least cause you to have some niggling little doubts? I would have liked this thread to develop beyond the mere boundaries of "yes" or "no" style answers into a larger picture involving topics such as "What would you do if it were true" or "How much would you be prepared to pay in a price increase?"
I'm sure that by now most of you will have noticed my casual approach to serious matters, but I believe that it is often the best way of getting a point across. You may not remember every bit of a conversation you have with someone, but you'll almost certainly remember the humour.
I know your views of me range from a huge pain in the arse or a minor irritation to a source of laughter and entertainment (blush), but please try and remember that although I may act silly, I'm not really an idiot ;). If you take the time to view my posts you may see more to them than just general stupidity. I love to question everything, to read between the lines and provoke responses, even taking on the role of Devils advocate on occasion to further my curiosity. And that's what this post has all been about.
Taking all this into account, I'd like to ask you if you could go back and re-read your original comments and see if this extra information has given you an insight into the workings of your own minds. Were your comments purely a defensive instinct against the possible harsh reality that your weekly fix may be cancelled? Or do you genuinely believe that 2K is safer now than it has been in years? I'd also like you to pay particular attention to my "comic/magazine" comments, as that one seems to have gone over more heads than an aeroplane.
Thanks for joining in, I still like you all even if you hate me now.
Karne.
P.S. (to all at Rebellion). If you are in financial trouble and were trying to keep it quiet, Sorry.
Good thread, Karne, as I said before.
Entertaining to see the fits of rage, but they were nice, because they came from a love for the subject
' know your views of me range from a huge pain in the arse or a minor irritation to a source of laughter and entertainment '
One thing you are not, my boy, is stupid, I know, because you use the same tricks as I do, and indeed as any good writer does, hide it in a joke.
My gran used to say: It takes a wise man to act a fool.
"It takes a wise man to act a fool"
This board must be the wisest place in christendom, then ;)
ROBO.... ROBO.... GOONIE, ROBO!!
Heh, How much of a fool am I? This is the wrong thread? :P
Rotts
'Maybe 2000ad could find a home in amongst the greatness that is... SOLAR WIND!!!'
Oh, Mr. Eyebrows. If you only knew the truth about Cosmic Ray and Solar Wind.
Revenge is a dish best swallowed on an empty stomach.
"I know your views of me range from a huge pain in the arse or a minor irritation"
Yeah, somewhere in that spectrum.
My thoughts were based upon the reality of the situation which, simply put, was that your comments were a load of bollocks, backed up with no evidence and flying in the face of all the facts available.
Bearing in mind it's easier to start rumours than to stop them, I still think it was a daft think to do even (if not especially) because you are claiming to be doing it... wait for it... in the interests of amateur psychology?!
Every day is April the first in the Karne family house...
"your comments were a load of bollocks, backed up with no evidence and flying in the face of all the facts available."
Err, wasn't that exactly the point I was making?
No, Karne. That's not what I meant, I was referring to:
'Were your comments purely a defensive instinct against the possible harsh reality that your weekly fix may be cancelled?'
In response: No, I replied because it was patently bollocks. That was why I posted my comments.
There, that's what I was referring to, I know your comments are bollocks, I knew from the start, what I didn't know was that you were wearing a stupid grin and your lab coat while making them.
p.s. That post on the 18th you made deserves to win awards for gobshite, enter it into the worlds fair against gobshite from other countries. Fucking hell, I'm tempted to get a plaque of it made, lest we ever forget.
I was actually surprised at the tone of your reply Paul as I expected something a little more intellectual than that. Where are the logical and well-reasoned replies I have come to expect from you? Where is the careful dissection of the overall message?
You seem to have come, quite wrongly, to the conclusion that this was some sort of mad experiment conducted on the metaphorical lab rats of the 2K site. That wasn't the intention, at least not from my point of view. All I was trying to do was start an interesting debate with a bit of substance to it that could also lead to a number of other topics.
I can't really understand why you appear to think that unfounded information of this nature would have a bearing on the sales of 2K or the Meg. Would you stop buying it if you thought it was going to cease publication tomorrow? The rumour that 2K is on the verge of folding has been with us for many years, the most memorable one (and probably most justified) was that it would cease production with its 1000th issue.
Now that Rebellion are running the show, and seem to be committed to the promotion of all things 2K this does, as it was rightly intended to, appear to be mere speculation. If anything it might encourage the die-hard fans to urge others to buy it and increase the sales.
I'm sorry that you seem to have taken this in a less than positive way. You do realise that your comments could be taken as bad sportsmanship, as rather than just accept it for what it was you decided to go on the offensive. I'd like to think this isn't the case, but obviously my estimation of you differs immensely from your estimation of me.
Anth.
Never mind all that- what about my fecking eyebrows?!?
Cosmic Ray is furious with me- and I look like a right twat (kind of in a state of perpetual surprise)....
Karne, please stop talking bollocks. I feel like I'm talking to a seventeenth century dandy with a media degree here.
If you'd wanted a serious conversation on any of the things you've mentioned, they could have been had, quite honestly, by posting up the topic, without the waffle or misleading comment.
What you actually wanted to do was provoke people, sit back and see what happened, which is pretty annoying. I'm annoyed by this post, even the fact I felt I had to get involved annoys me.
Its nothing personal Karne (well apart from the fact it was you who started this post) and in case it's mentioned, no, I don't have any secret grudges against you.
"The estimation of my lowly self in due defference to the good gentlemen surely cannot be compared to the lofty, almost giddy heights, that my admiration doth reach for thine most noblest character."
Now that post is starting to show hints of the PVS I know and love.
As to whether or not I could have posted the topic in a straight forward manner, well I've mentioned a few times before that when I post anything serious it tends to be ignored in much the same way that all of Jared's posts are. I seem to be suffering from the "You see me as a comedian, but I wish to be taken as a serious actor" syndrome.
I didn't, as I say, want to provoke people, merely a response. If you were annoyed by it then that's my fault for not, as I had previously thought, covering all the bases and I apologise for that and accept any blame necessary.
I think I should also point out (or perhaps not) that I do actually speak in pretty much the same way as I type. It's not really my fault though it's my Mothers doing. Think of someone force-fed on Kenneth Williams (Ooh er!), and the "Good old Days" and you begin to see my problem ;)
That aside, check your in-box for a little something that may cheer you up...slightly.
Anth.
Johnny, a brace of black hairy catterpillars affixed to your forehead with cowgum will provide a suitably sinister, writhing yet strangely comical alternative till your real brows grow back...
You were lucky it was both eyebrows. You'd look even worse if you only lost one. :)