Forthcoming Thrills - 2024

[broodblik]

So far I have not seen or even heard a mention of any regen progs this year.

The first one last year was at the end of March. Have we seen solicits beyond that point then?

April was latest I saw and I even saw a March one just sating the following: Plus chills abound in Judge Dredd: Iron Teeth, which starts in the bumper 48pp Prog 2375, which features bonus stories!

[broodblik]

B/W Cover for Rogue Trooper Blighty Valley:

[Link Prime]

So far I have not seen or even heard a mention of any regen progs this year.

The first one last year was at the end of March. Have we seen solicits beyond that point then?

April was latest I saw and I even saw a March one just sating the following: Plus chills abound in Judge Dredd: Iron Teeth, which starts in the bumper 48pp Prog 2375, which features bonus stories!

Dare we dream it's over.

[nxylas]

Dare we dream it's over.

Mixed feelings if so. I'm no fan of the Regened progs, but thinking long-term, it's probably not a good thing if an experiment to bring in new, younger readers is deemed a failure.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I don't enjoy the regen progs much either. But I'm not the target readership.  I don't know how the all-ages thing has worked out financially but I'm guessing not that well.

It would be lovely to have a version of 2000ad that appeals to kids but maybe that ship sailed in the 80s?

[broodblik]

My understanding of the performance of the regen prog is that they were the best selling progs during the year. Maybe this might be indication that Rebellion is prepared to go solo on them

[Link Prime]

The intention is laudable.
I was just never on board with the publication stratagem, nor impressed by even a casual skim of the majority of the material.

[IndigoPrime]

It's all just speculation, bar what we've been told (the Progs outsold standard Progs, at least for a time) and what we can see (four reprint volumes, and a bunch of strips compiled from spin-offs into the standard Prog).

It's interesting that Monster Fun's frequency has gone up. I'd assume – certainly hope – that's down to sales. And the monthly (IIRC) cadence gives it more scope for strips that continue across multiple issues (although I was slightly surprised by how much of the page count was given over to those).

More broadly, I've disliked Regened for a while now, but only because of the material rather than the concept. I really liked it at the start. And it's not like it's down to what's for kids and what isn't. I'll still happily read The Phoenix when I actually get the chance.

So hard to know what to think, really. My ideal would be for Regened to continue four times a year or so, but for the line-up to be very different from recent editions. (More Pandora would be great, because Roger Langridge, although that strip not returning after the longer run may or may not say anything about viability, I suppose...)

[judgeurko]

maybe they repackaging regen as its own thing?

[Lawman of the Present]

Always a question with Regened regards stories which could easily be incorporated into the Prog proper. Early 2000AD was geared younger than today and was a product of its time, but seems the majority of stories could be made appropriate for younger audiences by simply toning down gore or being tactful in alluding to such details (the old reaction panel to something offscreen, e.g.)

It's the difference between being mature (themed for older audience) and adult-oriented, the latter usually shorthand for something inappropriate for kids per se.

Rather than a semi-separate Regened revamp every few months, the Prog could easily run an 'all-ages month' each year which largely continues business as usual except for toning down oh-so-slightly.

The four issues of the month would feature contained stories/arcs, one-shots up to 4-parters, marking a jumping on point and recent enough to be accessible for grabbing any missed issues.

That said, expecting a kid to wait patiently 11 months for further content might be a stretch...

[IndigoPrime]

Comics are a hard enough sell as it is. They need some kind of momentum to have any chance. Regened gets away with its weird schedule because it's part of the standard Prog. So subscribers get it anyway, as do collectors, and the logo probably tempts people who enjoyed 2000 AD in the 1970s and/or who want to try it on their kids.

Really, Regened would be better as its own thing. But as various folks have noted here, getting to that stage is hugely difficult these days. (Hell, I'm surprised Monster Fun is doing as well as it is. Not because of the quality of the material, but because it is relentlessly faced weirdly – at least as I perceive it – in stores. Every WHSmith I've seen it in has racked it with 2000 AD, rather than next to The Beano or The Phoenix. Although maybe that's at Rebellion's request, to have it nearer eg Panini Marvel reprints.)

[broodblik]

[Funt Solo]

Yay - more Peanut Butter & Goo!

[A.Cow]

My understanding of the performance of the regen prog is that they were the best selling progs during the year. Maybe this might be indication that Rebellion is prepared to go solo on them

It's interesting that Monster Fun's frequency has gone up

Perhaps the readers of Monster Fun and 2000 AD Regened are about to experience the terror of seeing a front-page banner featuring the words "Great news, kids ... your two favourite comics are joining forces..."

[Dash Decent]

Smash!: The Broxteth Devil - Paperback, 128 pages, 12th September 2024

THE EVIL WITHIN!

In Victorian London, when Janus Stark traps a demon in a stone idol he creates a prize too alluring for criminal masterminds to resist. Enter the King of Crooks - The Spider - who tasks his infamous Crime Syndicate with stealing the statuette.

Thus begins a six decade-spanning adventure featuring a host of British comics' finest heroes as The Steel Claw, Jane Bond, Robot Archie and Adam Eterno - with a little help from Maxwell Towers' rogue AI - team up to ensure The Spider never lays his hands on the idol.

This action-packed team-up is written by Paul Grist (Jack Staff) with art by Tom Foster (Judge Dredd), Anna Morozova (Lowborn High), Jimmy Broxton (Goldtiger) and V.V Glass (The Last Witch).