And Yay, He Stood Upon The Green And Spoketh Of Stuff 'n' That...

I’d like to share a few thoughts with you.  Thing is, I doubt many people read these things anyway –‘boring’ compared to the reviews, hmm?

Now, yes, I have made my peace with the new folk at IPC and they have been very kind.  That said, I promised not to dredge up the problems I had before –mainly caused by one person who had no idea what he was doing.

I have tried to make peace with “The Scottish company that must not be named” (a little like “The Scottish play that must not be named” –bad luck. Actually….no. No.). My name was mentioned to someone at the company (an editor I’ve been told but as he never said it to me I’ll not name him) who spat out some abuse which also involved my name. Oh dear.

I still firmly believe, as I have said and written many times before, that Thomson (agh! I said the name…..no. Nothing. Okay my bladder voided but I’m old and was getting there anyway) have the characters and links to news agents and shops that could make it a true comic publishing house to be reckoned with –especially since DC and Marvel don’t appear in all those outlets (Panini reprints have vanished in Bristol shops –not been in W. H. Smith for a while so…).

But seriously and honestly it would call for a total restructure and clear out. We have all seen that the humour strips are not drawing in the comic readers –we are living in an age when kids are super hero, fantasy and action mad. The odd gimmick in Beano or Dandy won’t help.

Thomson (whoops!) have the characters. Just not the interest in using them or having a person/driving force to make something of them.

IPC could do the same but its CEO has stated very clearly that IPC is OUT of the comic publishing business and has absolutely no interest in getting involved in it again.

To all intents and purposes the UK is a Small/Independent Press based industry and some 65% of those involved in it have no knowledge of comics or comics history –seriously.

So what was purported to be an industry is dead as far as mainstream publishing goes. I’d encourage anyone into comics to visit local Small Press events if they can and see what is going on there.  You might be very surprised.

There was a brief hope, back in the early 2000s, that Indian publishers, waking up to the international boom it found itself in, might venture into UK comic publishing.  They chickened out.  More recently, companies in China have asked for information on the UK scene and what might sell, etc., but there has been no follow-up.  Chinese publishers could literally move in and take over and revitalise UK comics –leaving the door open to getting into the US and Europe.

When you think that comics can lead into animation, TV and lots of merchandising it’s only a matter of time.

There you go, not too painful I hope?  Just a few thoughts.

Of course, somewhere there could be a multi-millionaire business-person who is mad on comic books.  It could happen.  I can dream.