A Few Thoughts Before I Go Find Something Cheerful To Post!

I think I've hinted pretty strongly that over the last few months I have been working on a number of comic projects aimed at UK publishers.   I've spend a lot of time and money getting the projects together and that includes "safeguards" in case a publisher needs to make last minute changes for some reason.  In fact, from experience, I put in place several safeguards for every project and that includes my sudden....er well, let's not dwell on that.

I can now report back on the results.

One publisher: "Did we get that?  Oh yes.  No, we're not doing comics. We don't understand them."

I wonder WHO I exchanged emails with up til now?

This is plain time-wasting.

Another publisher: "Oh the person dealing with that left.  Not interested.  Best of luck."

You see WHY I get uncontrollable rages that I need to control?

So, two publishers left.  They simply are not responding to any attempts at contact.

This is pretty grim.  Even up until the mid-1990s, when publishers stopped sending letters, in response you used to get a polite "no thanks".  Now everything is run by people out of art college -I'm being nice here and referring mainly to people involved in the 'art' side- failed journalists (which is pretty low) and people who just filled a vacancy.  Seriously, most born after 1988/1990 and at least two at IPC responded to something I said in astonishment "IPC used to publish comics??"

And Egmont?  So much potential but just not utilising it and because of that losing huge amounts in potential earnings.

Do NOT mention "The Scottish company that must not be named!" (as they might say in a Regency based Blackadder TV episode).

I get people on Google+ telling me "You really need to be in the US, man!"   Well, yes, I would like to do some US projects (there is one I've wanted to do with Image Comics but that'll never happen) though I think that the biggest potential lies in Europe -France, Nederlands, Germany -countries where I could build up, I hate using these words, "comic universes" for each.  Looking at it as a business then if Europe is losing money from a paper-cut then the UK is gushing money from a severed artery.

With certain companies (a-hem) it is down to pure incompetence and the board room men trying desperately to kill off what remains.  Everything else is down to people having no idea what comics are, what they are about or even how to go about putting one together.

I have lived to see the comics industry in the UK die.  THAT is a fact and not just personal opinion.

Sad.  But now....I need to find something cheerful to post.  Wish me luck!