Weekend Reading: Smallville, Big Nate and Star Wars

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews,

I know that we’re all thinking the same thing: how great it is that Michael Rosenbaum is coming back to Smallville for the big series finale. I’m stocking extra Doritos for my goodbye party.

Now that you’re sitting down, why not read a few things:

England: I missed this end of the year interview with head of brand marketing for DC Thomson John Paul Murphy. DC Thomson publishes, among other things, the British comics the Beano, the Dandy and Commando.

Art: After looking at these paintings from Britain’s War Picture Library, I can only conclude two things: (1) Giorgio De Gaspari is a terrific painter and (2) I want to see more!

Nate: Comic Strip Of The Day takes a look at Big Nate. “It is self-deprecating, self-reflective humor delivered on an adolescent level. And it works.”

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Comic Book Jobs: DC Thomson

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

Is this a look into the future of publishing?

Everyone knows that there are a lot of business models that corporate print media is trying so they can earn tons of money on the web.

And now DC Thomson appears to be ready to give it a try.

DC Thomson is the UK publisher of magazines (The People's Friend, Animals And You, Scots Magazine) and comics (Beano, Dandy, Commando).

They're getting ready to launch "a new online publishing venture in the families/personal finance space, to be called MyFamilyClub (“MFC”), which will also offer a novel, offline, 3rd-party-provided, financial services product."

DC Thomson's target audience for the site is "mums with kids (from pre-birth to the day they leave home). The role is to develop and promote external messages and campaigns attracting visitors and new customers."

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Comic Book Jobs: DC Thomson

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

DC Thomson the big deal publisher of classic British comics like The Beano and Commando is looking for help in their Dundee, Scotland office.

The search is on for a Circulation Executive to help manage “the circulation and distribution of our customers magazines and childrens’ comics.”

You’ll be “providing support to allow the day to day management of titles, implementing and development of business plans through the provision of accurate data and producing reports of activities, achievements and market intelligence to both internal and external contacts.”

Naturally, you’ll need some skills: excellent written and verbal communication skills, “the ability to carry out research with limited management involvement,” and budget/forecasting/retail planning.

Previous experience in a circulation role is “desirable but not essential,” but your speed is. The job listing is closing on Feb 2.

Good luck, job seekers!

[Artwork: Commando #4359, on sale now, © DC Thomson]

British Comics: Commando – The War Watch

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews,

Like many others (and you know who you are), one of my favorite comic book shops is the Dollar Store, known by many different names and operated by several different and separate companies. But whether it's Dollar Tree, 99¢ Only Stores, Family Dollar or whatever, you can still occasionally find someone who's dumped a huge pile of bagged comics from the fringes of the industry.

You might think that no one would want them, but, aha, you'd be wrong. I want them.

I was there just the other day when I found a set of bagged comics, 3-in-a-bag, for $1. Two of the comics were from Amalgam (JLX #1 and Super Soldier #1), the mash-up venture between Marvel and DC back in mid-1990s.

The third was a 2008 reprint of a 2006 issue of Commando (#3951, I had to look it up on the Google), one of the venerable British comics series from DC Thomson.

But the reprint is published by Geddes & Grosset, a UK-based company that prints in India and doesn't have a website.

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British Comics: The Rebranded Dandy

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews,

In the world of British comics, there's big news happening near the Thames in the past week.

In an effort to turn around its declining sales, publisher DC Thomson has rebranded and relaunched its 73-year-old comics magazine, The Dandy.  

Starting with issue 3508 (!) which was on sale last week, The Dandy has been changed, revised, updated, modernized, you pick the word. New strips, new artists, a new look, a new price (dropping it by £1 to just £1.50, which is not at all bad news for the wallet, especially given the exchange rate), and cover-featuring a current British comedian as the star of his own strip.

I think this is a step in the right direction and I applaud publisher DC Thomson for making it. From 2006-2008, the newsstand comic had seen a 16% drop in sales, down to 23,000 copies an issue on average. Yet by June 2010, sales had dropped to 14,000. Something had to be done.

I have yet to see a copy - it’s not the kind of thing I’m likely to find over here, but I’m anxious to get back to London and grab a copy next time I’m there. In the meantime, I’m having a couple of issues sent to me by a friend.

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