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Write to us at comicsceneuk@gmail.com
COMICSCENE UK Q&A
Some questions we’ve been asked over the last few weeks since announcing the new magazine ComicScene UK
Why a magazine about comics?
There wasn’t one! We felt there was a gap in the market for a magazine that celebrated all aspects of comics in the UK. There are plenty of great online blogs, but in some ways you have to be a dedicated comic fan to navigate your way around them. There are many comic cons, but some are about comics and some are about cosplay and comic merchandise. Young people are introduced to comic characters via the movies and games but don’t know the source material. There is a wave of nostalgia with classic reprints, but what do you choose if you want to try something new? This magazine brings everything together and hopefully you will take away something new from each issue.
is the magazine available in shops?
Yes you can make a standing order for the magazine in Forbidden Planet, OK Comics, First Age Comics and Gosh Comics and purchase it at the Cartoon Museum in London.
Are you producing a digital version of the magazine?
Yes. We’ve had requests for copies from Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Japan and although we can ship copies to those countries a digital version is easier. This will be available as a email pdf or through issuu.com/comicsflix for multiple digital devices.
Why is the launch issue known as ‘Issue 0’?
Well, the launch issue comes out in May and then our first monthly issue comes out in August. That will be issue 1. Both will be collectable items! It’ll give us some time to let people see the magazine and process reader feedback to help make changes to the content if we need to.
What percentage of your profits will go to the Comics Workshops for young people?
In the region of 10%, allowing for about 20 workshops a year.
Is it true hundreds of people have subscribed already?
Yes! We are as surprised as you. People have and are being very supportive and want the magazine to work. We’ve been listening to their feedback and trying to accommodate many of the suggestions as we can. It’s a little bit like being part of a classic ‘comic club’. The magazine is just part of it. You get out of it what you put in. We are very happy that people have put their faith in us without seeing a copy, but we have a long way to go before we can sleep at night and ensure the future of the magazine. The writers and contents for the launch issue have made people interested in the title. So please keep subscribing!
People seem to be very supportive?
Absolutely. There has been quite a bit of media coverage from several comic websites and some very nice comments and offers of help from several people and publishers. It has been quite overwhelming.
Will you be attending any comic conventions?
We’d love to. If we can visit comic conventions and comic shops we will. We recently attended Edinburgh and had copies at Leamington. We are likely to have copies at Portsmouth, Birmingham, London and the Lakes too – if we don’t sell out that is! A number of the writers attend Comic Conventions and they will have copies there too.
Do you accept submissions from writers and artists?
Yes we do – please e mail us at comicsceneuk@gmail.com . Some of the writers in issue one were approached by us, and we are very lucky to have them, but many heard about the magazine and offered to write for us. In the end we doubled our intended number of writers – and our budget, of course! People make the magazine and not only are we looking for writers and artists to contribute but we will be asking readers what they want from the magazine too, which will inform future content.
Who is designing the magazine?
A professional design and marketing firm based in Scotland. Early pages have been shared with the writers and they love the look. It’s going to be great.
What plans have you for future issues?
We have an idea of content for all issues leading up to Christmas 2018. We are doing some initial work on new features and a dedicated section for comic collecting and auctions. If things go well we will up the page count and include new comic material and comic samples. It’s all very exciting, but we need people to continue to subscribe to make it all happen!
Is there a letters page?
Yes there will be! We want to get the debate going. People can e mail comicsceneuk@gmail.com
We also will be using the hashtag on twitter #comicsceneuk to capture your comments or things you want us to know about. There will also be a hashtag #tlw if you have comments on the content of Pat Mills ‘Last Word’ column.
It would be great to also get your selfies with the first issue (dressed as your favourite character, if cosplay is your thing) and we’ll print the best in the second issue.
Thanks everyone for your support and please subscribe to ComicScene UK today!
