Captain Scarlet Magazine folds
Moderator: Spectrum Strike Force
KP
-
shadokp
- Captain
- Posts: 294
- Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 12:57 am
- Location: USA
-
hazel
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 903
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:15 pm
- Location: London, UK
Quite a come down from the glory days of TV21...
-
Marion
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:21 pm
As for not being able to find it, most newsagents I have known will order comics and magazines in if people place it on order like I did.
-
Kambei
- Captain
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:57 pm
- Location: In The Village, where your days are numbered, and so are you!
-
yorkie
- Lieutenant
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:09 am
- Location: York, England
-
Chris C
- Captain
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:23 pm
- Location: Still hunting for that Albatross..
-
Kinggodzillak
- Captain
- Posts: 244
- Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:44 pm
- Location: Skybase
Kinggodzillak wrote:Thunderbirds is still going - what issue is that up to now, 500 something?
I think issue 75 or 76 at the moment.
Yes, I'm afraid the NCS comic will finish after the last issue. Editor Will Potter did tell me before Christmas but asked me not to say anything until an official announcement was made. Not the happiest of news, as he put a lot of effort into it, but as his interview indicates, the budget and creative limitations dictated the available directions for the publication.
-
shaqui
- Major
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:35 pm
- Location: UK Japan!
Did you already know it was folding when I asked about sales figures a few weeks ago?
-
Chris C
- Captain
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:23 pm
- Location: Still hunting for that Albatross..
While I have my differences with Fanderson, I'm of the opinion Chris Bentley would not have released the news unless he thought he had permission to do so - the club likes their news to be confirmed and approved. But apparently it was not Will who told them...
-
shaqui
- Major
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:35 pm
- Location: UK Japan!
I wish Will Potter good luck with whatever he moves onto next.
-
Chris C
- Captain
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:23 pm
- Location: Still hunting for that Albatross..
hazel wrote:Really not a surprise. Even compared with the 1993 comics, which were shockingly bad, this one was really very, very poor quality. The lack of original stories was a major minus point. I'm astonished it lasted this long, to be honest.
Marion wrote:I never saw a single copy of it on sale anywhere, to be honest, so it is hardly surprising that it didn't build up a readership. Also, I have to agree with Hazel - from two editions I have seen - it wasn't really very good.
Quite a come down from the glory days of TV21...
Kambei wrote:A pity really. With a bit of fan input and support it could have been a good magazine.
As for not being able to find it, most newsagents I have known will order comics and magazines in if people place it on order like I did.
I agree with Kambei. I'm disappointed that Hazel and Marion feel the need to put the boot in. Fair enough, the stories were repeats of the series 1 episodes but this was explained in the editor's interview. Given this to be the case, I didn't think it was that bad, given its target audience. All it needed was our support, then maybe, just maybe, new stories might have been included later on. After all, it's not as if the fan fiction's not out there, or is it the case that it's sacred to OCS? I'm sorry if this post is a little pointy-fingery but NCS and its merchandise has been treated badly enough by other people; it doesn't need fans to kick it as well.
-
steviep
- Lieutenant
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 8:56 pm
- Location: where noodles go bad....
Steviep wrote:
I'm disappointed that Hazel and Marion feel the need to put the boot in.
I was not putting a boot in - I was merely stating what I knew - I never did see a copy for sale, I was lucky that a friend bought me a couple of issues from a different area to where I live.
The glory days of all children's comics may have passed - my daughter was never really into comics in the same way as I was as a child. I bought the 1990 comics religiously until they stopped being issued. I know Hazel feels they were not up to much - but having lost my treasured copies of TV21 in the late 1970's I was glad to see reprinted stories I remembered - however vaguely.
Once again the biographical details in those comics were reprints of the OCS biographies - and the NCS characters do not have very extensive biographies and what I saw was merely the reprint of those on the (now-defunct) site.
It is a pity it has folded - it is also a pity it wasn't to the NCS TV show what TV21 was to the classic series - building on what was shown on TV to create and foster interest amongst the fans - of whatever age.
IF I had ever seen a copy for sale - I would have bought it - simply becasue it was Captain Scarlet.
I'm sorry if this post is a little pointy-fingery but NCS and its merchandise has been treated badly enough by other people; it doesn't need fans to kick it as well.
I don't see why inept and slap-dash marketing should be rewarded with a slavish - 'well done!' from fans or anyone else.
-
Marion
- Cloudbase Captain
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:21 pm
The glory days of all children's comics may have passed - my daughter was never really into comics in the same way as I was a child.
There was a documentary on TV, here in Canada, concerning this subject. It was on "The Collectors", if I'm not mistaken. It seems it is, indeed, a fact, that the glory days of comics is passing. Even the big American titles, like Spider-Man and Batman, do not make the same kind of sales they did ten years ago. Reprints, however, abound.
I don't see why inept and slap-dash marketing should be rewarded with a slavish - 'well done!' from fans or anyone else.
Quite right. Marketing for NCS has been a huge disappointment from A through Z. Sadly, it seems that FANS made the best part of it, in this space, and on other fans sites. Can companies REALLY rely on words to mouth to do their publicity?
Granada seems even shy on free publicity. I contacted them recently to get information concerning upcoming merchandises for the NCS series (read: when will Series 2 be released on DVD?), and offered them to put the said information on the site, giving it free exposure (I presented myself, explained about the site, how popular it was, etc... Very professional-like). The only e-mail I received in answer was a "Read acknowledgement". No-one contacted me since then.
Webmaster and administrator of http://www.spectrum-headquarters.com
"This is an operational base, not a rest centre!"
-
chrisbishop
- Colonel
- Posts: 1773
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
- Location: Canada
Chris, in your position as an unpaid promoter and champion of NCS you should, at least, have the courtesy of a reply from them. Incidentally, I sent an email to Granada Ventures a couple of months ago and it was a week before the message was opened (and hopefully read). Perhaps they are part-time!
-
Father Unwin
- Lieutenant
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:57 am
- Location: A hologram right behind you.. Ha Ha Ha !!!
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests