STRIP finally hits the high streets

Print Media's STRIP: The Adventure Comics Magazine, an all-ages British adventure anthology comic, is now on sale in selected UK high street newsagents (and available to order from any newsagent).

The title will be on sale in UK comic shops from next week and is already available digitally for iPad.

The new comic – inspired by the great adventure comics of Britain’s comics past such as Eagle, Valiant and Lion - features some great art and stories from some brilliant creators including John McCrea (Hitman, The Boys), Smuzz (2000AD), John Freeman (Doctor Who), Milo Horvatic (Marvel) and Richmond Clements (Renegade) - plus comics news and interviews and other features.

The move to Britain’s high street is the latest stage of publisher Ivo Milicevic's desire to bring the anthology to a wider audience in the UK, in addition to its continued sale in comic shops and as a digital edition for iPad, in association with ROK Comics.

Headed up by long time comic creator Ivo Milicevic, Bosnian-based comics publisher Print Media began the long road to bringing a British version of their action adventure anthology to the UK back in February 2010, after their re-publication of Dan Dare from the 1950s comic Eagle drew the attention of comics fans.

Print Media publishes three comics-related magazines in Bosnia, including Strip Magazin and a localized edition of Metal Hurlant.

Mr Milicevic began to investigate the possibility of bring his STRIP brand to the UK, horrified to discover the British comic characters he had grown up reading such as Steel Claw, the Spider and Black Archer were nothing but distant memory. Although these incredible heroes had been re-published in the former Yugoslavia and indelibly helped shape his life-long love of comics, the British titles that spawned them - weekly comics like Lion and Valiant - were long gone from the news stand, replaced largely with licensed fare and more magazine-based titles for teenagers.

Unimpressed, he decided to take the plunge and trial a new action adventure anthology through UK comic shops. The first volume of STRIP was intended to road test the title and story ideas - and iron out any issues arising from its long distance publishing.

Although Mr Milicevic freely admits the journey has not been easy at times, with the support of some of Britain's best and brightest comic creators those first seven issues got the positive reaction he was hoping for. The response made him all the more determined to join the likes of 2000AD, Commando and The Beano in WH Smiths and other select newsagents.

Offering a mix of action adventure, science fiction and fantasy strips, stories in the pipeline include Dragonrir, a stunning fantasy tale by Miljenko Horvatic and Damir Zitko; a thrilling story of the criminal underworld, Deliverer, by Miljenko Horvatic, drawn by Bernard Kolle; WarWorldz by Stephen Walsh and Giancarlo Caracuzzo; the tale of an ancient warrior battling magic, Thracius, by James Hudnall and Mark Vigoroux; plus the return of other strips, including Age of Heroes by James Hudnall and John Ridgway and The Devil’s Heritage by Jerome Felix and Paul Gastine.

"I am really excited our plans for STRIP Magazine are finally developing as I planned three years ago" says publisher Ivo Milicevic. "There is no certain formula for success, but the Magazine will have some good stories and really great art."

• List of stockists: http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/strip-magazine-1-wh-smiths-store-list.html
Please note you can order STRIP from any newsagent. STRIP is distributed by Warners


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STRIP - THE ADVENTURE COMICS MAGAZINE Issue 1 (Volume 2) 
Cover by Alan Robinson, colour by Wamberto Nicomedes

• KING COBRA (written by John Freeman, art by Wamberto Nicomedes) A classic British hero resurfaces when the Bank of England is robbed!

• BLACK OPS EXTREME (written by Richmond Clements,  art from Stephen Downey) The anti-terrorist team head for Eastern Europe when a nuclear power station is raided!

• WARPAINT (by Phil Hester and John McCrea) Re-told from the very beginning - one teenager's deadly battle with ancient forces!

• CRUCIBLE (by John Freeman and Smuzz) A deadly task for a mis-matched team of adventurers - in a world where not everything is as it seems!

• OPERATION INFERNO (by Richmond Clements and Nick Dyer) Steampunk spies battle to defence the British Empire!

• DENIZENS (by Miljenko Horvatic and Maxim Simic) Modern civilization has been wiped out and the world is a greener, deadlier place...

• STRIP: THE ADVENTURE COMICS MAGAZINE #1 is available from selected high street newsagents now and in UK comic shops from next week (Diamond order code for UK comic shop orders is MAR132384.)

• The first issue is also available digitally now for iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/app/strip-magazine-2.1/id619259147

STRIP Magazine publisher announces March relaunch date

STRIP Magazine is heading for the UK news stand at last - with a launch date of 28th March 2013.

While the move to get the magazine into WH Smiths and other stores has been delayed several times, Bosnian-based comics publisher Print Media seems confident it has overcome its delivery issues and its owner, Ivo Milicevic, says he is ready to bring the adventure anthology to newsagents is finally underway, after a “test run” of seven issues in UK comic stores.

The line up of the monthly anthology magazine will be a mix of action adventure, science fiction and fantasy strips, alongside feature material about the world of British comics, including the continuation of Black Ops Extreme, centred on a secret anti-terrorism team; Crucible, a creator-owned story described as “science fiction - with swords!”; teen heroine thriller, Warpaint; and the return of 1970s action hero King Cobra, in all-new stories, under license from original publisher DC Thomson.

Creators in the launch issue include Jim Campbell, Richmond Clements, Stephen Downey, Nick Dyer, John Freeman, Phil Hester, Miljenko Horvatic, John McCrea, Wamberto Nicomedes, Maxim Simic and Smuzz.

Plans and strips for the Magazine are fully commissioned for the next 12 months but include:

In Issue 1 -

Black Ops Extreme © Print Media

• Black Ops Extreme by Richmond Clements and Stephen Downey

Continuing the adventures of a covert military unit taking on terrorists across the globe - but facing its own troubles with a possible traitor in its midst!

King Cobra © DC Thomson

• King Cobra by John Freeman and Wamberto Nicomedes

A major action hero for DC Thomson who first appeared in Hotspur in 1976, a new King Cobra takes on old enemies and new

Warpaint © Phil Hester & John McCrea

• Warpaint by Phil Hester and John McCrea

A homeless teen finds herself drawn into a cataclysmic struggle between mankind and elemental monsters bent on the destruction of our world.

• Operation Inferno by Richmond Clements and Nick Dyer

British and French steampunk spies take on the might of the dangerous Prusssian Empire in a feature-length adventure starring teen ninja Black Dragon!

Crucible © John Freeman & Smuzz

• Crucible by John Freeman and Smuzz

Swords meet science fiction as a mis-matched team of adventurers are tasked to recover a sacred relic from an ancient and deadly mine…

Denizens © Print Media

• Denizens by Miljenko Horvatic and Maxim Simic

Spurred by personal tragedy, humanity’s very existence is threatened with destruction when fast-growing plants are released, wiping out all organized centres of civilisation!

Dragonrir

Strips in the pipeline include Dragonrir, a stunning fantasy tale by Miljenko Horvatic and Damir Zitko; a thrilling story of the criminal underworld, Deliverer, by Miljenko Horvatic, drawn by Bernard Kolle; WarWorldz by Stephen Walsh and Giancarlo Caracuzzo; the tale of an ancient warrior battling magic, Thracius, by James Hudnall and Mark Vigoroux; plus the return of other strips, including Age of Heroes by James Hudnall and John Ridgway and The Devil's Heritage by Jerome Felix and Paul Gastine.

WarWorldz

Print Media publishes three comics-related magazines in Bosnia, including Strip Magazin and a localized edition of Metal Hurlant.

"I am really excited our plans for STRIP Magazine are finally developing as I planned three years ago" says publisher Ivo Milicevic. "There is no certain formula for success, but the Magazine will have some good stories and really great art.

Ivo, who grew up with British comic characters such as Black Archer, Steel Claw and The Spider, which were reprinted extensively in former Yugoslavia, has been working in publishing for nearly 25 years. After college, he worked as journalist, and later as a publisher. Print Media's business centres on print for the comic industry.

Complementing the re-launched magazine will be more UK comics albums, adding to its current titles - Iron Moon, Frontier and Mirabilis. Plans include collections of some of the strips published in the first limited edition run, including Black Ops Extreme, drawn by PJ Holden.

• The magazine is not accepting submissions or story pitches at this time

• STRIP Magazine blog: http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.co.uk

• Find STRIP Magazine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strip-Magazine-UK/107449926009722

• Follow Strip Magazine UK on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/StripMagazineUK

All images © respective creators

Battered but undaunted, Print Media continue Strip Magazine

After innumerable delays, the combined Issue 5/6 of the action adventure anthology STRIP is finally on its way to the shops and to subscribers.

“It’s a case of if anything could go wrong, it did,” explained Mike Conroy, head of Print Media Productions UK operation. “I’m not going to attempt to justify the title’s lengthy absence but I would like to apologise to readers – especially to subscribers – for the inexcusable delays, which they have accepted with great equanimity.”

Despite the problems that continue to beset the title, its Bosnian publisher and founder Ivo Milicevic is determined to continue the project and make good on his plans for continued UK publishing of the title he has already published in his home country and will soon launch in Croatia.

STRIP Magazine Issue 7, a £4.99 84-page issue with a cover from Croatian artist Maxim homaging Christmas comic covers of yesteryear has a line-up that includes:

• THRACIUS by James Hudnall and Mark Vigoroux - A Roman legionnaire against a deadly mystical golem!
• CITADEL by Moebius - a stunning fantasy six pager frm the late French artist
• KAMIKAZE by Miki Horvatic and Esad T. Ribic - the strange origin of Japan's 'Divine Wind' revealed
• DENIZENS by Shmumski and Maxim - Mother Earth fights back against the ravages of humankind!
• DAN BARTON OF SPACE COMMAND by John Freeman and Andrew Chiu - a crazy time travel adventure starring space command's stupidest pilot!
• HOOK JAW - A special one-shot story starring the world's most dangerous shark
• MIRABILIS - A special preview of the eagerly-awaited second volume of this fantasy adventure from Dave Morris and Leo Hartas

Plus humour from Bogey-Man Bob by Gerard Leever and Cosmic Patrol and Mauricet, and all the magazine's usual features.

Print Media is then putting STRIP on deliberate hiatus but only until February, when the comics anthology is to be relaunched as a newsstand title, a plan put back several times but still the aim of the publisher.

“We will be using this time to continue to resolve many of the problems we have encountered One of our top priorities will be secure a UK shipping company which will be able to deliver STRIP efficiently and on time,” stated publisher Ivo Milicevic.

“You wouldn’t believe what sort of problems we have had with carriers… one entire print run is still wandering somewhere in Italy while our latest shipment only got through on the second attempt… no one knows where or how the original vanished!

“I am amazed and grateful just how supportive our audience has been. I can promise that the relaunched STRIP – The Comic Magazine will bring more really great art and stories to he newsstands. It will be worth to wait,” he proclaimed.

• STRIP Issue 7 is currently in production and set to hit shops in the first week of December

 

Strip Magazine to re-launch in September

Print Media Productions has reluctantly decided to delay its planned news stand launch of STRIP from June until September 2012.

The decision follows discussion with the company's news stand distributors, who suggested that the autumn would be a far better time for the new incarnation to hit the newsagents.

Speaking as the title's editor, there are also vital issues that need to be sorted out, especially a guaranteed delivery cycle from Print Media in Bosnia. Both myself and Mike Conroy, who is advising us on administration matters, discussed the situation with publisher Ivo Milicevic, who has bankrolled the project so far, and agreed the logistics of getting the first issue of the new incarnation printed and into the shops for our planned launch date were simply insurmountable at this time.

Once STRIP Issue 5 - a giant-sized issue - is released in comic shops in the UK next month (again, later than planned), STRIP will take a summer break.


While you're waiting. check out this great cover for the new look magazine by Bernhard Kolle.

Bernhard hails from Croatia but lives and works n Lubljana, Slovenia. He began his career drawing horror comics for the American market and drew the comic books Conny and Gespenster Geschichten between 1988 and 1996 for Germany's Bastei Verlag. Between 1996 and 1999 he was back drawing horror stories for Dark Horse titles like Ghost in the US before returning to Bastei and Gespenster Geschichten to draw Maddrax and Vampira.

As well as covers for STRIP, he's working on an action adventure story for the title.


- STRIP - The Adventure Comic Magazine Issue 1 Volume 2 has been solicited in Diamond PREVIEWS for September 2012.

- Crucible cover art by Bernhard Kolle. Crucible copyright 2012 John Freeman and Smuzz

Classic British Comics Abroad: Yugoslavia

STRIP Magazine publisher Ivo Milicevic read our recent feature on Classic British Comics Collected and kindly sent us some scans of some classic strips that were syndicated into former Yugoslavia, where comic fans were also once enthralled by Dan Dare, Trigan Empire, the Steel Claw and more.

It was strips like this that shaped his love of British comics, culminating in his plans for a UK imprint.

Most of the scans featured here are taken from a comic called Panorama, which launched in 1965 and ran until 1971,  with total of 318 issues. "It was old Yugoslavian title, but publisher Forum was from Novi Sad-Serbia," Ivo tells us.

"It was weekly when it started and had 24 pages, half of them in colour. Later, it expanded to 32 pages.

"It was cleverly edited, with a mix of both British and a few popular French and Belgian comic strips.

"The UK strips included Trigan Empire, Steel Claw, Jet Ace Logan, Black Archer, King Kong [actually the British strip Mytek the Mighty], Dan Dare, Saber King of Jungle, Johnny Coguar, Karl the Viking, Olac the Gladiator, Jailbird Commandos (there were too many World War 2 stories to mention!), Zip Nolan and more.

"It also featured newspaper strips such as Wes Slade, Modesty Blaise (as 'Modesti Blez'), and James Bond."

"Panorma was my favourite comic that I use to read as kid (along with Plavi Vjesnik, which I now own)," Ivo enthuses, "and I have full collection now."

As Richard Sheaf noted in a feature in Titan Books recent Dan Dare collection Safari in Space, Dan Dare had a longer run in Plavi Vjesnik, a comic from publisher Vjesnik (based in Zagreb, in modern day Croatia) that ran from 1954 to 1973 and has been revived sporadically since the early 1990’s, most recently by Ivo (see our 2010 news story).  

Plavi Vjesnik was the first Yugoslavian comic to contain Dan Dare reprints (or Den Deri as he was known), although he did appear in other titles as well as Panorama, such as EKS Almanah  and ZOV.

"Strangely, they re-coloured Dan Dare for the comic, then ran it later in black and white," he notes. "Plavi Vjesnik was the first Yugoslavian comic to bring us Dan Dare in his original glorious colour."

In addition to reprints in Panorama and Plavi Vjesnik, characters such as The Spider and the Steel Claw were also re-published in separate pocket library editions, just as they were in the UK.

It's always fascinating to learn more about just how widely syndicated British comics once were - and how enduring their popularity is beyond our shores.


• Dan Dare - Safari in Space features an article by Richard Sheaf on Dan Dare's reprints beyond the UK

• More about Dan Dare in Croatia here on the Dan Dare Info site 

• More about the original Plavi on Comics Croatia (in Croatian)


• More about the modern Plavi on stripmagazin.com (in Croatian)