British Comic Sales Figures page moved, Creating Comics blog launched

As regular readers know the main downthetubes web site is currently down due to excessive data charges. I'm in the process of securing a new ISP and we've had a very kind offer from a UK publisher to host the site which will enable us to get back up and running at some point in the next couple of months.

In the mean time, I'm finding alternate homes for some of the features I know get a lot of visits from comics fans.

A very special thank you to those of you who responded to our hopefully temporary crisis by sending donations, which will help fund the current costs of the site - the forum and other services used to promote the site via social media. I was very touched.

My Current British Comic Sales Figures  is now on GoogleDrive. I hope you find this useful, although it is always depressing to read compared against these figures for 1960s and 1970s Comic Sales.
 
I often get asked questions about the state of the British comics industry, and I've moved my very general and opinionated piece to a page on this blog. If you're a journalist looking for more information on our energized but, it would seem to the outsider, embattled industry as it competes for the pounds in teenagers wallets, I hope this remains a useful resource.

My resources for colleges and course teaching comics in the UK is also a page on this blog: Learning the Comics Art

My guide to writing comics is slowly being moved to a standalone blog: Creating Comics: http://creating-comics.blogspot.co.uk. Be warned, I'm not expecting to update this very often - there are a lot of other great, although US-oriented comic creation bogs and websites out there which are much more active, including Tim van de Vall's impressive site.
 
If you're interested in the new comic strip, Crucible, which I'm co-creating with Smuzz for STRIP: The Adventure Comic Magazine, there's a behind the scenes blog here and some additional stories from the world of Crucible at http://crucible-comic.blogspot.co.uk

Discussion of British comics and creating comics continues on the downthetubes forum: new members welcome!

Guardian continues British Comics coverage in wake of Dandy news

National newspaper The Guardian is continued its coverage of British comics -- specifically, the future of The Dandy -- throughout last week, with key writer Jacqueline Rayner stepping up to champion the lost world of girls comics like Misty and Tammy and Charlie Brooker savaging those afraid of The Dandy's evolution into a digital-only title. Here's a round up of the coverage.

On Tuesday, artist Jamie Smart, who was an integral part of the comic's re-design and relaunch in 2010, wrote on  Why The Dandy Still Matters, arguing it's essential to keep kids reading comics.

"Comics are where we first learned about pea shooters, mud pies and building forts in trees," he notes. "They're one of the most exciting mediums around, and unrestrained by common sense or manners. Inside the pages of the best comics you will find pure, unbridled anarchy, running rampant through the world, telling hilarious stories with the naughtiest, silliest characters."

Writer Charlie Brooker - who was also one of Oink's youngest contributors back in its day - got hot under the collar about critics of the title's move to digital publication, arguing reports of the Dandy's death are greatly exaggerated. Going all-digital is the best thing that could happen to Britain's longest-running comic, he argued in The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer, yesterday.

"Why is The Dandy going all-digital? Because it's a magazine for children, and today's children don't seem to want magazines any more than I wanted a 1920s whirligig when I was their age," he said. "Kids today have Moshi Monsters and the Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster. Traditional ink on paper looks like medieval tapestry to them. This is the price you pay for technological advancement. On the plus side: fewer cases of rickets."

Meanwhile, acclaimed author Jacqueline Rayner noted that at least Dandy fans were still going to have the chance to read their favourite comic - an opportunity not afforded fans of  Jinty, Tammy, Misty from the golden age of girls' comics. The decline of the Dandy is sad news, her article noted, but let's not forget the plucky young heroines who have already perished in the Great Comics Bloodbath, from Diving Belle to Lisa the Lonely Ballerina

"The news this week that the Dandy's 75th anniversary issue in December would be its last in print must have been a blow to its readers, but at least they had the consolation of knowing it would continue online," she mused. "For some of us, this summer has only reminded us how much we have lost."

Her article prompted a flurry of memories of mainly 1970s and 80s from girls comics fans, including a post from comic artist Sean Phillips who cut his teeth in professional comic work by drawing many of them.


The Guardian also published a round up of Twitter to the news that The Dandy was quitting print, noting it was a decision that has got a few Desperate Dan fans a bit misty eyed. The round up included a note about DC Thomson's Chief Executive Ellie Watson's continued fuming at the alleged 'leak' of the company's plans for title; links to The Dandy's YouTube channel's videos offering how to draw Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat - and the Guardian's Media Editor Dan Sabbagh noting it's not just kids comics in trouble on the news stand. Word magazine closed a few weeks ago, and the men’s magazine market is in big trouble. The dead trees business is not a happy place to be for many publishers.

"Moshi Monsters mag is the best performing magazine," he commented (with reported sales of 223,000).

• Links to earlier news stories about the demise of The Dandy are posted here as part of an ongoing discussion on our forum about the title and its future. Contributors include Dandy artist Nigel Parkinson; Kid Robson, an outspoken critic of The Dandy in its current form, who outlines his vision for the future of British comics; and Dandy, TOXIC and Viz artist Lew Stringer

British comics on the UK news stand - where next?

Last week, I was contacted by two newspapers, the Sunday Times and the Independent on Sunday, to offer my views on the state of the British comic industry. Specifically, comics on sale in UK newsagents.

The requests were prompted by the disappointing ABC figures for The Dandy, which, as we previously reported, is now selling around 7,448 copies a week.

The Sunday Times published its feature on 11th September - apparently, only in its Scottish edition - and the IoS will run its story later this month.

If there's an online version of the ST feature, which was written by Marc Horne, it must be behind the newspaper's paywall, but Deadline News has pretty much lifted the entire piece for its site and published a similar article here ("Desperate Dandy: comic’s celebrity relaunch 'backfired'"), which includes some of my comments and those of Kid Robson, minus a response from Dandy artist and British comics expert Lew Stringer.

Commenting on the sales figures,  a spokesperson for DC Thomson, who publish The Dandy described them as "disappointing.

"There is no getting away from that," they acknowledged, but pointed to success elsewhere for their comics titles.

“The Dandy is the one blot on an otherwise quite successful period for us," the spokesperson added. "We will be taking steps to address that, but we are not looking at radical surgery.”

Needless to say, the coverage and subsequent online posts by Dandy artist and re-designer Jamie Smart in defence of the comic (here and here) have provoked some fierce debate - but in addition, a very measured and useful analysis of many of the problems besetting the British comics industry by Lew Stringer, in the wider context of declining magazine and newspaper sales. You can read that in full on his blog, but he rightly points to an overall decline in print sales of magazines and newspapers.

(Despite print's decline, sales of news stand comics continues to be fairly robust and is not as bad as some other sectors).

For me, the problems lie not in content per se -  you would expect some people to like one comic and not another - but one of trying to reach an audience already swamped with a much higher brand awareness for other things that will attract their purchasing power. Our main problem, I feel, is that many people simply aren't aware of the range of comics out there on the news stand, because publishers cannot afford to promote them in the same way as can, for example, Microsoft when it comes to the XBox or Nike when it comes to shoes.

It's an issue Lew Stringer remarks on, pointing out that until recent times (the 1980s, perhaps?) comics were pretty much the only provider of escapism. "Today, kids have a multitude of distractions," he notes. "TV, DVD's, games, mobile phones, the Internet, sports centres, and, very often, solvent parents who can afford to take them on trips at weekends. Flat pictures on paper must seem very primitive in comparison. The more distractions kids have had, the more sales of comics have fallen. Coincidence?"

Personal initiatives to plug The Dandy (for example, by Dandy artist Andy Fanton with this fun graphic, left) all help get the message out, as, I hope, do web sites like downthetubes, Blimey! It's Another Blog About Comics, Comic Bits Online and Bear Alley. (The Forbidden Planet International blog and Bleeding Cool also deserve praise for their British comics coverage, but they also have a wider remit).

In a wider context, of course, comics are far from dead - you only have to key in "web comics" to see how alive and energetic the medium is, and the growing success of graphic novel sales in bookshops, aimed at all ages. But what's the future for the news stand comic?

So, what do readers of downthetubes think? Is the British comic industry facing serious decline as far as the news stand is concerned? Are such things as digital publishing, high quality albums a way forward?

• The floor is open over on the downthetubes forum for discussion...

British Comics on the Rise?

Regular readers of downthetubes already know the British comics industry is far from dead, but now that gut feeling is backed by new figures which reveal sales are booming, up more than 70 per cent in the past five years.

While the boost in sales is largely the result of sales of licensed titles, most inspired by TV series such as Doctor Who and The Night Garden, the figures suggest children's comics are seeing off competition from more advanced playthings. Market research company Mintel reports comic sales are up by more than 72 per cent in five years since 2003, while sales of teenage magazines have fallen by 61 per cent in the same period.

The UK market now worth £136 million, up from £79 million in 2003, and is predicted to increase by a further 21 per cent to reach £165 million by 2013.

"It seems that the humble comic is standing the test of time and even today they provide an ideal treat for children," feels Mintel senior analyst Mark Brecchin. "The market for this traditional favourite has gone from strength to strength due to a host of new launches, price rises and the fact that publishers now bring out more issues per title each month.

"The popularity of these comics is an impressive feat for traditional media among 21st-century kids, who are increasingly technology-savvy. Sales of comics have flourished despite the wide variety of media and other forms of digital entertainment now aimed at pre-teens."

Commenting on the report, Toni Round, managing director for youth and children's magazines, BBC Worldwide, whose Doctor Who Adventures magazine had a top of the chart circulation of 155,000 in 2007 (although that has since declined), told the The Herald TV tie-ins had allowed publishers to tap into the pre-teen market, resulting in a surge in sales.

"Primetime shows like Doctor Who are watched by children across the country," she said. BBC Magazines sells an average of one million pre-school magazines a month and CBeebies Animals, which launched this year, has sold 58,558.

"Tie-ins have swelled interest and pushed up sales," says Round, "and branding has been the key element in the recipe for success.

"The magazine published in conjunction with In the Night Garden is an example of a refreshed brand that has responded to what kids are interested in at the time. It's a cyclical branding process."

While TV and licensed-inspired comics such as Titan's Simpsons Comics make up the bulk of high sales, traditional titles such as the Beano continue to fare well according to publisher DC Thomson, although in its report the Daily Telegraph notes that Beano has declined from a six-figure circ five years ago to a mere 64,000 today. The monthly Beano Max has been doing well, selling 51,000 copies an issue.

Former Dandy editor Morris Heggie told The Scotsman he feels the increase in popularity was down to the range available. "In the past, comics were either nursery, adventure, or funnies, but today there is such a great range of subjects, with lifestyle comics following television programmes, films, games, and even sports.

"There are more niche markets today with a huge variety of TV shows having their own comics and even every English and Scottish premiership football team now has their own comic and annual.

"Also there are lots of different comics coming in from abroad with a huge range of Japanese Manga and the graphic novels selling strongly."

Publisher David Fickling said that the subscription-only weekly title The DFC has also been able to carve a god market itself since its launch in June and blames businesses that thought that taking out comics were not profitable for killing the trade in the past, insisting that children had always wanted them.

"After a long time people have realised that children - and adults - really like the comic form," he said.

Michael Rosen, the Children's Laureate, welcomed the rise of comics as "terrific", arguing that children enjoyed reading comics as "an artform in themselves.

"I don't know how it is they came to be regarded as simple in this country," he told the Telegraph. "They are very complex."

Morris Heggie feels the current economic climate would only boost comic book sales. "In times of depression book sales generally do well as they are a cheap alternative to buying more expensive presents," he told The Scotsman. "Comics today only cost about £2 and you get a lot of value for money. They have also always been popular in promoting children to read and this has helped sales."

Despite the impressive figures, some industry figures such as writer Steve Holland remain guarded in their optimism for the comics market. "The figures for 2008 did get a nice boost from the launch of High School Musical, based on the Disney TV movie series (which will almost certainly sustain its circulation in the latter half of 2008 thanks to the theatrical release of High School Movie 3)," he notes, "but I'm still unsure where the optimism comes from that makes (unnamed) "experts" predict that sales of comics are set to increase a further 21 per cent to reach £165 million by 2013.

"A launch like High School Musical may boost overall sales figures up by 100,000+ copies but, at the same time, sales on other titles are falling away: Teletubbies, Toybox, Balamory, Noddy Magazine, In the Night Garden and Fun to Learn - Favourites between them sold 50,000 less per issue in the same period that High School Musical launched.

"Add the falls in sales of other titles and that cancels out the success of any major launch leaving a roughly static market."

• More information on Mntel's Report, "Children's Comics and Magazines - UK - October 2008" which costs £1500 to buy in full, is available here

British Comics Sales Down Again

• Bad news for British comics publishers. As reported over on Bear Alley by comics expert / writer Steve Holland, sales are down on almost every title (see table compiled by Steve), as much as 16 per cent in some cases -- a decline in print sales reflected in other quarters such as mens magazines and others.

As cartoonist Lew Stringer says over on his comics blog, the results make for depressing reading. The Dandy, revamped as Dandy Xtreme last year in an attempt to ward off the decline, is now down 5,000 copies to 23,869. Even the high sellers Simpsons Comics and Doctor Who Adventures are down, with the latter suffering a massive drop from 154,989 to 93,791 in the last six months.

Steve Holland suggest the decline is often down to the fact that these days, most comics/pre-school magazines are based on licensed material." The initial hype surrounding a new series will give a new title a solid launch," he points out, "In the Night Garden being a prime example from 2007.

"Sales will, naturally, decline once the first set of free gifts has run out but remain bolstered by continual appearances on television over the next couple of years."

Lew Stringer suggest more practical reasons for decline publishers may not have considered in the rush to put a free gift on every issue of their title, bowing to the demands of supermarkets in this regard.

"A comic can have as many revamps as it chooses, but if the kids can't see the finished product it's not going to attract them," he suggests, posting a photograph of overcrowded shelves in a supermarket with comics strewn on the floor. "Comics are gaudier, glossier, and bulkier (with gifts) than ever before, but when crammed into the shelf display of supermarkets and newsagents it's hard for individual titles to stand out. The displays often soon become untidy, with comics sprawling in all directions and even spilling onto the floor. Unless one is looking for a specific title it's very difficult for a comic to uniquely grab the attention of a passing customer. How is a child expected to discover The Beano or TOXIC for the first time when comics are rammed into displays that are so overwhelming and unkempt? As retail giants charge a premium for front-of-shelf displays most titles are stuck at the back, in darkness in some cases!"

• Read Steve Holland's Circulation Report
• Read Steve' March 2008 round-up

British Comic Sales

I haven’t updated the downthetubes page offering some information on UK comic sales in a while, but while doing some research this morning I made a quick check of the ABC data for various titles and was pleasantly surprised to discover the Beano and the Dandy now feature -- but sales of The Dandy are a shock.

Simpsons Comics, Doctor Who Adventures and In the Night Garden are among the best-selling titles.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations website provides free access to the circulation, distribution and attendance data for ABC certified Magazines, Newspapers, Exhibitions and Directories within the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Not every magazine is ABC rated, so several titles do not feature in the quick list below.

The data covers the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007. The figure listed is I believe the average sale per issue.

Humour
The Beano (DC Thomson): 74,419
The BeanoMAX (DC Thomson): 51,431
The Dandy (DC Thomson): 28,550
Toxic (Egmont): 54,049
The Simpsons Comics (Titan): 133,086
Simpsons Comics Presents (Titan): 90,005
Spongebob Squarepants (Titan): 45,297

Adventure
Doctor Who Adventures Magazine (BBC): 154,989
Power Rangers (Egmont): 52,588
Spectacular Spiderman (Panini): 45,595
Transformers Comic (Titan): 45,092

Taken as a whole unit the "DC Thomson Children's Entertainment Package (Boys)", which might include Commando, would appear to sell an average 154,400 copies per month

Junior
Disney and Me (Egmont): 46,638
Scooby Doo (Panini): 54,167

Girls
Animals and You (DC Thomson) 38,441
Barbie (Egmont): 55,018
Bratz (DC Thomson): 64,279
Disney Fairies (Egmont): 30,053
Disney's Princess (Egmont): 69,023

The "DC Thomson Children's Entertainment Package (Girls)" which includes Shout, etc., sold an average 131,272 copies per month.

Pre-School
Balamory (BBC): 36,555
Bob The Builder (BBC): 57,139
CBeebies Weekly (BBC): 65,179
Charlie & Lola (BBC): 54,937
Dora The Explorer (BBC): 54,000
Fireman Sam (BBC): 41,001
Fun to Learn - Friends (Redan): 84,340
Fun to Learn - Favourites (REdan): 55,344
In The Night Garden (BBC): 110,350
Lazy Town (Titan): 52,226
Noddy Magazine (Egmont): 30,044 - now published by Titan
Play and Learn - Thomas and Friends (Egmont): 40,386
Teletubbies (BBC): 42,895
Thomas and Friends (Egmont): 40,773
Toybox (BBC): 82,607
Tweenies (BBC): 32,909

Adult
Viz (Dennis) 88,165

While some comic sales are down, there's still plenty of life in the sector yet. Intriguingly, girls comics/magazines are still a popular buy if you get the mix right (girls comics always used to outsell boys, I'm told) and of course the pre-school sector continues to boom by most standards.

It's a shame not every title reveals its sales figures but this snapshot of the industry would seem to indicate continued health, for now.

Shoot Shot Down

IPC Media has announced the closure of Shoot! after 40 years, a victim of stiff competition from rivals.

The Guardian reports the cancellation of the IPC Media title, which once rubbed shoulders with sports-dominated comics such as Roy of the Rovers and Tiger, has been unable to compete with rivals such as market leader Match, BBC Magazines' Match of the Day (which launched in March and features a popular comic strip drawn by Martin Baines) and new challenger Kick!.

The closure comes four months after Shoot! relaunched it as a weekly, a status it had enjoyed from its launch in 1969 and was a weekly until 2000.

In addition to stiff competition in the sector, Shoot!'s higher cover price (£1.80 compared to 95p for top rival Match) also appear not to have done the title any favours.

"It is with great regret that we have had to make this decision," said Paul Williams, the managing director of IPC Inspire, the Guardian reports. IPC are now in exclusive negotiations to sell the Shoot! trademark to Pedigree Books, which publishes the Shoot! Christmas annual and other books.

Shoot! sales figures were around 35,000 an issue, still much higher than those of the last football comic, Striker, which sold some 29,000 copies on launch but whose sales declined slowly over 87 issues -- still an impressive run for an independent title (as Striker owner Pete Nash recounts here on the official site).

Ironically given the cancellation of Shoot!, potential investors advised Pete to make his title more of a magazine to raise its profile and opportunities for investment. (Striker now runs in The Sun where it began back in 1985).