Who's renewing there subscription?

From the ashes of the DFC rises... the Phoenix.

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Who's renewing there subscription after 13 Issues Poll.

Yes
4
50%
No
4
50%
Don't know.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 8

steelclaw
DC Skelton
Posts: 1868
Joined: 01 Mar 2006, 19:24

Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by steelclaw »

Times up for the people who got a 13 Issue subscribtion out will you be renewing yours?

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Peter Gray
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Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by Peter Gray »

3 pounds is too much for a few pages I do like...I can't even read the adventure stories..so not bothered by them..probably the wrong age group...

Laura you've done a great job..nice drawings..
Jamie tops as always!

Gary good fun

When they sent me the issues that didn't arrive they sent me 2 the same..didn't complain as I don't really like those earlier issues..

I prefer old adventure stories in comics...this is the real reason I'm stopping..also money is a issue...also stopped buying The Dandy and Beanomax for the same reason..

ebay is the place for me now..

Lew Stringer
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Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by Lew Stringer »

I renewed last week for another 13 issues. As the comic now features a few friends I thought I'd continue to support it. Not sure if I'll renew after that though. I'll see how it (and the recession) goes.

I don't think any of us can expect The DFC to have the same appeal as if we were kids of course, but it's interesting to monitor it to see how the comic reflects modern comic art styles. As an adult I'd love to see something akin to the work of Mike Noble or John Burns in there but it's not likely to happen. Children's comics have to try and reflect modern styles and, sadly, one reason that old "traditional" illustrative style died out in UK children's comics is because new generations of kids no longer cared for it. The different dynamic of superheroes and Manga styles seem to be where it's at for adventure strips right now.

Lew
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
Blog about my own work: http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/

steelclaw
DC Skelton
Posts: 1868
Joined: 01 Mar 2006, 19:24

Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by steelclaw »

I've decided not to renew, One thing Money, and another I suppose is I am hankering for a comic from my childhood, which will never come.
I know times have to move on with comics as Lew says.
If it could have been a bit like Buster or Whizzer & Chips say then maybe I would have renewed.
I do like John Blake though.
The other day I picked up 3 Victors for £1.50, I thought this is where my collecting lays, Picking up the 1000 of comics I missed over the last 50 years for less then a new comic today.

At least I gave it ago and good luck to DFC.

Raven
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Joined: 16 Aug 2007, 22:58
Location: Highboro'

Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by Raven »

I don't intend to renew - nothing to do with wanting a comic from my childhood; I buy quite a few modern comics.

I think I've felt let down by paying thirty quid, being promised the best, and being presented with strips like Sausage and Carrots and Crab Lane Crew each week, along with a number of slow moving adventure strips that had little spark. The DFC sometimes seems almost like a 'coffee table comic,' more pleasant to look at than to read.

Crab Lane Crew comes across as a strip so sanitised that nothing is ever actually allowed to happen in it, and a number of the adventure strips have also featured a lot of people just standing around talking. A lot of the comedy - as with the cute to look at Vern and Lettuce - seems to touch on very light whimsy at best, but verging on twee at worst.

I'm not sure why some of the material - eg. Sausage throws a vase to Carrot, it smashes, Carrot says "Why did you throw it," Sausage sobs "Why didn't you catch it?", The End - was considered strong enough to be published. Do others here not think more effort could be put into the scripting with some of these things?

Perhaps some creators have been allowed to be too self-indulgent, and needed more of an old fashioned whip-cracker of an editor who really understands the crafts of comedy and story scripting - who'll ruthlessly return things that aren't funny or gripping enough and demand the highest standards of inspiration and craftsmanship? (Though there has been some fairly crude stuff published, much of the art itself is absolutely fine. The latest issue - 13 - displays a really interesting, varied range of styles.)

But The DFC has certainly started to improve. Jamie Smart's DFC Olympics is top notch stuff - at last, a humour artist in the comics who really cares about his SCRIPTS and clearly takes time and effort on the actual writing of material. The dialogue is as amusing as the art - this is fantastic 'out there' stuff. Inspired and original. It's no different than reading a prime Leo Baxendale or Ken Reid. I may buy the odd individual issue to see this one through to its conclusion.

Great to see Gary Northfield in there too, now. I like all the Little Cutie art, but the third strip was the first to really make me titter - the waterfowl using gloves to turn themselves into squirrels; more 'out there' thinking, the script suddenly taking the strip to the Derek the Sheep level!

Though the script seems to me to be meandering a little already, Sneaky has some lively, inspired art by Laura Howell; there are some very nice, amusing things in this series so far.

But for another £30 or £100 there's just too little there each week that appeals to me to re-subscribe, I think, and too much of the material I thought very weak seems to be continuing or set to return.

I'll be interested to read what happens with the comic in these very forums, though. And I wonder what da kidz are thinking of it.

Lew Stringer
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Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by Lew Stringer »

If this poll is representative of the DFC's adult readers it's not looking too good for the comic. Let's hope the target audience renews.

I think The DFC haven't helped themselves by their renewal letter failing to mention that one could re-subscribe for just another 13 issues. The letter only mentions six months or a year. £120 is a daunting amount of money to ask people to commit to in one go. (Even with Direct Debit, at £10 a month, one still had to commit to a year.)

I went onto the website and discovered I could subscribe under the £30 for 13 issues option again, which seemed much easier on the wallet. Had my letter of confirmation this morning, saying I've paid for issues 14 to 26. Whether I resubscribe with issue 27 or not depends on how the comic progresses (or digresses) in the next three months.

Lew
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
Blog about my own work: http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/

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philcom55
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Joined: 14 Jun 2006, 11:56

Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by philcom55 »

One thing that put me off subscribing was the thought that any high-profile strips like the Philip Pullman one will almost certainly be collected as Graphic Novels and I don't want to end up paying twice!

- Phil R.

Lew Stringer
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Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by Lew Stringer »

philcom55 wrote:One thing that put me off subscribing was the thought that any high-profile strips like the Philip Pullman one will almost certainly be collected as Graphic Novels and I don't want to end up paying twice!

- Phil R.
I don't think it's a graphic novel I'd want on my shelf. It seems quite muddled and anti-climatic so far. A successful book author doesn't necessarily translate into a good comics writer.

If I wasn't in the business I wouldn't buy The DFC (or any current children's comic, come to that). My only interest is a) to keep up with trends in the ongoing evolution of comics, b) to see how other creators handle the material, and c) to see what my friends in the biz are doing. Any entertainment value is a bonus.

Lew
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
Blog about my own work: http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/

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nottinghamian
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Joined: 28 Mar 2008, 22:33

Re: Who's renewing there subscription?

Post by nottinghamian »

I'm going to give the DFC a bit longer, and renew for another 13 issues. I would like to see more action in the stories, and feel the comic falls between boys and girls comics while engaging neither.

I wouldn't have bought it as a 10 year old. I'd have said it was a boring girlie comic!

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