D.C. Thomson: The curse of the REPRINT!

Big Simon · Post by **Big Simon** » 26 Mar 2007, 11:08

Guess what? The mighty Bananaman is returning to The Dandy at the end of April... AS A REPRINT!

Are DC Thomson really that skint, or don't they care anymore....?

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 26 Mar 2007, 12:53

Big Simon wrote:Guess what? The mighty Bananaman is returning to The Dandy at the end of April... AS A REPRINT!

Are DC thomson really that skint, or don't they care anymore....?

Getting the comic in a few more shops might help sales. Instead of booting out artists to save pennies, perhaps they should turn and kick the other way to boot the marketing boys into shape?

Lew

john56peter756brit · Post by **john56peter756brit** » 26 Mar 2007, 15:44

I should think they dont care anymore .Comics to me are not the same i might be wrong but!

Conor B · Post by **Conor B** » 26 Mar 2007, 16:09

Big Simon wrote:Guess what? The mighty Bananaman is returning to The Dandy at the end of April... AS A REPRINT!

http://www.dandy.com

Bananaman wrote:I?ll be back for a series of classic adventures beginning in issue date 28th April!

Big Simon · Post by **Big Simon** » 26 Mar 2007, 17:53

"Classic adventures" is DC Thomson-speak for "reprinted adventures".

And all this happening in Dandy's 70th year....

David · Post by **David** » 26 Mar 2007, 18:36

Big Simon wrote:"Classic adventures" is DC Thomson-speak for "reprinted adventures".

And all this happening in Dandy's 70th year....

The Dandy: Banaman technically finished, just a reprint now, Beryl The Peril gone (or it was when I stopped reading it).

The Beano: Robert Nixon reprints of Ivy The Terrible seem to crop up a lot now. And other reprints too.

How long will it be before the whole comic is reprint?
If that happens, that will almost certainly be the death knell for the comics (we all knoiw what happened to Buster), therefore the people in charge will have lost a lot more money than having to pay artists fees.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 26 Mar 2007, 18:55

Big Simon wrote:"Classic adventures" is DC Thomson-speak for "reprinted adventures".

And all this happening in Dandy's 70th year....

Buster was canceled just five months short of its 40th anniversary. In the world of "managed decline" there's not a lot of hope.

Lew

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 26 Mar 2007, 19:57

Well, I think when you look at the other 'comics' available today and add up the number of new, original comic strips printed each week, you'll probably find that The Dandy and Beano still provide more work for comic artists than the rest put together.

Don't forget that the dreaded 'feature' page costs next to nothing and work out who's feeding our artists today. Admittedly the meals are smaller, but without DCT there's be no work available.

Also, any page that a new, fresh artist like Jamie Smart draws automatically takes a slice of budget from another artist, possibly a well-loved stalwart. It's a cut-throat business, freelance work - and the editors take the blame. Lew will tell you from bitter experience, I'm sure - the price for getting to sit in your house drawing comics every day is the prospect that it can all end tomorrow.

Just bringing a little reality into the debate.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 26 Mar 2007, 21:40

MikeC wrote: Lew will tell you from bitter experience, I'm sure - the price for getting to sit in your house drawing comics every day is the prospect that it can all end tomorrow.

Just bringing a little reality into the debate.

True, although the secret is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Not always easy, but there is more work out there for comic artists than just the traditional British comics.

Lew

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 26 Mar 2007, 23:24

Trevor wanted to share this on the forum...

Hi Peter,

How strange that after trying to encourage you in your endeavours to
ignore (sometimes nasty) criticism, I should have a bit more to tell
you. This time I've been 'retired' from D.C.Thomsons, they told me I'd
never work from them again. Isn't that sweet? I thought Billy Whizz was
whizzing the best he'd ever whizzed during my 96 week stint plus
annuals and summer specials. Still, what do I know!? It's turned out
that my D.C.T experience has been pretty similar at both ends of my
cartooning career.

Luckily I've always kept other irons in the fire, so I won't be crying
in my beer.

When Terry Bave sent me a card at Christmas, he said he'd been 'put out
to grass', his words not mine. It makes me wonder if Steve Bright's
been treated in a similar manner. I notice Robert Nixon's work is being
re-printed and original Les Pretend strips as well. I read on the web
that the new BeanoMax is using reprints too. I hope for the sake of the
editorial staff that the powers that be don't out-source their jobs to
India, like so many banks and call centres!

I felt I ought to let you know after our recent exchange of e-mails, I
couldn't pretend I was still in the D.C.T game.

I hope you're keeping well, Peter. Stick with the cartooning, it beats
going to work doesn't it?

Best of luck, as always,

Trevor

http://www.trevortoons.com

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 27 Mar 2007, 00:23

Yep, that's the comics biz unfortunately. It's sometimes easy to forget that some publishers see artists as handymen employed to do a job. They don't feel they owe them a living, or even any gratuity, beyond the immediate page rate, any more than you'd give a plasterer any more thought ofter paying him to fix your wall.

At least workers at HP sauce get redundancy, news coverage and public sympathy when they lose their jobs. Comic artists get zilch. (I still have people say things like "Drawing's a nice hobby but you don't make a living out it do you?" Er, yes, for the last 23 years!) We're considered well down the ladder of respect in this country.

Our work cheers up their kids but in the end their parents don't give a stuff about us.

Lew

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 27 Mar 2007, 10:16

Here the full email......Trevor said I could post it in full..now he is no longer at D.C Thomson

Hello Peter,

I hope you're managing to keep busy, now you're a full-time 'toonist.
If you ever get any adverse criticism, don't let it put you off. I had
some rather nasty comments when I was starting out, by people who
would've actually enjoyed to see me fail.

I read a fairly recent post of yours on the comics UK forum where you
started a topic about artist's first published work. You mentioned that
mine was Our Great Grandpa. Not quite correct, Peter, that strip was my
first for Fleetway/IPC. My very first published strip in a UK comic was
for the Dandy and it was called The Babes 'n' Bullies, characters I
'invented' myself and submitted to D.C.Thomsons in 1962. It was
accepted by the then editor Albert Barnes as you can see from the scan
of his acceptance letter enclosed. I also enclose a scan of the first
published strip. I drew about 18 strips for the weekly Dandy comic and
several annual pages that were published in the 1964 book. During the
same period I wrote and drew 2 or perhaps 3 Smasher strips that were
accepted and published, though I was never paid extra for the
self-written script!

My full-time job was in the printing trade as a litho artist, so comics
was only a part time activity. Wishing to go full-time, I thought I'd
dream up another comic character and try to get it published too. That
character was Our Great Grandpa which I duly sent to Albert at the
Beano. He declined it but thanked me politely for letting him see it.
So I sent it to the only other big publisher of UK comics, Fleetway/IPC
and it was accepted. It was published as a half page strip in Buster
comic, within a few short weeks.

Looking back, I'm pretty sure Albert Barnes saw it because a few days
after it appeared in Buster, he wrote to me. It was one I wish I'd
kept, but I'm sure you'll understand why I tore it up. The letter was
as much as 3 pages of A4 paper (we called it's nearest size 'foolscap'
in those days) and it's content was roughly as follows:

Dear Mr. Metcalfe,
I have decided not to use you as an artist on the Dandy and none of the
other publications at this company would contemplate using you either.
You're drawings show no sense of fun. Your line-work is weak, typical
of a would-be amateur. You show no understanding of perspective or even
basic figure drawing, proportions are ugly. All your so-called pictures
have a crowded look and totally lacks drama and atmosphere.

The letter went on and on like this and ended:

I am able to recommend a course of action that I think you should take,
it is this. With the very limited aptitude you have as an artist, a
career as a painter and decorator might suit you,

Signed,
Albert Barnes.

Nice, eh? After 45 years doing comic strips and other styles of
artwork, I really do wish I'd kept that letter!!! Now you know why I
gave my advice to you at the start of this email. All the weekly Babes
'n' Bullies that Albert had paid me for must've been gathering dust on
a shelf in his office until he decided to publish them in 1969, seven
years after I drew them!

The very best of luck to you and always have faith in yourself, Peter.
I'd be pleased to see your stuff at any time and I'll keep looking at
your web-site and Comics UK from time to time.

Trevor

Just a quick note on myself...........I'm having to look for part time work (receptionist etc..) though I am doing some cartooning work....just not enough yet...Peter

David · Post by **David** » 28 Mar 2007, 10:43

From that letter it would seem that Albert was jealous and regretted the fact that he hadn't accepted the strip!

Big Simon · Post by **Big Simon** » 28 Mar 2007, 11:25

Frankly I find it remarkable, and disgusting, that DCThomson have 'pensioned off' Trevor Metcalfe - one of British comics very finest artists. What the hell are they thinking of?

I'm getting heartily sick of DCThomson's total disregard to their comic heritage. Who actually runs the company anyway? Do they ever see daylight? Whenever I have emailed the editors of either the Dandy or Beano I get the curtest of replies - very patronising in their tone.

If they really want to destroy the 2 last 'traditional' British comedy comics by filling them full of reprints and sacking their best talents then they're making a good job of it.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 28 Mar 2007, 11:45

Big Simon wrote:Frankly I find it remarkable, and disgusting, that DCThomson have 'pensioned off' Trevor Metcalfe - one of British comics very finest artists. What the hell are they thinking of?

Ah, if only artists WERE "pensioned off"! Unlike the people who regularly appear on tv whining when they lose their jobs the self employed receive no redundancy and no company pension. (And the government hate our independence so much we have to pay our taxes a year in advance of salaried workers, based on the assumption we've earned the same amount as last year!)

(I know you were probably already aware of that but I just wanted to clarify it in case anyone thought we received some sort of compensation.)

Lew

Comics UK