My review of The PHOENIX Comic (Part 1, in which I may not even mention The Phoenix)

My review of The PHOENIX Comic (Part 1, in which I may not even mention The Phoenix)

That may sound a bit mad, but please bear with me, as my discovery of the Phoenix was a long and convoluted adventure with many a twist and turn. Actually, it was a number of interactions on Twitter, but that sounds far less adventurous.

It all started in the summer of 2012, when a very good friend of mine Gary Boller announced how excited he was too have been commissioned to create a strip for one of the oldest running British comics -The Dandy. That strip was Starskeys Hutch. Shortly thereafter an announcement was made that the Dandy would cease production of the paper version on it's 75^th birthday, and concentrate all efforts on it's online, digital version. Although I hadn't been buying the Dandy beforehand, I was a little disappointed in that. Partly because I intended to continue buying the Dandy for Gary's strip, and partly because my sons love taking comics to bed with them to read, and an online version just isn't quite as practical as paper ones.

This news caused something of a stir in the cartooning community, with concerns over what the future might hold, especially in the current economic climate. The concerns ranged from what effect it would have on childrens reading habits, right through to what individual artists and writers would move on to. It was quite an exciting period, and during that time I 'listened in' and contributed to conversations with some fantastic artists such as Jamie Smart who was drawing Desperate Dan for the Dandy, Fanton Esq, also of the Dandy producing Bad Grandad and Wilbur Dawbarn, creator of Mr Meecher the uncool teacher. One of the suggestions that kept arising was the possibility of creating 'An Awesome New Comic' to fill the gap.

I thought that this would be the ideal time to launch an idea I have been considering for a couple of years, that being a magazine aimed at the 8-12 year old age group in my local area, to bring them the local news and sport specifically focusing on their age group with a high percentage of comic strip and art. The idea was to encourage reading, writing and creativity in all fields and to make reading a fun activity rather than a chore. I would lean on my past experience with producing ROCKET magazine, and combine it with these new contacts, and my connections with the Scouting movement to bring out an advertising funded magazine which would either be free, or have a very low cover price to raise money for the organisations selling it. Things moved very slowly, even though I had been offered an incredibly generous startup investment. I made investigations into selling local advertising, and discovered that even though I could have produced the first one, subsequent publications would have been virtually impossible. The idea was returned to the back burner, on a very low heat.

At about the same time news of another newly formed comic appeared on Twitter. OFF-LIFE were trying to create a free comic, and were raising money via crowd funding. As my own was looking less likely I decided to make a small donation to help launch that one, and within a short time it was available – but only in Bristol and London. I eventually managed to get hold of a copy of the first one. It took a little effort but was well worth it. Through that comic I made contact with even more brilliant cartoonists. Neil Cameron, Liz Lunney, Silent Paige and Rob Davis who had work featured , and a host of others like Rob Mackay, Phillip Blackman, Laura Ellen Anderson, Harry Rickard, Stu Munro, Steve Becket, Jamie Roberts, Gary Northfield, Jay Townsend and Sean Baldwin. The list goes on, (and all can be found on Twitter). Anyway, enough with the name dropping, if they were marbles I'd be in danger of stepping on some and doing a proper Laurel & Hardy pratfall. Great as it is, OFF-LIFE wasn't quite the comic I had in mind, it is geared up for an adult readership and not aimed at children at all.

During various conversations, the name of another comic kept coming up – The PHOENIX- , I had never heard of it before, and never seen it in the shops, although there was an advert for it on the inside cover of OFF -LIFE. So I clicked across to have a look at their website, it looked really good, but at the time I was really struggling to keep afloat, and still holding out hope that I could launch my own magazine somehow, so couldn't afford to take out a subscription. It looked as though it was quite expensive, and as both my sons already have comic subscriptions running, one for the Beano and the other for NGK, I passed it by. Oh how I wish I had taken the plunge then. I had no idea it was still early days for the comic, and it was still in it's first year. I kick myself for that now, because having started a subscription from January this year, I can see just how good it is, and what I must have missed out on. Still there's no point in holding onto regrets like that, starting with issue 53 for the beginning of a new year is fine, because all the stories are either brand new, or at least starting at a fresh point that doesn't need knowledge of an extensive back story.

Well, that is my discovery of The PHOENIX. Next time, I will write a proper review of the magazine itself. But, do not delay as I did. If you have children aged between 8-13, I would seriously recommend that you treat them, and yourselves to a subscription to this great publication. I can assure you, you will not regret it. Have a look at their website here - http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/ or check out any of the named artists above for their views on it.

(I would like to illustrate this article with photos of comic panels by a couple of the artists mentioned, but will only do so once they, and the publications they appeared in have authorised me to do so.)