The Phoenix

[maryanddavid]

Not the political satiricial mag or Marvel comic, its the offspring of the DFC.

For those of you that dont know, the DFC was an attempt at launcing a weekly comic for kids, it was a cross between the Beano, The new Eagle and possibly Bunty. A great mix of stories and art with my favourite Mesolith, and the kids was John Blake. It was sold on subscription only, and unfortunatly didnt last, it folded after 43 wekly issues.

The team behind DFC are back and I got late last week issue 0 preview issue, it was distributed through Waitrose stores in the UK and to be honest its a craker.

The cover isint great, its not giving me an idea of whats inside, but the first story is great, its the Pirates of Pangaea, lost lands, Dinos,  Pirates and great art, what not to like.

The Apprentice looks good to the art by John Welding is great, a tale of magic in Russia, a series of one offs mayby?

Anyone familiar with Jamie Smarts work in the Dandy and the DFC will know what to expect with Bunny V Monkey, not my cup of tea, but the kids loved it and the art is really good.

Lots of previews too, there is Long Gone Don, the art looks like an Eric Powell/Eisner cross, Star Cat, The Lost Boy,new novel extracts, plus puzzle and how to make comic pages.

Ill be getting this for the kids, and happily reading it myself too, a quality product, hope it lasts.

https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/

After checking for the site address I see this preview issue is available for download FREE and issue 1 is on sale now.

David

[JOE SOAP]

Rising from the ashes…?

[Davek]

I tried to subscribe to this before Christmas for my kids.  Got an email confirming subscription but didnt receive Issue 1 so chased it numerous times but all they would say is that my subscription is not active, customer services was appalling so decided not to pursue it.  Shame really cos the Issue 0 seemed pretty good...

[Sparkonaut]

I got to read issue 0 and it's pretty good for what it is. Same vibe as the Dandy and revamped Beano (without the gimmicky toys). I hope it keeps going.

[Lee Bates]

issue 1 is on sale now.

Any idea where they'll be selling this? Presumably it won't just be comic shops a la Strip Magazine? I checked the website but can't find anything about where the comic will be available.

[Davek]

issue 1 is on sale now.

Any idea where they'll be selling this? Presumably it won't just be comic shops a la Strip Magazine? I checked the website but can't find anything about where the comic will be available.

Its not available in shops.  It was suppposed to be in Waitrose but I dont think that they are sticking it yet.

[maryanddavid]

As far as Im aware, the preview was only available in Waitrose, the Phoenix will be subscription only.

David

[Lee Bates]

Aah, that's a shame. I know the DFC was sub only but I'd heard that the Phoenix would be sold in shops. I'm less likely to give it a punt now.

[starscape]

It's due to go to Waitrose this morning I believe, so pick it up there.  There's also a 'taster subscription' for a tenner IIRC.

[TordelBack]

Hurrah, thanks to the generosity of maryanddavid, a copy of The Phoenix was waiting for me when I got home!  Off to read it with The Boy right for his bedtime story right now, will report on results. 

Also, a lovely bonus treat of the Tales from the Emerald Isle 2D special, which I will be reading with a glass of something later on!  Cheers David, you're a gent!

[TordelBack]

And the results are in...

The Phoenix No. 0 is a bit of a mixed bag.  TordelBoy (5) loved, I mean loved, 'Pirates of Pangaea', he actually said 'awwwww, is there no more?' when we got to the last page.  He's not wrong here, it's a lovely concept, beautifully drawn, basically Dinotopia done right.  He also really enjoyed 'Star Cat', which appears to be Nyan Cat: The Series, and which I hated on sight.  The Silk Road story 'The Apprentice' was good if a bit pointless, but it fitted well into the 1001 Nights vibe, which we're reading at the moment. He liked the poster, but was puzzled by all the characters that we haven't seen yet.We haven't tried Corpse Talk and some of the shorter stories and games at the back yet. 

For the negative, he would have no truck with adverts for future stories that weren't present - if they weren't there to read, what was the use in getting involved, he argued (I thought they looked pretty cool, although I'll not be reading 'Long Gone Don' to him after a few glasses of wine) - and similarly wasn't interested in features that billed themselves as 'part 2', with exhortations to visit the website for part 1. 

Jack's big beef was the lack of the characters on the cover - he wanted to see a story with them, no just static illos. Obviously I'm all for anthropomorphic editors myself, but I had a problem with that cover as well - it comes across as aimed lot younger than the actual content. Hard to square cheery cartoon animals with exhuming Emelia Earhart... 

That said, it was definitely a hit - streets ahead of anything else I've seen for his age group (the superior Strip is a year or two off for him yet, I'd say), there's mountains of content in there, and I reckon he'd definitely enjoy reading it week-to week. 

The BIG problem is where to get the next issues - the subscription fees are totally, completely impossible for us at the moment.  I need to look into how to do this, and they really need to get this into shops - it's a good product, and deserves to succeed. 

[Davek]

The BIG problem is where to get the next issues - the subscription fees are totally, completely impossible for us at the moment.  I need to look into how to do this, and they really need to get this into shops - it's a good product, and deserves to succeed.

Glad the little un liked it - my 9 year old enjoyed Issue Zero but after the hassle of trying to subscribe I wont be trying that again.  We dont have a local Waitrose but I would drive across town if they did stock it (they did a promotion for Issue Zero).

Can understand if their business model requires subscription instead of retail sales, but surely just stick each issue up on their website to buy? 

[maryanddavid]

Of some interest.

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2012/01/phoenix-hits-little-turbulence.html

[TordelBack]

Interesting.  Digging deeper, that 5-issue 'tester' sub sounds good, but if it couldn't start from Issue 1 there'd be no point - not going to risk inciting patricide by missing episodes of 'Pirates of Pangaea'! 

[SmallBlueThing]

Mine also arrived today, many thanks to David. Havent had chance to do more than flick through, but first impressions are very favourable. Will give it to the boys later and see what they make of it.

SBT