If it's the latter group, then some of the characters bear such little resemblance to their original incarnations that it makes me wonder if it's even worth reviving old characters when entirely new ones would probably serve just as well. Kid Kong is no longer rendered in the cute and loveable way he used to be, and Frankie Stein has none of the magic of either the Reid or Nixon versions. In fact, I'm compelled to ask - was the new Frankie artist even allowed to see any of the old strips? PROFESSOR CUBE's manufactured 'offspring' bears no resemblance to the character that we of a certain age know and love, being more of a generic cartoon Frankenstein Monster knock-off. (However, it's nice to see MICKY back, though his name is spelt Mickey on the first page before reverting to its original spelling on the third.)
One or two of the artists need to brush up (pun intended) on their layouts, as they're not leaving adequate space in the panels for lettering, resulting in some speech balloons being a bit 'all over the place', instead of in an easy-to-read sequence. (Though in some instances it's the fault of the letterer.) Also, the
X-RAY SPECS artist, while doing a decent job, needs to pay more attention to his proportions and composition, as there's a couple of panels where
RAY looks to be around six feet tall.
And yet, despite those observations, it's good to see the comic in the shops and I wish it well. If it does take off, I hope the publishers decide to go back to the established, traditional look of the characters, rather than the updated visual appearance that most of them now sport. Overall, they've done a good job though, and should you decide you'd like one, my local WHS has seven copies left, and they're only
£4.99 each (for
52 full-colour pages). Other branches are likely to have even more, but be sure to buy one before they get nicked.
******
Checked out WHS today (20th) and there are still the same seven copies lying untouched, which is a little disappointing. They're on the very top shelf of a stand devoted to kids mags, but the top shelf is only around shoulder-high to me, so it's not as if they're invisible. I'll be keeping my eye on them to see if they sell.
******
Was in again yesterday (24th) and all seven copies yet remain. That means I'm the only person in my home town so far who's bought an issue (two issues actually). The cover has an off-sale date of June, so if it hasn't sold any more copies by then, things don't look good for future issues if my WHS is indicative of others across the UK. I moved three of them down to a lower shelf, so the mag now occupies two spots - let's hope that improves its chances of selling.
******
Five days later (29th) and not a single copy of the seven remaining issues has yet sold. Not looking good for the future at this rate.
******
Almost a week later (May 6th) and no copies to be seen, but that's not necessarily a good omen. All the comics have been rearranged since I was last in, so they may already have been taken off sale (even though June is the publisher's date for removal), or possibly they've been nicked. I'll have a more thorough search tomorrow and see if I can find them, but I've been in a couple of times since the 29th and there were still seven copies, so their sudden absence is puzzling. Stay tuned.
******
Found out today (May 17th) that the guy who runs the magazine side of things in my local WHS had taken the remaining seven issues off the shelves and dumped them in the back of the shop, thereby depriving customers of the opportunity to buy a copy. Although I first noticed them missing on the 6th, chances are they were pulled a few days before this - remember, last time I saw them on sale was just after April 29th. Shocking that Rebellion pays for shelf space that it isn't actually getting. This is the same guy who sometimes doesn't put some
PANINI mags out, saying that he keeps them in the back because they get stolen. No chance of them selling when they're not even put out on display, is there? Words fail me.
******
May 20th and there's only five copies left, so hopefully the absent two have been sold and not nicked. Or is the guy in charge of the magazine section, having been told off by the manageress for taking them off sale, sneaking them off the shelves and hiding them in the back of the shop (until they get sent back in June) as an act of revenge? Let's hope not.
******
On May 28th there were only three copies left, which was the same situation on June 1st. At least that's two thirds of them sold, which wouldn't have been the case had I not intervened. Let's hope the remaining three sell before June the 12th, when they're due to be taken off-sale.
