Picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces |
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Page 14 of 38  Cover, Craphixus (Graphic Eye, 1978). Art: Gary Leach. A much more underground-flavoured magazine. But this policy of becoming 'hipper' and raising the age profile was only partially successful. Inevitably, the comic's traditional younger audience gradually drifted away, which proved more damaging in the long run than had been expected, because not enough older readers were recruited to bridge the deficit.'5 Also, although established strips like 'Slaine' and 'Dredd' were given a shot in the arm by the spectacular art styles of Bisley et al, newer strips like 'Big Dave' and 'Really and Truly' were not popular. The net result was that in the 1990s, sales dropped off quite substantially, as American comics continued to be the preferred option for most comic buyers. Partly because of this decline in 20ooad's fortunes, the early 1990s were a lively time for British news-stand comics, as new titles were launched to try to take advantage of what was perceived as a gap in the market. Fleetway itself launched no less than four new titles, all aimed at readers aged sixteen and over, and which made the most of the existing stable of 2000AD creators. Chronologically, the first was Crisis (1987), which capitalized on 2000ad's political edge with a mix of aware action adventure ('Third World War'), angsty domestic drama ('Straitgate') and science fiction superheroics ('New Statesmen'). Next up, Revolver (1990) similarly tried to broaden its range away from science fiction, but paid its dues to the genre by reviving Dan Dare - this time as a straight parody, deriding the original's imperialist sensibility. Other strips included 'Purple Daze', a biography of Jimi Hendrix, and 'Rogan Gosh', a druggy odyssey inspired by Indian comics art.  Cover, Crisis (1988), a brave attempt at a right-on comic for right-wing times. Art: Carlos Ezquerra. |