Picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces |
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Page 17 of 38  Judge Dredd: The Magazine (Fleetway, 1991 and 1993). Cover art: Dean Ormston The second of the three British successes, Deadline was linked to zoooad by its founders, Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon, both of whom had worked on various strips on the comic (including Dredd). But Deadline was always of a very different nature. Above all, it emphasized humour over adventure, and added prose features about pop music. In effect, it was a cross between an adult humour comic, and a music/style magazine - the term 'style comic' soon became a common description. The music connection was a central selling point. By focusing on what were becoming known as 'indie bands', the comic staked its claim as a (self-consciously) hip publication, with a definite punk attitude. Whereas in 2000AD the music references had been oblique, here they were explicit: giveaways of records, tapes, and other band-related merchandising became a regular feature, rock-referencing in strips was typical, while articles were often penned by well-known journalists from NME and Melody Maker. Deadline's other distinguishing feature was that it was published by a wealthy individual, Tom Astor, rather than by an established comics company.'9 This meant that the production values were not very lavish (at least to begin with), with no interior colour, and that the rates of pay for creators were low. But it also meant that the comic could be kept afloat financially even through periods of poor circulation figures - a situation that would see the cancellation of any other comic. This explained, above all else, its longevity: Deadline never sold in extraordinary numbers, and even at its peak only reached around 40,000 per issue.  Overkill (Marvel Comics, 1992), art: Dermot Power |