Ben Dilworth had this idea for a freebie to hand out at events to get people to realise BTCG was here. At the 2012 Bristol Comic Expo they were handed out at the door. All gone. Feedback or sales? None.
So it was decided to charge £1.00 -there were 8 issues all stand alone so if you just wanted one no biggie. It was Dilworth's daughter's idea based on the idea that if you were giving it away it wasn't anything but if you charged, say £1.00 for a copy it was cheap but not a give away.. Okay, some were, uh, "purloined" but one copy sold to a very enthusiastic young man who vanished never to be heard from again.
But comments about "too slick" 9sigh) made me think. An "old School" cover based on the design? Why not since the paper quality is high enough? So I contacted lulu.com and asked about the cover being printed on the same paper as interior stock. "No" was the response (they don't say but the printers today do not even quality check -it's all run straight off a computer so cover and interior HAVE to be different).
How about if you removed the cover and the first page was the cover? Black and white but nicely designed? "But what about the real cover?" you cry.
Well, remember (if you are from the 1960s UK generation) the UK Power Comics (Odhams) such as Fantastic and Terrific? Each week a pin up on the back cover -the "Power House Pin-Up".
So why not make the front and back covers Black Tower Tower Pin Ups? The covers are removed and turned into sturdy, glossy A4 pin-ups that are inserted free into each issue?
That way people see the less slick books with great B&W cover art plus the added pin-ups and not slick looking and, apparently, off-putting covers?
It is an idea and just because it means a black and white cover does NOT mean poor quality. Let's see how it goes!
So it was decided to charge £1.00 -there were 8 issues all stand alone so if you just wanted one no biggie. It was Dilworth's daughter's idea based on the idea that if you were giving it away it wasn't anything but if you charged, say £1.00 for a copy it was cheap but not a give away.. Okay, some were, uh, "purloined" but one copy sold to a very enthusiastic young man who vanished never to be heard from again.
But comments about "too slick" 9sigh) made me think. An "old School" cover based on the design? Why not since the paper quality is high enough? So I contacted lulu.com and asked about the cover being printed on the same paper as interior stock. "No" was the response (they don't say but the printers today do not even quality check -it's all run straight off a computer so cover and interior HAVE to be different).
How about if you removed the cover and the first page was the cover? Black and white but nicely designed? "But what about the real cover?" you cry.
Well, remember (if you are from the 1960s UK generation) the UK Power Comics (Odhams) such as Fantastic and Terrific? Each week a pin up on the back cover -the "Power House Pin-Up".
So why not make the front and back covers Black Tower Tower Pin Ups? The covers are removed and turned into sturdy, glossy A4 pin-ups that are inserted free into each issue?
That way people see the less slick books with great B&W cover art plus the added pin-ups and not slick looking and, apparently, off-putting covers?
It is an idea and just because it means a black and white cover does NOT mean poor quality. Let's see how it goes!
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