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Comics Of Infinite Earths: Renga!

Big fan of all of this series but this one is particularly exciting in that it's such an unknown story and Charles actually tracked down the people involved to talk to them. So, this is probably the most detailed article on this project that exists in the world.

We are the cutting edge of journalism now.
 
Another terrific article, with great original journalism.

The array of IPs in Renga!/Beano Maximum!/3000 ACE!/whatever is pretty interestingly eclectic: you've got a flagship strip which is essentially the most Nineties possible version of Ghost Rider with a little Judge Dredd thrown in, a strip designed to tie in with a low-budget horror comedy no-one who reads the comic will be old enough to see, and a strip which is, hands-down, the most Alan Moore idea which ever Alan Moored[1].

Arguably, this is a real strength for the new comic, especially the 1997 version, since you can draw in a pretty wide market. You've got the serious comic enthusiasts who want to read Grant Morrison's The Thunderhawks (feat. Grant Morrison), the weird punk kids who like bizarre horror-humour and sick tentacle tongues, and the vast army of teens who like huge demons on huge motorbikes wielding huge guns.

On the other hand, the urge towards specialisation is great, so you'd probably see the stranger and less profitable stuff (looking at you here, Killer Tongue From Outer Space) crowded out over time in favour of more profitable content, which knowing the comics market at the time would be Demon Police With Guns. This could have some negative consequences when the cultural tide turns against Liefeldian-influenced shoot-em-up antiheroes.

[1] So Alan Moore, in fact, that he basically did this with Albion, although rights issues meant that instead of Beano characters he was working with less well-known (today) Brit-comic heroes such as The Spider and Robot Archie.
 
a strip designed to tie in with a low-budget horror comedy no-one who reads the comic will be old enough to see

This is the bit I'd really, really like to know about - how and why?! (The simplest answer is going to be "Tony Luke liked that stuff and thought it'd be cool", which raises the question: would there have been any other such strips? The Archangel Thunderbird tie-in would've been gloriously mental!)
 
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I read the article belatedly but still really enjoyed it.

Believe it or not, my knowledge of British comics is pretty thin so it's always good to learn new things about it.
 
I read the article belatedly but still really enjoyed it.

Believe it or not, my knowledge of British comics is pretty thin so it's always good to learn new things about it.

Depressingly, there's a lot that's barely recorded about British comics history outside of a few specific titles compared to the US. (I can even find a weighty tome on sale for the Archie superheroes!)
 
Depressingly, there's a lot that's barely recorded about British comics history outside of a few specific titles compared to the US. (I can even find a weighty tome on sale for the Archie superheroes!)
It does seem criminally lacking. I found a couple of interesting blogs ages ago by a then current Dandy artist which had a lot of info I'd never heard before.
 
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