PHONOGRAM 2: THE SINGLES CLUB #5 (of 7)
story KIERON GILLEN
art & cover JAMIE McKELVIE
APRIL 29 32 PAGES / FC $3.50
Laura Heaven knows how it feels to be your age. Laura Heaven knows what happens when you listen to Saint Scott Walker on the bus. Laura Heaven knows about Lust, etc. In the fifth of their stories set in a single club night, the critically-acclaimed PHONOGRAM shows you what life is like trapped between quotation marks. Plus, a ska-tastic back-up story with art by DAN BOULTWOOD (HOPE FALLS).
OFFERED AGAIN
PHONOGRAM 2: THE SINGLES CLUB #1 (NEW PRINTING)
Doesn’t that sound lovely?
We’ll be taking a skip month next, to give us a bit of space to get back on track. Also, don’t expect Phonogram 2.2 soon - it turns up on lists, but it really isn’t going to appear imminently. We’ll give a warning here when it’s reasonable to start expecting it. It’s going to be early/mid February at the earliest. Sorry again. It’s frustrating for us too.
We’ve had a few people asking about where the second issue of the Singles Club is. Well, herein lies a tale.
We get the pre-order figures before the comic comes out. That lets us know how many we’ve sold to retailers in an initial shipment. That number basically tells us what sized cheque we can expect in three months times. From our pre-orders, we realised the size of cheque we could expect was no-size. In other words, come February, there would be no money to feed McKelvie.
So, Jamie had to take on some other work to do alongside Phonogram, which has pushed back the release date. It’s not that we’re not working: Jamie did over 30 pages in December. Problem being, it’s not all Phonogram. When will it be out? We don’t know. Hopefully by the end of the month, and on a better schedule from then on. We’ll keep you updated, and sorry for disappointing anyone who’s disappointed. We’re disappointed too.
Some people may note that we’ve sold out our print run – so sold more copies than were originally ordered. Surely that means the cheque we’ll be getting will be bigger than no-size. Yes, indeed it does. The problem is that we didn’t know that until too late, and to make sure there was some money for Jamie-eatings, he has to plan in advance for money to arrive. Just waiting until the last minute isn’t a way to live. In fact, it’s a way to starve.
Does it make us bitter? Yeah, a little. There’s a bit of a kick when Jamie – say – realises that by drawing a single page of Cable he’s going to earn more money than all of a Phonogram issue or that when you realise that despite everything Kieron did with the second series to make the singles attractive and unique, you just get the same pre-orders of the first series. Which also sold out instantly, before going on to shift 10K in trades. And when you realise that just having another thousand pre-orders would literally make it financially viable … yeah, it’s frustrating.
But educational. Our readers aren’t the sort to pre-order (Which is understandable – pre-ordering is a strange thing). Retailers, on average, don’t particularly want to support the book (Which, in the financial climate, we also understand). And we haven’t the status or leverage to do anything about either (Which we knew all along). If there’s a next time we’ll rethink it and do it a different way.
And before anyone gets stressy – this isn’t a prompt to do a “Save Phonogram” sort of thing. Phonogram’s fine, supports its printing costs, and we’ll get it done. A little slower than we’d like, but we’ll get them done. It remains worth pre-ordering later issues from your shop, if you want ‘em though.
Oh – and before we go, we’d like to thank everyone who’s bought the comic, written lovely things about it and those retailers who showed some faith in ordering. You’re splendid. If we ever meet, we’d probably be so sycophantic towards you that you’d wish you hadn’t been so nice.
Didn’t mention when they went live, but the solicits for March are still available to be read…
PHONOGRAM 2: THE SINGLES CLUB #4 (of 7)
story KIERON GILLEN
art & cover JAMIE McKELVIE
They’re the Single Club’s DJ ogres: Seth Bingo and the Silent Girl. But do sensitive hearts beat within shallow breasts? Hell, no. Join us for a story of sarcasm, extreme sarcasm and solipsistic snobbishness. Remember: they’re laughing at you. You may as well laugh at them. PLUS two back-up stories showcasing the dazzling art of DAVID LAFUENTE (Hellcat) and CHARITY LARRISON (Busted Wonder).
MARCH 18 * 32 PAGES * FC * $3.50
Worth having a word with your retailer if you want to make sure you get a copy. As always, y’know? Lots of other stuff, which I tend to post on the forum as they appear. And no-one’s bothered to write a bad review of Issue 1 yet, which must mean people who dislike Phonogram are very, very lazy.
