The new issue of Geek Syndicate magazine is out – and it’s a cracker! Articles include an interview with comic creator Steve Grant on 2 Guns – how the comic series turned all action film starring Denzel Washington and Mark Walberg.
The digital magazine also features a look at the history of Bigfoot in the comics, the Bluffers Guide to Massively Multiplayer Online Games (Don’t know your Star Wars Galaxies from your World of Warcraft or Eve Online? Have no fear the Bluffers Guide is here!).
There’s also a short but informative interview with 2000AD‘s PR head honcho Michael Molcher about the ever-changing world of marketing, who reveals that his job requires “a sense of honesty and fun, and skin thicker than a hippo’s.
He reveals that, to date, far and away his most successful project was publicising ‘Closet’, a Judge Dredd story that ran in 2000AD in 2013 and dealt with issues of homosexuality in Mega-City One.
“Thanks to some good placement, the story went global and was covered by The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Sky News, The Huffington Post, The Sun and a whole host of web sites” he reveals. “It was very pleasing to see the cascade effect.
“The popularity of it comes down to there being an unexpected twist on a familiar character. It was, of course, a bluff – but the media thrive on such contrasts.”
For Michael, his most effective marketing weapon has to be social media. “Hands down,” he insists. “It’s simply direct communication with customers.”
• For the full contents and download options visit: http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/gs-magazine
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, Digital Comics, downthetubes Comics News, Magazines