Adrian Clarke, publisher at Shift GMC, whose titles include anthology titles SHIFT and the just-launched new title, Pulp!, is cautiously upbeat about the takeover of WHSmith high street stores by TG Jones.
WHSmith’s high street operation were taken over by Modella Capital in March in a £76 million pound buyout, leading WHSmith to disappear from British high streets. TG Jones has also bought the WHSmith website operation.
The deal did not include the retailer’s branding or WHSmith Travel and stores, or International brands. But it does mean the leading retailer’s 480 stores across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks are being rebranded to TGJones, and the division’s managing director Sean Toal has stepped in as chief executive.
Behind the scenes, the changeover from WHSmith to TG Jones distribution has meant the rules and requirements for publishers selling their titles in what is still one of Britain’s biggest high street retailers has impacted release dates for some titles.
“Release dates are a bit in flux,” Adrian Clarke commented on the SHIFT Facebook Page earlier this week. “Once set though, it should all be steady!
“Shift It! is still on the shelves, Sex Spies and Rock n Roll has just released, Pulp! came out yesterday, and we have two or three more due to join them in the coming month, including the first issue of SHIFT Volume Three.”
Meanwhile, if you’re still looking for the current Shift GMC titles, head to the online Shift Store, where you’ll also find a range of new Independent Creator titles, too, including Angel Eyes, Hoards of Surrey, Tara Togs, Technofreak and more. (If you’re an indie publisher seeking distribution through the SHIFT web shop, sign up for information here)
SHIFT Presents… Pulp!
SHIFT Presents… Pulp!, also available online, is a call back to old black and white UK comics.
Bursting at the seems at 160 pages, featuring full chapters of varying genres, and interviews with the creators so you can get to know more about them and their creations – but still as affordable as possible!
“We wanted to make a little ‘catalogue’of some indie titles we love, so started compiling this, and got a bit carried away…!” Adrian admits.
The first issue of Shift Presents… Pulp! contains approximately 135 pages of comics and eleven pages of interviews.
The first issue lineup offers “Serraq” by Chris Geary; “Bete Noire” by Andrew Clemson and Kris Wantowhy; “Technofreak” by John Charles, Barry May and Tom Newell; “Past Futuremann“ by Charlie Etheridge-Nunn and Lane Lloyd; “Griff Gristle”; by Rob Jones, Michael Sambrook and Rory Donald; “The Troll” by Oisin Roche; and “Flesh & Blood” by Simon Lewis and Chris Geary.
Produced in A5, black and white, costing only £7.99, a more “deluxe version”, featuring colour strips is also available, in a larger format, and in hardback. (About two thirds of the strip pages are colour and converted for greyscale for the main A5 release, the rest were made in black and white).
If you can’t find it in your local TG Jones (Store Locator Here), then you can order Shift Presents… Pulp! from the SHIFT webshop here
Shift Presents… Sex, Spies and Rock ‘n’ Roll
Recently launched, Shift Presents… Sex, Spies and Rock ‘n’ Roll is an all-new ongoing series, featuring an amazing array of spy stories.
Each issue has its own playlist to listen along while reading, available to find on the issue webpage.
Off the back of several hugely successful crowd-funded releases, Mixtape Comics and SHIFT bring you an ongoing anthology featuring fantastic creators and amazing stories. These are wildly fun spy adventures, set mostly in and around the 1980s, but spanning over half a century’s worth of history and plots, that all blend together into one massive tale.
The project is written and created by Jeff Messer – author of Shift Presents… Robin Hood Legend of Sherwood.
“The 1980s are the perfect era of spy stories. The Cold War was at its hottest, the fashion was loud, the music was louder, and the spies of these tales are young, hip, and sexually charged!
“The main stories revolve around Cassi Storm, a young woman who finds herself becoming one of the world’s foremost secret agents, along with her lover, and his best friend. It spreads to their friends and families, and the intricate knots of intrigue and conspiracy that bind them all together.”
If you can’t find Shift Presents… Sex, Spies and Rock ‘n’ Roll in your local TG Jones (Store Locator Here), then you can order it from the SHIFT webshop here
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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