‘The Phoenix Comic’ Reaches Issue 600: A Stunning Achievement
by Richard Bruton
Issue 1 of The Phoenix Comic came out in 2012 – Now, 11 years later, this fabulous comic for kids has just published its 600th issue…
Launched in 2012 (although technically there was an issue zero in the end of 2011), The Phoenix Comic rose quite literally from the ashes of the short-lived DFC, a comic masterminded by David Fickling (DFC literally meant David Fickling Comic, meant as a temporary name but one that stuck) and published by Random House.
That comic offered all comics, no adverts, and no plastic rubbish sellotaped to the cover as free gifts. It also went the subscriber-only model, a brave choice back then. As I’ve told you before the failure of the DFC had nothing to do with the quality of the comic, more a lack of investment and just not enough time for it to succeed.
Because Fickling knew he was on to something, knew comics made well, by a huge number of talented creators, and sold to kids and adults through subscription had the potential to be big.
And now, with the 600th issue of The Phoenix Comic coming through letterboxes up and down the country, I reckon we should all be raising a glass to the comics publishing success of the last decade that is The Phoenix Comic. 600 issues is a huge number, more than so many comics that have come and gone. As the comic has grown, they’ve developed, changed their selling model so that now you can find it through subscription and through select shops and newsagents here in the UK, but they’ve always stuck to the model of great comics, great creators, no ads, no plastic tat.
And with the 600th issue, I think it’s fair to say it’s a model that’s succeeded!
You’ll hopefully have seen me reporting on some Phoenix collections, from the likes of Jamie Smart and Neill Cameron, just two of the talents who’ve been making wonderful work for The Phoenix.
But there are many many more names to credit alongside them… Adam & Lisa Murphy, Jamie Smart, Neill Cameron, Robert Deas, Jess Bradley, Laura Ellen Anderson, Joe List, James Turner, James Stayte, The Etherington Brothers, Dan Boultwood, Faz Choudry, Philip Pullman (yes, THAT Philip Pullman), Fred Fordham, Chris Riddell, Alexander Matthews, Joe Brady, Kate Ashwin, Robin Boyden, Dave Shelton, Kate Brown, Patrice Aggs, Andreas Schuster, and many more!
The Phoenix has most definitely risen… here’s to the next milestone – 700 issues, 800 issues, 900 issues, the HUGE 1,000 issue, and onwards, onwards, onwards!
You can subscribe to The Phoenix Comic right here, and there’s special 600th-issue T-shirts available from the shop as well, featuring Jess Bradley‘s awesome artwork…
