Hi everyone and apologies for the lack of news lately.
I was hoping to launch the crowdfunding last week but I wasn't happy with the video (which every Kickstarter project must have) so I've been heavily editing it and adding some simple animations. I hated speaking into the camera but provided I'm reasonably happy with the final cut, we should be able to go live with it next week, assuming it's accepted by Kickstarter.
I know you've been looking forward to V5 but the crowdfunding has to take priority as Striker's future depends on its success. If we can hit our target (and hopefully exceed it) we'll be able to launch the weekly comic in digital and print formats.
Some news on these developments...
Subject to final decisions, a 12-week digital subscription will cost £18 and a print subscription (which will include a free digital subscription) will be £30. Both these rewards will also include an exclusive commemorative digital poster in print resolution which can be downloaded. The print copies will be mailed to subscribers every week before they hit the shops.
Other offers include packages featuring the above but also with merchandise and signed Striker strips from 80s and 90s.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with how crowdfunding projects work, I recommend checking out the Comics and Illustrations section on Kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/comics-illustration
Some more good news - barring any last-minute hiccups (and if the crowdfunding is successful), subscribers will be able to watch Warbury's games in the long-awaited motion-capture animation when the comic launches.
And I'm hoping Steve McKenlay will be back as editor.
Loads more to tell but it can wait for the official launch - fingers crossed for next week!
Sounds good to me - more details as and when we get 'em.
This is what Pete had to say about his plans initially
As I think you all know by now, it's been a tough two years since the new editor at The Sun decided to end Striker (and Hagar!) only to then ask for it to come back 10 days later after fans complained.
The new deal resulted in a much lower fee from The Sun - not even enough to cover production costs – but enabled me to advertise merchandise from the strip and take the revenue. And it's the revenue from the sales of the three books released so far that has kept Striker going, so once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has bought one or more copies.
There are two lessons from that turn of events: firstly, I can no longer depend on The Sun, and secondly, neither can I take continuing good sales from the books for granted.
One interesting observation that has materialised in the last few days is that even though the mugs we've just released are a third of the price of the books, it's the books that are the biggest sellers. The mugs are fine but people like Striker because of the stories and the ability to engage with them.
So where does Striker go from here? Well, that is going to be entirely up to what you guys do in the new year.
My intention is to launch a new weekly publication that will be printed and sold through subscription and in the shops for around £2.50. There would also be a cheaper online edition.
Before I go any further, let me make this clear: I lost a six-figure sum on the comic and the fantastic fans who bought shares didn't see a return on their investment (aside from the exclusive shareholder prints). For that reason, I won't be seeking investment and neither will I be risking what money I have left because I can't afford to lose it! But there is a way to do this – and to do it in a way that avoids the mistakes of the past.
I will describe this proposed publication shortly, but let's focus for a minute on why I would be crazy enough to consider something like this, given the failure of the comic. In a nutshell, we had these problems:
* Overheads were too high because we were still pioneering the 3D art and it was a nightmare finding and training specialised artists.
* We couldn't afford to advertise (do you remember The Sun pulled our planned ads on the day before launch?)
* We were trying to please people of all ages (like our fan base in The Sun) rather than focus on our core readership of adults.
* It was too Striker-specific. We tried introducing vintage strips like Billy's Boots, which people liked, but there wasn't enough variety.
So what's different now?
* For a start, overheads are far lower. We're operating on a shoestring at the moment, and I'd like to change that, but staff costs would still be far cheaper because our 3D style is now more established.
* We could advertise from the Striker strip in The Sun.
* Adults would be our target audience.
* And here's the really big deal... this would not be a Striker publication, but a publication with Striker in it.
I have the title of the publication and I know the content, but I don't want to reveal that until I know whether this is definitely going to happen. But essentially, each week there would be:
* Seven or eight pages of Striker - the same storyline as The Sun but more detailed. Plus the kind of character interviews and features we did in the comic, and match reports etc.
* Approximately six pages of a new weekly serial, created and written initially by me but drawn by a good 2D artist. Ultimately I would need to hire writers who could contribute to Striker as well as the new serials.
* Around six pages of a serial based on a classic movie - in fact it would almost be like watching the movie in print. I would love to go into detail on this but I can't yet. Suffice to say, I have created some mock-ups and they are amazing.
* Two or three pages of my Psycops strip which ran in The Sun from 1994 to 1998 and has never been republished.
* I would also like to do a strip by another creator. This could be tricky to get past my built-in quality control because there's a lot of crap out there, but I believe it can happen.
* There might also be a text serial that would be illustrated by three or four images each week.
So how could this come about? That's where crowdfunding comes in. I will go into much more detail on this after Christmas, but let me explain a few things first.
By crowdfunding, I don't mean just asking Strikerworld members to buy a weekly subscription - whether print or online - though I would dearly like them to! I am talking about extending this offer to the widest possible audience, which crowdfunding and social media marketing makes possible.
Briefly, people will be invited to purchase one or more "rewards", and the money raised (if we hit our target) will be used to fund the first three months of the publication. The most obvious of those rewards will be, say, £27 for a 12-week print subscription (delivered to your door every week) or perhaps £18 for a 12-week online subscription.
In addition - or perhaps even instead of - people will be able to buy Striker merchandise that has so far been produced, either individual books or the set of four that have been published so far for a special price. There are even some T-shirts and Gillette Striker football shirts. Whatever we can sell, the money will fund the publication.
To make this work, I would need a minimum of 1,600 people to pledge to buy a 12-week subscription, or other equivalent purchases of merchandise. That would provide just enough to cover costs for that period to ensure we could print a minimum of 12 issues.
In addition to the subscriptions, the publication would be sold in newsagents (we have two distributors keen to handle this).
If shop sales are strong enough (we only need to sell a few thousand) and enough people renew their subscriptions, the publication will continue beyond the 12 weeks.
The beauty of all this is that nobody will part with any money up front. Instead they make pledges - and the crowdfunding trustees only accept the money if the target we have set has been reached or exceeded. If it falls short, no money is taken and the proposed publication will be consigned to the dream bin.
This post is already way longer than I intended it to be but it's hard to be brief with such a big concept. I hope I've managed to convey the gist of it though.
My reason for revealing the plan now is to invite your views, be they positive or negative. I appreciate there is very little detail about the content but I would hope you would have an idea after 32 years of Striker of the kind of quality to expect.
Before signing off, I will address a question that Mick recently asked in relation to crowdfunding and merchandise. He said he would prefer to see Striker raise money by doing commercial tie-ins (like a big food or drinks company bringing out a Striker-themed product) than embark on a crowdfunding campaign.
That's a sound suggestion but I would say two things. Firstly, we tried that before with the comic when we did a tie-in with a company that brought out a Striker spirits range. We sold a few but not enough to get drunk on. Striker is big but it needs to be bigger to take advantage of licensing opportunities.
And while merchandise can be a good earner on the side, the core product will always be the story-telling and the community spirit of the audience that builds up around it.
Crowdfunding, if successful, will help to promote Striker while simultaneously raising revenue. It will enable us to reach out to people who may have heard of Striker but don't read The Sun, or never saw it on YouTube. If people like what we're doing and what we're trying to achieve, they'll get on board and enjoy the ride. If they don't, the train won't leave the station.
So over to you guys. I'm really interested to hear your views, suggestions or questions, particularly from people who rarely post or who have never posted on Strikerworld before...
The new deal resulted in a much lower fee from The Sun - not even enough to cover production costs – but enabled me to advertise merchandise from the strip and take the revenue. And it's the revenue from the sales of the three books released so far that has kept Striker going, so once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has bought one or more copies.
There are two lessons from that turn of events: firstly, I can no longer depend on The Sun, and secondly, neither can I take continuing good sales from the books for granted.
One interesting observation that has materialised in the last few days is that even though the mugs we've just released are a third of the price of the books, it's the books that are the biggest sellers. The mugs are fine but people like Striker because of the stories and the ability to engage with them.
So where does Striker go from here? Well, that is going to be entirely up to what you guys do in the new year.
My intention is to launch a new weekly publication that will be printed and sold through subscription and in the shops for around £2.50. There would also be a cheaper online edition.
Before I go any further, let me make this clear: I lost a six-figure sum on the comic and the fantastic fans who bought shares didn't see a return on their investment (aside from the exclusive shareholder prints). For that reason, I won't be seeking investment and neither will I be risking what money I have left because I can't afford to lose it! But there is a way to do this – and to do it in a way that avoids the mistakes of the past.
I will describe this proposed publication shortly, but let's focus for a minute on why I would be crazy enough to consider something like this, given the failure of the comic. In a nutshell, we had these problems:
* Overheads were too high because we were still pioneering the 3D art and it was a nightmare finding and training specialised artists.
* We couldn't afford to advertise (do you remember The Sun pulled our planned ads on the day before launch?)
* We were trying to please people of all ages (like our fan base in The Sun) rather than focus on our core readership of adults.
* It was too Striker-specific. We tried introducing vintage strips like Billy's Boots, which people liked, but there wasn't enough variety.
So what's different now?
* For a start, overheads are far lower. We're operating on a shoestring at the moment, and I'd like to change that, but staff costs would still be far cheaper because our 3D style is now more established.
* We could advertise from the Striker strip in The Sun.
* Adults would be our target audience.
* And here's the really big deal... this would not be a Striker publication, but a publication with Striker in it.
I have the title of the publication and I know the content, but I don't want to reveal that until I know whether this is definitely going to happen. But essentially, each week there would be:
* Seven or eight pages of Striker - the same storyline as The Sun but more detailed. Plus the kind of character interviews and features we did in the comic, and match reports etc.
* Approximately six pages of a new weekly serial, created and written initially by me but drawn by a good 2D artist. Ultimately I would need to hire writers who could contribute to Striker as well as the new serials.
* Around six pages of a serial based on a classic movie - in fact it would almost be like watching the movie in print. I would love to go into detail on this but I can't yet. Suffice to say, I have created some mock-ups and they are amazing.
* Two or three pages of my Psycops strip which ran in The Sun from 1994 to 1998 and has never been republished.
* I would also like to do a strip by another creator. This could be tricky to get past my built-in quality control because there's a lot of crap out there, but I believe it can happen.
* There might also be a text serial that would be illustrated by three or four images each week.
So how could this come about? That's where crowdfunding comes in. I will go into much more detail on this after Christmas, but let me explain a few things first.
By crowdfunding, I don't mean just asking Strikerworld members to buy a weekly subscription - whether print or online - though I would dearly like them to! I am talking about extending this offer to the widest possible audience, which crowdfunding and social media marketing makes possible.
Briefly, people will be invited to purchase one or more "rewards", and the money raised (if we hit our target) will be used to fund the first three months of the publication. The most obvious of those rewards will be, say, £27 for a 12-week print subscription (delivered to your door every week) or perhaps £18 for a 12-week online subscription.
In addition - or perhaps even instead of - people will be able to buy Striker merchandise that has so far been produced, either individual books or the set of four that have been published so far for a special price. There are even some T-shirts and Gillette Striker football shirts. Whatever we can sell, the money will fund the publication.
To make this work, I would need a minimum of 1,600 people to pledge to buy a 12-week subscription, or other equivalent purchases of merchandise. That would provide just enough to cover costs for that period to ensure we could print a minimum of 12 issues.
In addition to the subscriptions, the publication would be sold in newsagents (we have two distributors keen to handle this).
If shop sales are strong enough (we only need to sell a few thousand) and enough people renew their subscriptions, the publication will continue beyond the 12 weeks.
The beauty of all this is that nobody will part with any money up front. Instead they make pledges - and the crowdfunding trustees only accept the money if the target we have set has been reached or exceeded. If it falls short, no money is taken and the proposed publication will be consigned to the dream bin.
This post is already way longer than I intended it to be but it's hard to be brief with such a big concept. I hope I've managed to convey the gist of it though.
My reason for revealing the plan now is to invite your views, be they positive or negative. I appreciate there is very little detail about the content but I would hope you would have an idea after 32 years of Striker of the kind of quality to expect.
Before signing off, I will address a question that Mick recently asked in relation to crowdfunding and merchandise. He said he would prefer to see Striker raise money by doing commercial tie-ins (like a big food or drinks company bringing out a Striker-themed product) than embark on a crowdfunding campaign.
That's a sound suggestion but I would say two things. Firstly, we tried that before with the comic when we did a tie-in with a company that brought out a Striker spirits range. We sold a few but not enough to get drunk on. Striker is big but it needs to be bigger to take advantage of licensing opportunities.
And while merchandise can be a good earner on the side, the core product will always be the story-telling and the community spirit of the audience that builds up around it.
Crowdfunding, if successful, will help to promote Striker while simultaneously raising revenue. It will enable us to reach out to people who may have heard of Striker but don't read The Sun, or never saw it on YouTube. If people like what we're doing and what we're trying to achieve, they'll get on board and enjoy the ride. If they don't, the train won't leave the station.
So over to you guys. I'm really interested to hear your views, suggestions or questions, particularly from people who rarely post or who have never posted on Strikerworld before...
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