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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
 Posted - 19/03/2006 : 07:40:06
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Zdravo.
I always wanted to ask, but I was afraid of yours reaction 
Just kidding.
Well I am a big fan of (ex- Juogoslavija) Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, BiH, Macedonia, Montenegro vintage comics magazines as "Stripoteka", "Spunk", "Strip Art", "Biser strip", "Strip magazin" etc.
For me it was and still is a phenomenon of that period in comics history. Could someone explain me some things about this?
I was always wonder, how it was possible to print plenty of comics titles in communist regime (well maybe it wasnt straight communists as in Poland, Bulgaria or Russia)?
Let's take one example (my fave one)- STRIPOTEKA.
It was weekly or monthly periodical? I was reading in "Stripoteka 1000", but I am not very good in your language, so it's difficult to take a picture how it realy was. How many people must work to prepare one issue of STRIPOTEKA? In magazine note I saw just 2-3 persons, but it is imposible , even these days with computers, prepare magazine to publish. No matter it was monthly or weekly magazine- it's phisicaly imposible to make a magazine with 2- 3 persons.
How many copies of magazine was sell ? Juogoslavija had about 20 millions of population. For sample Poland in that period was much bigger, but they had just one comics magazine !
Now about copyrights. It was a costy thing. Is it was supported by governemnt to buy? Or I am wrong and copyrights those days wasn't big problem.
I have more questions, but maybe for first time it is enough.
Please answer in ENGLISH.
Thank you.
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Edited by - Rorkas on 03/07/2007 12:41:10
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prozirna senka
stripovi.com suradnik
USA
8230 Posts
Member since 22/04/2004 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 08:21:15
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Uh, I am not sure that I am competent to answer on your questions, but let me try. For example, I can say that from all magazines you mentioned above only serbian Stripoteka is still publishing on the monthly basis. And yes, as far as I know Stripoteka has been running by couple of people that you can see (actually, their names;-)) in impressum. This is very common among southslavic publishing companies, all of them are small and weak, made by one or two or three people, extremly depending on their reader and their buyers power. You should also know that country that you named in your post is dead for long time, therefore we don't have one market of 22 mils anymore, now it is divided into 5-6 small markets. Plus, after a decade of war and economic destruction, it is very hard, if not impossible to sell comics in those countries. Comic books become luxury now, expensive things. Some copyrihts have higher, some lower costs, but in either way publishing houses in southslavic states can't count on their goverments' support.
As of circulation, I have no knowledge for Stripoteka, but I guess that is less than 10 000 copies.
As of communistic period, I guess we were "lucky"; our dictator tried to make some balance between East and West, so lot of Western culture has been imported, especially music and movies. During sixties, comic book market simply exploded; suddenly we had all kisoks around whole country overhelmed by brend new comic magazines, editions, etc... It is hard to admit, but majority of these guys on this (and the other) forum are nothing but the relict of these "glorious" days of comics.
We are just comic books dinosaurs, waiting for our doom day;)
Cuvajte, cedo moje milo, jezik kao zemlju. Rec se može izgubiti kao grad, kao zemlja, kao duša. Ne uzimajte tudu rec u svoja usta. Uzmeš li tudu rec, znaj da je nisi osvojio, nego si sebe potudio. |
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zmcomics
Average Member
722 Posts
Member since 24/08/2002 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 08:32:36
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Stripoteka je 80-tih znala da dostigne tiraz i od 100.000, cak je i YU Strip znao da ima tiraz od 30.000. Tada su se strip izdanja u Forumu gasila kada je tiraz padao ispod 35 hiljada.
Ajd, neka mu to neko sroci, moj inglis je kilav za pisanje, a necu ovde pred svima da se brukam...:)
_________
STRIP VESTI svakog petka na www.zmcomics.co.yu |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 10:30:22
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quote:
[i] You should also know that country that you named in your post is dead for long time, therefore we don't have one market of 22 mils anymore, now it is divided into 5-6 small markets.
Dear Prozirna senka,
of course I know about it.
I was talking excactly about the past, not present :)
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Edited by - Rorkas on 19/03/2006 10:37:21 |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 10:36:15
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quote:
Originally posted by zmcomics
Stripoteka je 80-tih znala da dostigne tiraz i od 100.000, cak je i YU Strip znao da ima tiraz od 30.000. Tada su se strip izdanja u Forumu gasila kada je tiraz padao ispod 35 hiljada.
Ajd, neka mu to neko sroci, moj inglis je kilav za pisanje, a necu ovde pred svima da se brukam...:)
 big "tiraz" ... |
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jaki
Advanced Member
Croatia
26452 Posts
Member since 13/03/2004 |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 12:33:13
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Well, I don't know pretty well how it is right now in Russia and this topic isn't about it ;)
As I know they have some books published. Ukraine even have it's own periodical K9.
About rest USSR I don't know nothing. More you can check here: http://www.comics.aha.ru/
In USSR there was no comics (even for children), maybe some littel ecceptions, but I didn't heard about it. So south slavs are unicum, phenomenon.
In Lithuania (I don't know about other not slavic countries as Latvia or Estonia, but I think situation is almost the same like in my homeland) right now we have just magazines for kids: WITCH, SPIDER-MAN, DONALD DUCK and FLINTAS. And our site (which I am coopartner) www.komiksai.com
I was asking about STRIPOTEKA, because I have plans to start something familar (format, contest) and it is very important to know whole history of this as good tutorial, lesson or something :) |
Edited by - Rorkas on 19/03/2006 12:38:00 |
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marlowe
Advanced Member
.jpg)
Serbia
4279 Posts
Member since 24/09/2002 |
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mcn
Advanced Member
Croatia
6666 Posts
Member since 28/12/2002 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 13:36:26
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>I was asking about STRIPOTEKA, because I have plans to start >something familar (format, contest)
Well, zmcomics works for Stripoteka so he's best placed to answer the technical data. I can only say that those were the different times when black and white magazines were not so uncommon as these days and the b/w material was readily available from the publishers. These days, it's not so often a case since the publisher prefers to sell film and/or scans because that's the profit he does not have to share with the creators ... So, b/w is the format that is exclusive to alternative and more "arty" comics these days, although I guess that some of the classic strip materials are available.
The other question, of course, is whether today's audience will buy into something like Stripoteka or would they prefer a shiny little thing like K9, but you should know the best...:)
mcn
Dnevno svježe strip-vijesti na http://qstrip.blog.hr ; recenzije knjiga i stripova na http://mcn.blog.hr *** Q STRIP 10 na svim kioscima! *** CCEtvrtkom: SERGEJ na www.zmcomics.co.yu ***Petkom: MARTINA MJESEC na www.stripovi.com i nova KVINTALOVA TJEDNA KARTICA u Strip Vestima (www.zmcomics.co.yu)! |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 16:56:03
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quote:
Originally posted by mcn
>I was asking about STRIPOTEKA, because I have plans to start >something familar (format, contest)
So, b/w is the format that is exclusive to alternative and more "arty" comics these days, although I guess that some of the classic strip materials are available.
The other question, of course, is whether today's audience will buy into something like Stripoteka or would they prefer a shiny little thing like K9, but you should know the best...:)
mcn
Hmm... but STRIPOTEKA (and for sample swedish magazine AGENT x 9) still publishes B/W comics.... I thought, that B/W comics to get is cheaper and easer.... I was wrong. |
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prozirna senka
stripovi.com suradnik
USA
8230 Posts
Member since 22/04/2004 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 18:17:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Rorkas
quote:
[i] You should also know that country that you named in your post is dead for long time, therefore we don't have one market of 22 mils anymore, now it is divided into 5-6 small markets.
Dear Prozirna senka,
of course I know about it.
I was talking excactly about the past, not present :)
If we are talking here ONLY about the past, then, if I am not mistaken, Stripoteka was publishing on weekly basis, and there were more than couple people in Forum Publishing House (home of Stripoteka). Also, we can't talk about copyrihts, circulations and profits, because in communistic regime, as you know, all companies were under government control, therefore it wasn't so unusual to have a lot of editions on kiosks that nobody reads. zmcomics, who is working for Stripoteka now is the best one to place your questions. He said in his post that another comic magazine, YU strip had circulation of about 30 000 copies...
Cuvajte, cedo moje milo, jezik kao zemlju. Rec se može izgubiti kao grad, kao zemlja, kao duša. Ne uzimajte tudu rec u svoja usta. Uzmeš li tudu rec, znaj da je nisi osvojio, nego si sebe potudio. |
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metabaron
New Member
177 Posts
Member since 25/01/2004 |
Posted - 19/03/2006 : 19:31:39
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zmcomics (Zlatko Milenkovic current editor of the magazine, I think) also mentioned that Stripoteka had a circulation of up to 100,000 copies in the 80s (the keyword there is up to and I'd be very interested to see some hard data). Also I am not sure if Zlatko meant print run or the circulation or the copies sold (that's all different in my opinion). Regardless that were pretty good numbers. The Bonelli's had a much greater print run - maybe 300,000 (someone correct me if I am wrong)
2-3 people can make a magazine like that and if you are thinking of running your magazine profitably I suggest you do the same. You can outsource to freelancers many other things you may need: design, promotion, translation, letterer etc. etc.
Yugoslavia, at the time, had many comics fans and artists - who are now mainly working for foreign publishers either in France-Belgium or USA. The 80s were really a renaissance of comics in Yugoslavia as evident by the number of magazines published and general enthusiasm of the people. The comics were not generally regarded as something for adult readers, but were well covered in mainstream media (you could find information on some upcoming comics magazine in newspapers or on TV and so on).
Most of the magazines you mentioned were printed on low quality paper which I doubt would find many readers today. They were also shoddily printed, poorly translated and with no real design or editorial consideration. But as you mention they certainly do have their charm. The world hasn't stopped turning however, and publishing a magazine of that quality would not sell well (no matter how poor or how much the readers complain). Your country may be different.
Yes, most of those magazines were not taxed, so basically a form of subsidy by the government. I am not sure if this kind of help for publishers is still in place today - I would assume not since the governments these days are inventing more or more things to tax. But again, I haven't lived there in 10 years so I really have no clue.
Regarding the copyrights/rights: didn't Stripoteka used to not pay for some comics that it published in the 80s - I remember reading something on that somewhere. And then that was the reason why some series were not completed. I could be wrong though. Also, Yugoslavia was not really a communist country. A lot of things that did come from "west" were simply given out. And rights for such a small country are not expensive. On the other hand, who knows, Yugoslavia was always in red, so some of that debt might have been these "genereously" given rights.
You should not worry so much about rights - the publishers are more than eager to sell you those and will work the discounts and terms. For French you pay upfront, but I think even that can be worked out once you have published more issues and they know you. Believe me that's the least of your worries. Selling the damn thing is what you should concentrate on. Ask yourself how many people in Lithuania read comics? Are there any comics stores there? Talk to retailers, booksellers to see what sells and what kind of readers would buy your magazine. Are there distributors? How will you promote your magazine? etc...
Distribution is actually the key - you should find it before you even start doing the first issue - I remember that Moscow publisher Nitussov went under after publishing just a few albums because they had no distribution.
I like the idea. Perhaps make a portion of the magazine b/w and the rest colour. Will you be selling these at newsstands or in bookstores (those are very different markets that require different perspective). You might want to get a killer cover. Unfortunately, sex really does sell in every country of the world, so if your magazine has some boobs and ass it just might get you into black. Anyway, if you work out the details you should be fine. I don't think you really have much competition there, do you?
Good luck. Let us know how it goes with the magazine. I am sure there are a few potential customers on this forum as well :)
I'll gladly translate back and forth if anyone else has any comments/suggestions. Perhaps some publisher would like to chime in? |
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tantus
Senior Member
Slovenia
1650 Posts
Member since 10/09/2003 |
Posted - 20/03/2006 : 08:32:54
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quote:
Originally posted by prozirna senka
It is hard to admit, but majority of these guys on this (and the other) forum are nothing but the relict of these "glorious" days of comics.
Što jes' jes'... |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 20/03/2006 : 08:52:36
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wow :) Thanks guys for information.
I have lots of reading.
New questions will follow soon :)
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Edited by - Rorkas on 20/03/2006 09:00:31 |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 22/03/2006 : 10:27:35
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quote:
Originally posted by marlowe
you might want to contact them at www.stripoteka.co.yu.
they should be able to tell you more about what you want to know.
___________
"In my Havana cabana I'll eat something sweet like banana..."
Well I prefer to ask people here- because I am not sure that at new STRIPOTEKA is working someone from older crew :) Anyway thanks for your help :) |
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marlowe
Advanced Member
Serbia
4279 Posts
Member since 24/09/2002 |
Posted - 22/03/2006 : 10:35:07
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quote:
Well I prefer to ask people here- because I am not sure that at new STRIPOTEKA is working someone from older crew :) Anyway thanks for your help :)
you shouldn't worry about that. basically, all the editors have been working there for a few decades. they have all the data you need.
___________
"In my Havana cabana I'll eat something sweet like banana..." |
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prozirna senka
stripovi.com suradnik
USA
8230 Posts
Member since 22/04/2004 |
Posted - 22/03/2006 : 10:53:07
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Oh, yeah, they are OLD(er):)
Cuvajte, cedo moje milo, jezik kao zemlju. Rec se može izgubiti kao grad, kao zemlja, kao duša. Ne uzimajte tudu rec u svoja usta. Uzmeš li tudu rec, znaj da je nisi osvojio, nego si sebe potudio. |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 23/03/2006 : 21:01:08
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Thank you very much to all :)
Now I am analyzing this information.
I am little bit ill right now, so after I feel better we will continue this idea tread :)
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/07/2006 : 10:38:33
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Zdravo :)
After some time I am back again with my boring questions.
I bought lot of vintage magazines from South slavian countries ( I am just waiting for couple issues of SUPER magazine- Stripovi aukcje is a wonderful). And I was flatered how many titles you had.
It was improvement, that you was GIGANTS in this case.
Works about running lithuanian comics magazine are not started yet. Now is idea to run comics fanzine circulation of 300 copies. It even has a title BAKTERIJA :) But nothing is sure about this project yet. But you guys was a inspiration for me.
Just one question for this day.
BALKAN EXPRESS- comics about Second World War in Stripoteka. Is it was published in single album? |
Edited by - Rorkas on 19/07/2006 10:39:31 |
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jaki
Advanced Member
Croatia
26452 Posts
Member since 13/03/2004 |
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mcn
Advanced Member
Croatia
6666 Posts
Member since 28/12/2002 |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 19/07/2006 : 15:38:02
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quote:
Originally posted by mcn
>BALKAN EXPRESS- comics about Second World War in Stripoteka. Is it >was published in single album?
It has never been finished either (and it was an adaptation of a movie/TV series in the first place).
mcn
That's a pitty :(
Thanks MCN :) |
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Cilipin
Starting Member
22 Posts
Member since 26/01/2004 |
Posted - 20/07/2006 : 07:13:06
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I'm afraid I can't answer any of you questions, because I have never lived in Yugoslavia or any of the new countries, but I also am a big fan of all the magazines you mentioned. Stripoteka, Strip Art, Super, Gigant, Ex-Almanah, etc. are all remarkable for the great variety of material that they present and the variety of ways in which it is presented. They include everything from jokes to drama.
Some issues contain entire stories in a single issue, others have stories in serial form. When you pick up an issue, you are never sure exactly what you are going to get. I can't think of a single publication in the United States that is similar to, say, Stripoteka. If you are serious about starting a new magazine of this type, please keep in mind the variety factor. I think that is one of the things that keeps publications like Stripoteka going. Anyway, I wish you luck in your magazine project.
By the way, I'm surprised that you can read these publications at all. Serbian and Croatian are difficult languages.
Cilipin |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 20/07/2006 : 09:17:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Cilipin
By the way, I'm surprised that you can read these publications at all. Serbian and Croatian are difficult languages.
Cilipin
Not everything I can understand. I think I mentioned, that I know pretty well polish language, which is very commmon to mentioned languages. Of course I wish to learn more these languages, but there is no lithuanian- serbo/croatian learning material.
Thank you very much for your kind words  |
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verter
Advanced Member
Bosnia and Herzegovina
4877 Posts
Member since 30/04/2002 |
Posted - 20/07/2006 : 10:50:11
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"but there is no lithuanian- serbo/croatian learning material."
but, there is english - bosnian/croatian/serbian language learning material 
"…Some people will say anything to be thought of as clever and interesting…" |
Edited by - verter on 20/07/2006 10:50:27 |
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Rorkas
New Member
Lithuania
264 Posts
Member since 17/03/2003 |
Posted - 20/07/2006 : 12:19:48
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quote:
Originally posted by verter
"but there is no lithuanian- serbo/croatian learning material."
but, there is english - bosnian/croatian/serbian language learning material
"…Some people will say anything to be thought of as clever and interesting…"
It could be useful, but my english isn't very good to learn other languages through it ;) |
Edited by - Rorkas on 20/07/2006 12:20:18 |
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