The Missing Issues

Welcome.

Due to lack of time, effort and suitable hosting we've only had a few samples up on this site. From today you'll find more filtering on to fill the void. I'm currently trying zShare to host and the files are deleted if they receive no love or attention so get downloading - it's all free. If an issue is missing or delete and you want it, leave a comment and I'll do my best to reissue it. Enjoy.

Borderline #3 - October 2001

Featuring - Peter Bagge, Jerry Ordway, Mike Deodate Jnr, Shelton Bryant, Goscinny & Kurtzman, Mauricio de Sousa and lots more. 62 pages.

Borderline #5 - December 2001

Featuring - Fabien Nicieza, Studio Clamp, Wertham, Roger Langridge, Guy Davis, Ashley Wood, The Norm, Norway, Thunderbolts. 66 pages.

Borderline #7 - February 2002

Featuring - Glenn Dakin, Brazillians, John Buscema, Angouleme, Frank Miller, 2000AD, Mike Collins, Dragonball, John Charles, Dan DeCarlo. 64 pages.

Borderline #8 - March 2002

Featuring - Alejandro Jodorowsky, Simon Furman, Dean Haspiel, Ralf Konig, Rex Mundi, Mike worley, Steve Ditko. 64 pages.

Borderline

Borderline was one of the most innovative comics magazines of its kind. Created by former Comics International news and features editor, Phil Hall, Borderline was the world's first PDF comics magazine available to read on a computer or as a print out.

Launched as a free download, in August 2001, the magazine lasted 20 issues, plus two specials and won the prestigious Best Comics Magazine award at the 2002 National Comics Awards in the United Kingdom.

Borderline has been described as a cross between The Comics Journal and the NME with a heady mix of mainstream American and world comicbooks. Comics from countries such as Brazil, Poland and the Philippines were featured alongside comicbook icons.

Borderline had one of the most tumultuous rides in recent comicbook history. With over 150,000 people reading the magazine by issue #3, the magazine became the 'in-place' to be seen and subsequently the magazine had exclusive interviews with people who didn't normally do interviews. However, after a series of unfortunate events and unforeseen controversies, the magazine folded in the March of 2003. There was a special in the following summer, and that was to be followed by a new volume of issues, but to this day that has never appeared.

Borderline: The Comics Magazine was regarded by many as a definitive example of the 'all-encompassing' comics magazine, but critically, while it was immensely popular as a free download, when, through economic necessity, the magazine started to charge, an average of 100 people paid - there was just too much free web content available. Ironically, the majority of the people who did pay for the magazine came from either South America or Europe, with less than 10% from the UK or USA.

The final act for Borderline was when, because of the magazine's popularity in Poland, Phil Hall and publisher Martin Shipp attended the Łódź comic convention in October 2003. Invited as one of the major guests for the event (along with Pat Mills and Clint Langley), Martin Shipp was to reveal in an interview that it was 'one of the most humbling experiences of my life. A place where the people behind the scenes are just as important as the people who produce the actual comics.'

The principal contributors to the magazine were: Phil Hall, Martin Shipp, Mike Kidson, Andrew Cheverton, Jay Eales and Danny Black.

Others involved in the magazine included: Mike Conroy, Peter Ashton of Bugpowder, Paul Gravett, Ian Richardson, Frazer Irving, Selina Lock, Terry Wiley, Christopher Spicer, Paul Rainey and many others, who have gone onto secure freelance work through exposure given in Borderline.

Source : Wikipedia/Borderline

Borderline : Things get tough

A press release from the "dark days"....

End of the line for Borderline...

Posted: Wednesday, June 12

Dan Black send this important story to the smallpressnet mailing list earlier today...

After the ultimate high... comes the ultimate low...

Borderline - The winner of the Best Comics Magazine or Website in the 2002 National Comics Awards - is on the verge of closing down after an 11th hour rescue attempt was scuppered.

Borderline's editor, Phil Hall, had been in negotiations with a UK publisher to turn the award-winning PDF magazine into a newsstand distributed print magazine, but despite the publisher's valiant attempts, the plan hit the ultimate stumbling block when its distributor refused to take the comics magazine, claiming that there 'isn't a market for it' after 3 previous newsstand comics magazines had failed (the last of those being Comics World which folded in 1994).

We've got degrees of disappointment within the editorial team, some of them are just gutted. It means that my involvement with the magazine is coming to an end. I'm over 3K in debt and with no income in sight, I have to get a job, said Hall. But, as disappointed as I am, I'm damned proud of what my team and I have achieved, this has certainly been a year to remember.

Borderline needs operating and production costs to exist, mainly due to the workload of the main editorial team, who give all their time for nothing. But unfortunately the project has been dogged with bad financial luck. After signing a deal with Cool Beans World, the multi-media company went bankrupt owing over £2.4million and that announcement coincided with the arrival of Borderline's first pay cheque (which of course bounced, compounding the editor's woes). Attempts at attracting advertising have been beset by a lack of understanding from the industry.

There is little doubt that the downloadable PDF has had an incredible impact on the comics industry both for the fans and the creators. Many artists spotlighted in Borderline's Drawing Board and Young Guns features have been offered good jobs at the majors. The magazine has increased the profiles of many small press and independent creators, who would never have had the chance to see their work shown to a huge audience. It has also showcased comics from countries that most comics fans in the USA and UK weren't aware had comics industries. Yet, for all of its educational properties, it is still one of the most entertaining and professionally produced fan works ever produced.

Borderline isn't finished, there are people who are prepared to carry the flag, but ideally the people who should be running this magazine are those that created it.

Borderline Magazine Contents

Every website needs to mention the key points so the search engines know what to look for - so below is just a list of features from the Borderline Comic Magazine that I will update when I get the chance. Each issue was over fifty pages so the features listed are just the larger interviews and focus pieces - each issue of Borderline contained regular columns, reviews and news in addition to what is mentioned below.

Borderline Issue #1 : Maurice De Bévére, Derek Lord, Bryan Talbot, Metaphrog, Terry Wiley, Posy Simmonds, Frazer Irving, Franco-Belgian Comics

Borderline Issue #2 : Colleen Doran, Bries Publishing, Charlie Adlard, Simon Fraser

Borderline Issue #3 : Harvey Kurtzman, Mauricio de Sousa, Peter Bagge, Jerry Ordway, Mike Deodato Jr, Shelton Bryant.

Borderline Issue #4 : Ziraldo, Steve Lightle, Gerald Scarfe, Dreddcon 2001, Mike Carey, Fabian Nicieza, D'Israeli, Ian Richardson