CLiNT magazine - a year in view

It's been just over a year since I last posted about the inaugral issue of CLiNT magazine, created by Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar, where I heralded the dawn of a new age for British comics,

"It's an awesome concept and, like the its predecessors, combines much of the elements are prevalent in our social mindset and presents them in comic form" -- I actually said that.

So a year has gone by, but has CLiNT delivered on its promises?

CLiNT has broke new ground, certainly. Its mixture of more adult-themed comics and geek-culture features mark it out as somethig different, but that also has the drawback of stores not knowing where it belongs. In the three different places I usually get my copy, there have been issues of CLiNT nestled amongst comic books, sci-fi/ movie magazines and copies of Gay Times (the last one was kind of an odd placement, and always got me a few looks when I got to the till).

The magazine has also been riddled with delays. In the 12 months that the magazine has been standing, only ten issues have been released (as opposed to thirteen). the delays were such that each issue was about a month behind its proposed release date (meaning that each issue was released more or less when the next issue was due). Fans have since been assured of a steady, six-week schedule by Millar (who cites flagship comic Kick-Ass 2 as the main reason for the delays) but a number of fans have given up on the series altogether.

The content of the magazine itself is excellent. The comic has evolved to include more comics than features, but regular spots (such as Badass cinema) have begun to emerge. Of the comics, by far the best are Kick-Ass 2, Turf, The Pro and American Jesus. the worst by a long shot was Rex Royd by Frankie Boyle, which focussed more on confusing the readers than entertaining them (something Boyle admitted to in a later interview with CLiNT). Thankfully, this comic is on hiatus so the magazine can focus on better quality issues.

So has CLiNT become 'the comic for the 21st Century'? Not really. But it has a hell of a lot of potential and, if it can learn from its past mistakes, it will definitely become a lot more popular.