I was lucky enough to spend some time talking to and listening to Paul Mason and Andrew Constant on Saturday at the Perth Comic Con. Who are they you may be thinking? They are the creative team of the upcoming Kid Phantom which is due to come out from Frew in the next month or so.
For those who do not know, it was an eventful day as I had to look after my two year old princess who was happily very well behaved and was one of the better cosplayers of the day. Unfortunately due to KFS being stingy and not promoting the character well enough, she had to dress up as Supergirl but she is indoctrinated enough to be able to wow Paul and Andrew by pointing out they had the Phantom behind them - never to young to pump that purple addictive substance into their life.
Anyway, what did I learn? I must admit I have seen a few sneak peaks so a lot of what I saw did not surprise me, but what I did learn is that the creators are dead serious about this run. It is NOT just another pay packet for them. Paul and Andrew have been binge reading the Avon novels and newspaper stories in an effort to capture the Falkism in their creation and in Paul's case have even been watching the Billy Zane movie and 1943 serial - now how is that for effort? Something the Dynamite creators could learn from.
Second thing I learnt is that Glenn Ford, Rene White and Dudley Hogarth are not going to let Frew die lying down. They could've kept the course or even rested on their laurels from year one, but they have not. Kid Phantom is going to be a risk - I think we all realise that - but if it works, it could be the catalyst that sees the next generation of Australian phans.
The other thing I learnt was that Paul and Andrew were asking me more questions than I was asking them. Not that they were insecure about their newest affair, but they want this to be cool and something me, you, the next gen and the average Phantom phan enjoys.
One of the most important things I learnt during their panel which made me warm all over (and no it wasn't my daughters nappy overflowing) was that Frew are singing the same song as we have been on the Podcast, about the need for a hook to get those kids nagging their parents into submission over buying an edition of the Kid Phantom. Before you ask, they did not say what the hook is...
The last thing I learnt was that this is needed... There were about 20 people on the panel and maybe it was the timing, but comics isn't something the next generation are that into. Pop culture is HUGE at the moment but comics only play a small part of this. The Phantom as well as Frew need Kid Phantom to be popular. There is a long gap between that next generation and the past. At 33 I am considered a 'young' phan by many, but we need younger phans than me as unfortunately I am not that young anymore.
