WHAT IF...?

Imagine if you will, an alternate Earth where instead of the public being mad keen on sport and reality shows, comics are the biggest form of entertainment in the world. In this wonky parallel history, kids grow out of an interest in football but they all love the arts, and are voracious readers of comics! The works of Tom Browne, Roy Wilson, Jack Kirby, Alan Moore, Leo Baxendale and all the greats are taught in schools alongside that of Shakespeare and Dickens.  Every newsagent has half the shop devoted to comics, as they sell out within days of stocking them. Kids queue around the block for the latest collections of their favourite creators. Ice Cream Vans are converted into Comic Vans to tour suburban areas selling comics. Instead of vaping, teenagers gather on park benches to read the latest issues of Wham! or Comic Cuts (yes, they're still going, with sales in their millions). Hollywood is about to release the 140th movie in the popular Ally Sloper franchise.  Amidst this time of plenty, Lew Stringer Comics has offices in London, Paris, and New York where I employ hundreds of comics artists and writers working on creator-owned projects. Combat Colin has just celebrated its 1,000th issue, published in numerous languages across the globe. There are plans for a Sgt.Shouty theme park on the Moon, and I live with my wife the enigmatic European comics artist Caramba Inkpot in a fully automated environmentally friendly sky mansion floating above Birmingham. Ha! This is all a complete fantasy I've just made up of course, and a far cry from the grim reality, but it's simply a bit of fun. Hope it entertained you, because when it comes down to it, this business is all about entertainment.   *************