This is our interview with the team behind TheCOMSBible, a magazine available in both digital and print formats focusing on virtual racing.
In an era where news can’t come to us fast enough, a few individuals who were mutually passionate about sim racing came together with a vision to create a monthly magazine. Eschewing the typical rapid-fire nature of how we consume information about our hobby, TheCOMSBible instead takes the time to explore certain facets in detail.
We had a chance to interview the team behind this exciting and unique project to ask them about the past, present and future of their magazine.
Can you tell us how the idea of TheCOMSBible came about, and how the team came together on this project?
(Chris): I had the idea of starting a central hub for the sim racing community before the first UK lockdown in March 2020. I spoke to Tom and Aaron, the pitched idea & came up with the name TheCOMSbible, short for The Commentary Bible because we all did commentary streams at the time. Then after a couple of weeks of going through ideas, Tom showed me and Aaron a front cover of the proposed magazine and we both just said to Tom "do it". That's literally how the magazine started, plus with Tom's background with karting write ups (he does an amazing job at it) and Aaron's gift to bring big names and also our passion for esports it was a no brainer. We became the first sim racing magazine which is incredible and we hope it continues.
Can you give us an idea of the type of content or recurring articles that people can find in the magazine?
(Tom): We have a few recurring articles at the moment. The biggest being ‘The iRacing diaries’, which has been documenting my journey down the rabbit hole that is iRacing, both in terms of cost and learning the platform. I’m loving the project at the moment so I think that one is going to be with us for the long hall. We also have our community look book, which showcases some of our favourite liveries and designs from the world of sim racing, as there are some really talented designers out there. Then there is our ‘behind the…’ series, which sees us put a series of questions to drivers, teams & league organizers to see what makes them tick. Finally, our partners over at GridFinder also produce some amazing articles for us every month, they really are a highlight for us.
Was there any concern that a printed magazine might be too niche as an anchor to build the company around, or is this a deliberate response to the fast-paced world of online content?
(Tom): I think it’s a great basis for us to build from. We have seen that quite a lot of people like the idea of being able to sit down, relax and browse what has been going on over the course of the last month. It also provides another way to consume content, instead of just surfing on your phone. To create a sustainable business, the magazine will only be one pillar of TheComsBible, but it will be a very important one for us.
TheCOMSBible might be most synonymous with a paper magazine focused on sim racing, but can you tell us more about side-projects the team is engaged in or looking to build?
(Tom): We also have a YouTube channel that we use for broadcasting events from some of our partner series, these are always really good fun, especially when you get 2 or 3 of us in the coms box together. Chris also has his own Twitch channel (DeltaLiveTV), which he broadcasts on every Sunday night. I also run a karting news site (kartingeverything.com), which is dedicated to all things karting. We all have plans for the future, some of them rather more ambitious than others. But we are staying tight lipped about those for now.
Your most recent issue features sim racing’s biggest name, Jimmy Broadbent, along with Indycar and F1 superstar Romain Grosjean. How did you go about getting time with such big names?
(Tom): Short answer is: We have Sabean. Seriously though, Aaron has been instrumental in being able to get hold of big names by knowing which doors to start knocking on. I think the product we have developed has helped us out as well. We have been able to contact people, show them what we have done and they want to get involved with us. That’s quite flattering really.
How can people get their hands on your magazine?
(Tom): Easy! We have a digital version available via Issuu, with early access for our amazing Patreons. At the moment, printed copies can only be obtained through our ‘legend tier’ on Patreon, but we are looking into other solutions for this.
With so many impressive features already, it’s exciting to think about what might be next. Can you give our readers any information or teasers about any personalities or teams that you might feature in the future?
(Tom): It is tough to give names, but we are in talks with a couple of names from the F1 eSports grid, as well as some other top eSports drivers. We’re also in touch with a couple of rather well known content creators to try and put something together. But again, we can’t give any names just yet. In terms of new features, we have started working with Britcar to provide coverage for their upcoming eSeries, which will be part of the next few issues. We’re always on the lookout for new content and features, so if anyone wants to see something specific, then find us on our socials.
In an era where news can’t come to us fast enough, a few individuals who were mutually passionate about sim racing came together with a vision to create a monthly magazine. Eschewing the typical rapid-fire nature of how we consume information about our hobby, TheCOMSBible instead takes the time to explore certain facets in detail.
We had a chance to interview the team behind this exciting and unique project to ask them about the past, present and future of their magazine.
Can you tell us how the idea of TheCOMSBible came about, and how the team came together on this project?
(Chris): I had the idea of starting a central hub for the sim racing community before the first UK lockdown in March 2020. I spoke to Tom and Aaron, the pitched idea & came up with the name TheCOMSbible, short for The Commentary Bible because we all did commentary streams at the time. Then after a couple of weeks of going through ideas, Tom showed me and Aaron a front cover of the proposed magazine and we both just said to Tom "do it". That's literally how the magazine started, plus with Tom's background with karting write ups (he does an amazing job at it) and Aaron's gift to bring big names and also our passion for esports it was a no brainer. We became the first sim racing magazine which is incredible and we hope it continues.
Can you give us an idea of the type of content or recurring articles that people can find in the magazine?
(Tom): We have a few recurring articles at the moment. The biggest being ‘The iRacing diaries’, which has been documenting my journey down the rabbit hole that is iRacing, both in terms of cost and learning the platform. I’m loving the project at the moment so I think that one is going to be with us for the long hall. We also have our community look book, which showcases some of our favourite liveries and designs from the world of sim racing, as there are some really talented designers out there. Then there is our ‘behind the…’ series, which sees us put a series of questions to drivers, teams & league organizers to see what makes them tick. Finally, our partners over at GridFinder also produce some amazing articles for us every month, they really are a highlight for us.
Was there any concern that a printed magazine might be too niche as an anchor to build the company around, or is this a deliberate response to the fast-paced world of online content?
(Tom): I think it’s a great basis for us to build from. We have seen that quite a lot of people like the idea of being able to sit down, relax and browse what has been going on over the course of the last month. It also provides another way to consume content, instead of just surfing on your phone. To create a sustainable business, the magazine will only be one pillar of TheComsBible, but it will be a very important one for us.
TheCOMSBible might be most synonymous with a paper magazine focused on sim racing, but can you tell us more about side-projects the team is engaged in or looking to build?
(Tom): We also have a YouTube channel that we use for broadcasting events from some of our partner series, these are always really good fun, especially when you get 2 or 3 of us in the coms box together. Chris also has his own Twitch channel (DeltaLiveTV), which he broadcasts on every Sunday night. I also run a karting news site (kartingeverything.com), which is dedicated to all things karting. We all have plans for the future, some of them rather more ambitious than others. But we are staying tight lipped about those for now.
Your most recent issue features sim racing’s biggest name, Jimmy Broadbent, along with Indycar and F1 superstar Romain Grosjean. How did you go about getting time with such big names?
(Tom): Short answer is: We have Sabean. Seriously though, Aaron has been instrumental in being able to get hold of big names by knowing which doors to start knocking on. I think the product we have developed has helped us out as well. We have been able to contact people, show them what we have done and they want to get involved with us. That’s quite flattering really.
How can people get their hands on your magazine?
(Tom): Easy! We have a digital version available via Issuu, with early access for our amazing Patreons. At the moment, printed copies can only be obtained through our ‘legend tier’ on Patreon, but we are looking into other solutions for this.
With so many impressive features already, it’s exciting to think about what might be next. Can you give our readers any information or teasers about any personalities or teams that you might feature in the future?
(Tom): It is tough to give names, but we are in talks with a couple of names from the F1 eSports grid, as well as some other top eSports drivers. We’re also in touch with a couple of rather well known content creators to try and put something together. But again, we can’t give any names just yet. In terms of new features, we have started working with Britcar to provide coverage for their upcoming eSeries, which will be part of the next few issues. We’re always on the lookout for new content and features, so if anyone wants to see something specific, then find us on our socials.
