Comic conventions in the UK began in Birmingham in 1968, inspired by American comic cons that had been around a few years earlier. The first British one was organized by Steve Moore, Phil Clarke and Mike Higgs and took place in the Midland Hotel, Birmingham, on August 30th to September 2nd 1968. UK comics fandom owes a huge debt of gratitude to Odhams' comics for freely publicizing the event on its News From the Floor of 64 page in Pow!, Smash!, and Fantastic. Of course it helped that Steve Moore was on the staff...
Those comics were also happy to acknowledge the fanzines. Case in point being their plug for Tony Roche's Heroes Unlimited zine...
The first UK convention I attended was 11 years later, for Comicon 79 held at the NEC near Birmingham. The guest of honour was Steranko (and I'm pleased to say I briefly met the living legend). Here's the ad for that 1979 convention, from the pages of Bem fanzine. Just look at those ticket prices. £5 for a 3 day ticket, £3.50 for 2 days. (My pals and I went for 2 days.)
The 1970s were a golden era for comics fandom, or at least that's how it felt to those of us involved with it. Some say those days are long gone, but I think that's just cynicism and old age talking. If anything, fans have it better than ever now!
I've been browsing through the list of comic events at comicconventions.co.uk and counted no less that 48 shows for 2015! Forty eight! All at various locations across the UK.
Now admittedly some of those shows are heavily dependent on guests from the world of film and genre TV and comic guests are sometimes in the minority. Nevertheless, the shows do feature a comics element to various degrees, and most do have tables selling comics. Then there are the shows such as The Lakes Comic Art Festival and ICE, which are entirely devoted to comics.
Compare that to the 1970s through to the 1990s, when we had just one annual comics convention (if we were lucky) that was usually centered in London or Birmingham. That was ideal for those of us with easy access to those cities, but not so good for people North of Manchester or out in Ireland. There were the comic marts as well of course, although their sole purpose was to feature stalls selling comics and it was rare that other events would be included.
I really do think that we're now in a new golden age for comics fandom. With so many events in numerous locations it should be possible for most people with an interest in comics to attend at least one. Also, the rise of the Internet has allowed communication between fans 24/7 and immediate news updates. No more waiting two months for the next issue of a fanzine, and writing a Letter Of Comment that wouldn't appear until the following issue. (On the downside, admittedly the Internet has given an equal platform for trolls and crazies to abuse that freedom, whereas in the days of fanzines any letters from cranks could be tossed into the bin unpublished.)
The Internet and the proliferation of conventions has also strengthened the sense of community in fandom. In the past, we may have had our local comic pals we'd see at marts, or meet up with every week, but all those pockets of fandom can also now interact with each other online. It's also now far easier for fans and creators to communicate thanks to social media, and more opportunities to meet at events.
The old comics fanzines have been replaced by blogs and websites but the small press scene has exploded. Thirty years ago, Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury were doing fans a great service with their Fast Fiction table at the Westminster Comic Marts, where they'd sell everyone's 'zines for a small percentage. These days the small press comics are legion, with creators having their own tables at events. We've also seen an increase in production standards of small press comics thanks to desktop publishing software and digital printing.
Even back in the 1970s there were those who disliked fanzines moving to litho printing because it made them look "too slick" and "less fannish" than stencil printing. That attitude still prevails today in some quarters, with a feeling that some comic shows have become "too big". But if things naturally evolve you can't hold them back. I thoroughly enjoyed those old fanzines and the old conventions, but I was much younger then so they held the magic that things do when they're fresh and new. I'm sure that today's 20 year old fans attending their first comic show, or entering a comic shop for the first time, are experiencing that same sort of magic today.
If you've never attended a comics event for whatever reason, try and give them a go if you can. (And if there's anything putting you off, post your thoughts in the comments below.) I'll be a guest at the Birmingham Comics Festival on April 18th and the International Comics Expo also in Birmingham on September 5th. I'll also be at a couple of others in other locations but I'll wait until the organizers announce it before I post the news here. I hope to see you at some of them!
UK comic conventions list for 2015:
Comic marts are still around too! (No guests or events. Just tables selling comics and associated media.) Golden Orbit organize several around the country. Here's the list for 2015:
