Catchall term for a series of British comic book trade fairs
Comic Mart
Status
Defunct
Genre
Comic books
Venue
Comic Mart: Central Hall Westminster Comicbook Marketplace: Lyndhurst Hall, Kentish Town
Location(s)
London; offshoots in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and other cities
Country
United Kingdom
Inaugurated
1972
Most recent
c. 1998
Organized by
Rob Barrow & Nick Landau (1972–1974) Nick Landau/Titan Distributors (1975–1977, 1979–1992) Rob Barrow/Fantasy Domain (1976–2011)
Comic Mart is the catchall term for a series of British comic book trade fairs which were held in the United Kingdom from 1972 until the early 1990s. The Comic Mart was one of the earliest recurring public comic events in the UK, predated only by the British Comic Art Convention. Comic Mart began in London, eventually expanding to Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, among other locations. The first few Comic Marts were organized and produced by Rob Barrow and Nick Landau; eventually they split up to produce competing versions of the event, and were joined by other regional organizers.
Unlike comic book conventions, which typically featured publishers, creators, panel discussions, and other activities, Comic Marts (which were generally one-day affairs) were primarily organized around dealers selling comics to individual customers. The emphasis tended to be on hard-to-find American comics: Golden Age and Silver Age comics, as well as new titles, which were not distributed to the UK with any regularity in the early 1970s. As the marts became more popular, however, British comics professionals began to congregate and socialize at the shows and afterward in pubs nearby[1][2][3] (such as The Westminster Arms).
^Plowright, Frank. "Kevin O'Neill," The Comics Journal #122 (June 1988), p. 96.
^Yang, Sam (October 1991). "A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine and Eddie Campbell". The Comics Journal. 1 (145): 62.
^Spurgeon, Tom. "James Robinson: Rising Star," The Comics Journal #199 (Oct. 1997), p. 65.
A comic book convention (one-day event) or comic con is a fan convention with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book...
ComicMart is the catchall term for a series of British comic book trade fairs which were held in the United Kingdom from 1972 until the early 1990s....
produced the bimonthly Westminster ComicMarts, and operated Titan Books. In 1973, when only a small range of US comic books were available in British news...
Comicon '72, the fifth ever British Comic Art Convention. Later that year, Landau created the London ComicMart, a one-day event held at Lyndhurst Hall...
hiatus in 1982, the Eagle Awards returned in 1983, presented at the London ComicMart by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The 1984 Eagle Award nominations were...
and Rob Barrow, who by that time were promoters of the competing London ComicMart shows. Landau and Barrow managed to put on a one-day Comicon on 22 July...
England (2004–2014) — successor to Comic Festival Comic Festival, Bristol, England (1999–2004) — began as "Comic 99" ComicMart, London (1972–c. 1987) Hi-Ex...
Magazine #2: Comicon Special (May 1974). "Britain's Largest Comic Fan Gathering: ComicMart," ComicMart Magazine (Jan. 1974). Fox, M. Steven. "Tales from the...
ComicMart Liverpool advertisement, Bemusing Magazine #11 (Nov. 1976), p. 15. Sarno, Joe. "The Captain's Veranda by Joe Sarno," C.B. Weekly (Comic Book...
and Alan Davis (#8). News Feature: American comic industry news column from Frank Plowright. ComicMart: where readers could post the comics they had...
Higgs' The Cloak". www.crazedchimp.co.uk. "The February ComicMart," Comic Media & The Comic Reader UK Edition Newsletter #3 (Feb. 1973). Higgs entry...
advertisement". Fantasy Advertiser. No. 70. November 1981. p. 17. ComicMart advertisement, The Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain. Archived at My Little...
defunct, the Comica Social Club Meet-Up became affiliated with the London ComicMart. In March 2023, the Comica brand was revived as a monthlong series of...
1983) were announced/presented at the Birmingham Comic Art Show, on Saturday, June 2, 1984. London ComicMart, Central Hall Westminster, on Saturday, June...
"The February ComicMart," Comic Media & The Comic Reader UK Edition Newsletter #3 (Feb. 1973). Miller, John Jackson. "GOETHE/COMIC FAN ART AWARD WINNERS...
Liu Xijong, Chinese comics artist, dies at age 58 or 59. February 24: ComicMart (Lyndhurst Hall, London, England) — second such event, organized by Rob...
partner" Peter Stanbury managed the Fast Fiction table at bi-monthly ComicMarts held in Westminster Hall. Gravett invited artists to send him their homemade...
which began as a stall run by Paul Gravett at the bi-monthly Westminster ComicMart in London in 1981. It later developed into an anthology, a mail order...
outlets. In early 1986 Neptune Comics also began selling at regional ComicMarts in cities such as Leeds and Sheffield, and by mid-1986 began supplying...
Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nodell was the son of Jewish...
Simpsons Movie a special "Radioactive Man Comic Book Edition #711" was sold at 7-Elevens as part of their Kwik-E-Mart promotion. Within the Bongo Comics, Radioactive...
the pen-name Mart Dellon) created the first Green Lantern in collaboration with Bill Finger. He first appeared in the Golden Age of Comic Books in All-American...
Simpsons Movie a special "Radioactive Man Comic Book Edition #711" was sold at 7-Elevens as part of their Kwik-E-Mart promotion. Within the Bongo Comics, Radioactive...
Comic book collecting is a hobby that treats comic books and related items as collectibles or artwork to be sought after and preserved. Though considerably...
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