This week in 1968 saw the very first comics convention take place in the UK! It was at the Midland Hotel in Birmingham and was organised by Phil Clarke and Steve Moore, with a handful of guests that included Mike Higgs and Paul Neary.
The great thing was that Odhams gave it a plug in their comics Smash!, Pow!, and Fantastic on the News From the Floor of 64 page. (Steve Moore was on the staff at Odhams and perhaps wrote the news page himself.) "What's the floor of 64?" you may ask. Odhams' offices were at 64 Long Acre, London.
I wasn't at the 1968 con. I was only 9 at the time and it'd be another 11 years before I ventured to a convention.
From that 1968 acorn, mighty oaks did indeed grow, and various people have taken on the task of organising comics festivals ever since. They do a great job, often at huge expense from their own pocket and with a lot of stress and risk involved. Convention organisers are the true heroes of comics, bringing creators together that leads to work and more importantly friendships.
Originally only an annual event, there are now multiple shows that take place all across the UK throughout the year....
...or at least that's how it was before the pandemic! As with any events, lockdown hit comic shows badly, with hardly any taking place over the past 18 months. They're slowly returning but the virus is still raging across the country and this week it was announced that the Nottingham Comic Con would be postponed for another 12 months. However, Nor-Con will be taking place in Norwich in October, but I've cancelled my appearance there. I'm confident the organisers will ensure the guests and attendees are safe but my concerns are about long distance travel on public transport now that train operators have irresponsibly abandoned social distancing and mandatory mask requirements.
One show I will be a guest at this year is the Meanwhile festival on Saturday 18th September in the grounds of the old Coventry Cathedral. As it's not far for me to travel and the show is in the open air I feel more secure about attending. Possibly the only show I'm doing this year as con season will be wrapping up in a few months. Hope to see you there! Here's the link...
https://www.meanwhilefestival.com/
Why are you only called an artist on the Meanwhile page not artist and writer like other guests? I discovered your stories when you were writing STC for years and didn't you also write strips foe other comics?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've seen a b&w photo of the 1968 costume parade. Maybe on Down the Tubes or your old Blimey blog. I think there was a Doctor Midnite and a Captain Cold among the attendees.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that article one Saturday morning in '68. Sounded fascinating but it may as well have been on Mars for all the chance a sickly 8 year old from the North East had of getting there. Also, I wouldn't have been home in time for Doctor Who, although it was only The Dominators so I guess I could have missed it ......
I would have liked to have contacted wider comics fandom at that point because Summer '68 was the twilight of the Odhams Power titles. They were all gone - and deeply missed - by my ninth birthday.
Sobering to think that Jack Kirby had just turned 51 a day or so before this con, making him ten years younger than I am currently. It really was a long time ago.
Yes, it's a shame that the final issue of Pow! came out that very same weekend as the first convention. Smash! and Fantastic hung on for a little longer though but the Power age of comics was virtually over.
ReplyDeleteBadniktothebone I guess it was just an oversight. No worries. Yes, I've written most of my own strips since I started as well as writing many scripts for others to illustrate.
Regarding the 1968 con photos, they were reproduced in an issue of Crikey in colour. Phil Clarke as the original Captain Marvel, Carl Brookes as The Black Terror, and Nick Landau as Captain Cold.
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