Meanwhile, in 1986...

Here's a blast from the past from 38 years ago. The advert for UKCAC '86, the United Kingdom Comic Art Convention that took place in September 1986.

I remember this very well. It was only my third time as a guest. I've lost count of the number of conventions I've been to since. Back then, the annual UKCAC event was pretty much the only comic con in the UK so practically everyone in the industry would be there. 

1986 was a great year for comics. Watchmen and The Dark Knight were released, and Oink! had been launched. There was a positive vibe in the air and, as most of us were still relatively young, we were full of fresh ideas and optimism. 

Although comic cons were few and far between back then, many of us would regularly meet up at the Westminster Comic Marts which I think took place every 6 or 8 weeks. They were very happy times and I'm glad I was part of that.

Sadly, several of the names listed in the ad are no longer with us, but they're fondly remembered. The best of times.

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Material from the UKCAC86 Convention Booklet

UKCAC, the United Kingdom Comic Art Conventions of the 1980s and '90s were usually the only comic cons that took place in Britain back then. Which meant that practically everyone working in comics would be there if they could, along with everyone involved in comics fandom.

They were great days, and those shows (which took place in central London) were part of a vibrant time for the UK comics industry. 2000AD, Viz, Warrior, Deadline, Marvel UK, Knockabout, Escape... it was an incredibly creative era and very exciting to be part of that fresh new wave of UK comics.

Those annual UKCAC shows wwre organised by Frank Plowright, Hassan Yusuf, and Andrew Littlefield, and they also produced a chunky convention booklet for attendees. The booklets would be full of brand new art contributed by the attending artists, and the original pieces would be auctioned off at the end of the show for charity.

At the top of this post is the page I drew for the UKCAC'86 booklet, back when Oink! had just started.

I also contributed a little strip for the Convention Etiquette page. As we know, the scene in this strip did actually happen to Alan Moore at a UKCAC show and has been recounted many times. I've forgotten when it took place but presumably it must have been in 1985 which is why I drew this strip the following year...

I'll never sell those booklets as they're part of very happy memories for me, however I have a spare copy of the 1986 one so I've put that on eBay this week. It contains new art by Alan Davis, Kevin O/Neill, Bryan Talbot, Brian Bolland and many more, including the strip above! 

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204474710656?hash=item2f9ba47a80:g:BiQAAOSw7BllEETC

While we're at it, here's another page from the UKCAC'86 booklet. An advert I was commissioned to design, advertising a new comic shop in Birmingham; Shadowland. Sadly the shop didn't survive for long, but at the time it was part of that giddy, optimistic time in British comics history. 

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Pathetic Sharks at UKCAC '91

How times fly. Thirty years ago I was the regular artist (and often writer) on The Pathetic Sharks strip for Viz. I took over after editor Chris Donald decided to scale back his work on the comic and I wrote/drew various strips for Viz for many years.

I was a regular guest at the United Kingdom Comic Art Conventions (UKCAC) in London back then too, and every year guests would be asked to draw a page for the convention booklet. The original art was then auctioned off for charity on the last day of the con. 

Here's the page I did in 1991 featuring the Pathetic Sharks for the UKCAC '91 Convention Book. I had to run the page past Viz for approval of course, as they own the characters. Chris Donald added the joke about Denis Gifford. 

 

30 years ago...

Thirty years ago this week, over the weekend of 5th/6th September 1987, a few of us appeared on a comics panel at UKCAC'87, the United Kingdom Comics Art Convention that was held annually in London. 

From left to right: moderator Theo Clarke, me (in Oink! T-shirt), Ed McHenry (swigging pop), David Leach, Davy Francis (hidden behind David Leach), Jeremy Banx. 

We were there to promote Oink! comic, which was in the middle of its two and a half year run by that stage and firing on all cylinders. It was the first time that most of us had met and I still keep in touch with David Leach to this day. A great friend. 

We shared the panel with editors/creators from Viz, and the theme of the panel was to try and set up some sort of rivalry but none of us were really into that. We were all on the same side; making comics we enjoyed. 

Does it seem like 30 years ago? Yes, definitely. A lot has happened in life since then and 1987 feels like a lifetime ago. They were good days; most of us were relatively new to the business and full of enthusiasm and ideas. Thankfully, Oink! happened at just the right time as an outlet for those ideas. There's been nothing quite like it since, and that's a shame. However, the enthusiasm and ideas are still there. Long live comics! 

The 7 Ages of Fan

Thanks to Alex De Campi for reminding me on Twitter yesterday of this cartoon I did back in 1998. It was drawn for the con booklet of that year's United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (UKCAC) and auctioned off for charity. I can't remember who bought it, but if you're out there, thanks!

Speaking of Alex, check out her current comic series Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight from Dark Horse. Good trashy adult comic horror! The latest issue (Flesh Feast of the Devil Doll) features artwork by Gary Erskine, so what's not to like? 
http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/22-748/Grindhouse-Doors-Open-at-Midnight-7