Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Alan Moore, Comic Mart, Dave Elliott, Fast Fiction, forbidden planet, Hassan Yusuf, joel meadows, Joseph Melchior, london, mark stafford, Mike Conroy, neil gaiman, nick landau, paul gravett, sam hart
The Story Of The London Comic Mart, Still Going Strong After 55 Years
The Story Of The London Comic Mart, Still Going Strong After 55 Years, in Video, Photos And Memories
Article Summary
- London Comic Mart marks 55 years of comics trading, from a 1970 pub mini-con to today’s Royal National Hotel event.
- The London Comic Mart history runs through Frank Dobson, Nick Landau, Rob Barrow, Mike Conroy and Titan.
- Westminster Comic Marts became a key hub for UK comics fans, pros, small press creators and Eagle Awards moments.
- Now run by Showmasters, London Comic Mart stays a bimonthly haven for back issues, dealers, collectors and pub talk.
I went to the latest London Comic Mart at the Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury again yesterday. Bumped into all manner of folk, comics book retailers and comic convention organisers from decades past, as well as the likes of Dave Elliott, Mark Stafford, Sam Hart, Hassan Yusuf, Joseph Melchior, Joel Meadows, Paul Gravett and more…
The earliest precursor was a small “mini-con” in 1970, organised by Frank Dobson, editor of the fanzine Fantasy Advertiser. He and fellow comic book dealers rented the upstairs room of The Eagle pub in Clerkenwell, London, for a dealers’ gathering.
The first official Comic Mart took place in 1972 at Lyndhurst Hall in Camden Town, organised by Rob Barrow, publisher of Comic Fandom Bulletin and Nick Landau, who had run the 5th British Comic Art Convention earlier that year, and would later go on to co-found Forbidden Planet and Titan Books, which he still owns and runs with his wife Vivian Cheung. Dobson’s Fantasy Advertiser successor, Dez Skinn, who would later be a Marvel UK editor, then published Warrior and Comics International, had planned a competing event but cancelled it upon learning of theirs. A second mart followed on 24 February 1973 at the same venue.
Rob Barrow and Nick Landau expanded the events in frequency and size through the mid-1970s, using venues such as Holborn Assembly Hall and Central Hall Westminster. In 1975, with Rob Barrow focusing on Comicon, Landau continued the marts alone. By 1976, the organisers had split. Nick Landau ran larger “comic mart” events, now sometimes charging a small admission fee, while Rob Barrow, via Fantasy Domain, launched competing, more intimate “Comic Book Marketplace” events, returning to Lyndhurst Hall on Sundays. Mike Conroy, who would co-foundThe Eagle Awards, took over the comic marts in 1978 to work at IPC Magazines, but returned in 1979 via his new company, Titan Distributors, at Central Hall, Westminster. The two shows largely alternated months into the 1980s, and regional offshoots appeared in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, and elsewhere, organised by various promoters.
London Comic Mart August 2026/Rich Johnston
London Comic Mart August 2026/Rich Johnston
Then Showmasters, organisers of the twice-annual London Film and Comic Con, took over and relaunched the events as the London Comic Mart, held every two months at the Royal National Hotel. The show has grown, bringing in more dealers, but not growing beyond the venue. Today, the event features around 100 trader stalls of various sizes, focused on American back issues from the golden age to the present day, classic British comics, original comic book art, new comic book publishers, and related items. They also usually feature comic book fans selling their comic books directly to the public or to other dealers. Entry is typically early-bird paid access, followed by low-cost or free later entry. It remains a dealer /collector-oriented fair aimed at hardcore back-issue hunters rather than a comic-con experience, though occasional creators or guests do appear. It continues as one of the longest-running regular comic trading events in the UK. And everyone still goes to the pub afterwards. Take a look at yesterday’s show in TikTok…
@thatrichjohnston Excellent Wall Of Comics at the London Comic Mart August 2026 #london#comics ##bleedingcool♬ Take Hart – The Gallery – Studio Players
@thatrichjohnston Incognito Comics at the London Comic Mart August 2026 #london#comics#bleedingcool♬ original sound – Rich Johnston
@thatrichjohnston Pete’s Comics at the London Comic Mart August 2026 #comics#london♬ original sound – Rich Johnston
@thatrichjohnston Chris’ Excellent Comics at the London Comic Mart August 2026 #london#comics#bleedingcool♬ original sound – Rich Johnston
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