British Comic Art Convention

The British Comic Art Convention was an annual fan-run comics convention in the United Kingdom during the late 1960s and 1970s. It was held in a number of locations and was popular with fans and comics professionals alike. "Comicon" as it was known was a popular venue for zine interviews and art sales, as well as panels, workshops, talks, a "fancy dress", auction and, what was considered a highlight, an all-night film show.
==History==
The first convention was organised by fan Phil Clarke, who patterned things on existing science fiction conventions and who shelled out £111 of his own money to rent the venue for the show, the Midland Hotel, Birmingham. A few months before the event, a promotional zine was released in order to raise funds and promote the event; the covers were done by Mike Higgs and Ken Simpson and inside was a two page editorial promoting the forthcoming event, followed by six pages of ads to raise money. The con was also promoted in Irish comics fanzine Heroes Unlimited (Issue #5, page 40) as well as pro comics Pow! and Smash!. 
Following on from the success of the first con, subsequent conventions were held, organised by fans and interspersed between Birmingham, London and Sheffield. There were no formal convention committees; in Dez Skinn's words:
This appeared to have backfired in 1973 when the convention was cancelled with only a month to go. The "official" reason was that the con was unable to compete with the smaller and regular "Comic Marts" with their free admission and cheaper dealer tables. However when Richard Burton published the news in Comic Media Newsletter #7, he revealed that Canadian fan and "Chairman" of the con, John Mansfield, who had promised to revolutionize the con and provide many American and European professional guests, had exaggerated his standing in American comics fandom. To the contrary, there were reports that some of the professionals would attend only if Mansfield had nothing to do with the con. 
The con went ahead, saved at the 11th hour by Nick Landau and Rob Barrow who moved one of their Comic Marts to the Waverly Hotel in London (scene of previous Comicons) and added talks, guests and events. The incident did rob the con of its momentum and the next con (organised by Rob Barrow) was markedly smaller and less-attended. Barrow continued to organise the convention over the next several years (1973-1978); in 1978 he ran two conventions, one in London and one in Birmingham. The Birmingham convention was a disaster, with cancelled GOHs, low attendance numbers due to a smallpox scare and hotel mix-ups"British Comic Art Convention" - Wikipedia. There were again two conventions in 1979, with two different organizing committees, with the London con (August 11-12) being touted as the "official" convention and the Birmingham convention (Aug 30-Sep 2) being called the "U.K. Comic Art & Fantasy Convention". However numbers were decreasing, possibly due to the decline in the mainstream comics industry on both sides of the Atlantic, and the final convention was held in 1981 (with no fan convention in 1980), organized by Dez Skinn and Frank Dobson. There would be no fan-run comic conventions in the United Kingdom after that until the United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (1985) and the Birmingham Comic Art Show (1986).
==1968 - Birmingham==
The con was held August 30-September 2, 1968 and almost 70 people attended. The official guests were Paul Neary, Jim Baikie, Steve Moore, Nick Landau and Frank Dobson. Phil Clarke, along with his girlfriend (later wife) Kay Hawkins and Steve Moore were the official organisers.
From attendee Dez Skinn:
===Program===
Due to an issue with the British Postal Service, the stencils for the intended con booklet never made it through the post, so a substitute was put together and printed two hours before the event started (!), written by Phil and illustrated largely by Mike Higgs. There was a formal program of events arranged, however, as con reports show, not all of it actually happened... 
Friday - August 30 
2:00 p.m. - Registration desk opens. 
7:00 p.m. - Official Opening by Phil Clarke and Stephen Moore; reading of good-will messages from Stan Lee, Ron Bennett and Biljo White. 
9:00 p.m. - Mini-auction. 
9:45 p.m. - Tapes of radio and T.V. shows - Dick Tracy cartoon film and The Shadow radio plays (postponed as equipment was unable to be used that evening)"Con Report" by Dave McCulloch (?) - Comicon 1968 Souvenir Booklet. 
9:45 p.m. - free time/minging 
Saturday - August 31 
10:00 a.m. - Panel Discussion "Can You Beat The Experts?" - your chance to question, or maybe help, the Experts (Cancelled, with The Shadow radio plays being played instead) 
11:30 a.m. - Grand Auction of Comics - Oldies but goldies and some new issues. 
12:30 p.m. - Lunch. 
2:00 p.m. - Serial - first 6 chapters of Radar Men From The Moon; featuring Commander Cody, aka Rocket Man. 
4:00 p.m. - Panel Discussion "Old Comics Are Better Than New!" (Not held, in favour of participants returning to the dealer's tables) 
4:30 p.m. - Tea. 
5:30 p.m. - Feature Film - Jungle Jim, featuring Johnny Weismuller. 
Evening - Saturday Spectacular Fancy Dress Parade [[Image:1968-con-fancy-dress-980.jpg|Competitors for the Fancy Dress Competition. Captain Cold (Nick Landau) (runner up), Dr. Midnite (cosplayer unknown), Black Terror (cosplayer unknown), Shazam! (Phil Clarke), Red Skull (Ges Cleaver) and Cyclops (R. Lythe) (winner)|right|thumb]]
Midnight Dum-Dum - "Mostly for E.R.B. fans but all welcome" (ejected by hotel management for noise) 
Sunday 
10:00 a.m. - Business Meeting - bids for next year's Comicon.
11:30 a.m. - Auction - art work, scripts, etc.
12:15 p.m. - Lunch.
2:00 p.m. - Serial - final 6 chapters of Radar Men From The Moon.
4:00 p.m. - Talk by Steve Moore.
4:30 p.m. - Tea.
6:00 p.m. - Panel Discussion "The Men Behind The Super-Heroes" with Mike Higgs, Jim Baikie and Steve Moore.
Evening - The rest of the evening is free although final room parties will be the order of the day (Official Closure was announced at 7:00 p.m. with a final "mini auction" of all remaining property conducted to ensure the organisers did not operate at a loss)
11:00 p.m. - Official Close Down.
===Gallery===
File:1968-Comic-Fan-Special-front cover.jpeg|Front and back covers of the preview 'zine. Art by Mike Higgs, inks by Ken Simpson.
File:1968-Comic-Fan-Special-editorial-pg 1.jpg|Preview zine editorial by Phil Clarke, page 1
File:1968-Comic-Fan-Special-editorial-pg 2.jpg|Preview zine editorial by Phil Clarke, page 2
File:British ComicCon 1968.jpeg|Emergency program book front cover, art possibly by Ken Simpson.
File:1968-Convention-booklet-p4.jpeg|Emergency Program Book interior page 2 - list of members
File:1968-Convention-booklet-pg 3.jpeg|Emergency Program Book interior, page 3
File:1968-Convention-booklet-p5.jpeg|Emergency Program Book, interior. Art by Mike Higgs?
File:1968-Convention-booklet-p6.jpeg|Emergency Program Book Interior. Art by Mike Higgs?
File:1968-Convention-booklet-p7.jpeg|Emergency Program Book Interior. Art by Mike Higgs?
File:1968-Convention-booklet-badges-sheet1-e1293929315471.jpg|Emergency Program Book Interior. Art by Mike Higgs. This page was printed on heavy cardboard so that con-goers could cut out their own con badges.
File:British ComicCon 1968 v2.jpeg|Official Program Book, front cover by Jim Baikie
===Convention Reports===
==1969 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1970 - Sheffield==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports ===
==1971 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1972 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
=== Convention Reports===
==1973 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1974 - London==
=== Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1975 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1976 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1977 - London ==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==1978==
===London===
====Program====
====Gallery====
====Convention Reports====
===Birmingham - "Comicon II"===
==== Program====
====Gallery====
====Convention Reports====
==1979==
===London - British Comic Art Convention 11===
====Program====
====Gallery====
====Convention Reports====
===Birmingham - U.K. Comic Art & Fantasy Convention===
====Program====
====Gallery====
====Convention Reports====
==1981 - London==
===Program===
===Gallery===
===Convention Reports===
==Resources==
*"Flashback to 1968: Art from the very first British Comics Convention" by John Freeman - downthetubes.net - May 2/15 (via Wayback Dec 10/23)
*"Early days of UK comics conventions and marts" by Dez Skinn, Dez Skinn Dot Com, Oct 9/11 (via Wayback Feb 11/12)
*"UK Comic Cons: It All Started 55 Years Ago..." by Lew Stringer - Lew Stringer Comics blog, Aug 28/23 (via Wayback Mar 14/24)
*"Conventions of the past" by Lew Stringer - Lew Stringer Comics blog, Sep 27/20 (via Wayback Mar 3/21)
*"ComiCon 1979... 40 years on" by Lew Stringer - Lew Stringer Comics blog, Sep 1/19 (via Wayback Jun 24/21)
*"British comic conventions, 1970-1976" by Richard Sheaf - Boys' Adventure Comics, Aug 31/20 (via Wayback Aug 31/21)
*"50th Anniversary Comicon Special" by David Hathaway-Price - Fanscene #2 - The Fanscene Project archive.
==References==
Category:1968 Conventions
Category:1960s Conventions
Category:1970s Conventions
Category:1981 Conventions
Category:Comics ConventionsCategory:Conventions in United Kingdom