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Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: comic shop, Diamond UK, mcm
From MCM, The Number Of Comic Shops Has Not Gone Down In Ten Years
Live From MCM London Comic Con: against the usual on-line narrative, the number of comic book shops has not gone down in ten years.
Article Summary
- MCM London Comic Con reveals UK's comic shop count stable for 10 years.
- Diamond UK's Mike Holmes to run CBLDF action, emphasizing store relevance.
- Survey shows 79% UK fandom prefers Marvel over DC at MCM event.
- MCM, acquired by ReedPop in 2017, continues its influential pop culture role.
Today's MCM London Comic Con is not just about the show floor. Up above the booths and cosplayers in the Platinum Suites are a series of industry talks, panels and lectures, from publishers, agents, marketers, and new companies trying to make an impact. Tomorrow, Bleeding Cool will be covering in depth the Diamond UK Retailer Day, but today after a series of presentations from marketing folk, including the survey from Experience 12 that in the UK, there are far more Marvel fans in the general populace than DC.-, as 79% prefer Marvel to DC. We also got to hear from Diamond UK's Mike Holmes. Who is also running the CBLDF signed/slabbed/tiered action tomorrow.
Talking about the role that comic book shops play in the cultural landscape, and going against the kind of narrative that some bad actors on YouTube prefer, Mike stated that the number of comic book stores over the last ten years and more, has been stable. Yes, some comic book stores have, and always have closed, including prominent ones. But also that comic book stores open. And that means, in the recent decade, it's basically been one in, one out. And while manga is playing a more prominent role, so are YA and middle-grade graphic novels.
Indeed, while there has been a massive manga boom, Mike observed that this has plateaued. It is still enormously successful, but is down on last year – a bit. And that at Diamond, they prefer predictable normality rather than occasional, unpredictable booms. I look forward to hearing how comic book retailers are handling that predictable normality tomorrow.
The MCM London Comic Con (formerly known as the London MCM Expo) is a speculative fiction fan convention held in the London Borough of Newham twice yearly, usually on the last weekend in May and October. The convention mainly focuses on video games, sci-fi, cosplay and popular media from the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, South Korea, France, Italy and elsewhere. There has, however, been no MCM London Comic Con for two years. Founded in early 2001 by Paul Miley (ScifiShows) and Bryan Cooney (Wolf Events), both well-known organisers within the fan convention entertainment industry, the show has expanded across the UK and Europe. In 2017, ReedPop acquired MCM and all of its events throughout the UK to add to its portfolio, including NYCC, ECCC, C2E2 and many more.
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