As I write this it has been a week since the paradigm-shifting comic event No Barcodes. It may only have been a week, but I still haven’t recovered.

No Barcodes was the first "convention" from the small press collective that brings you the London Underground Comics stall every Saturday. Like the stall, No Barcodes happened in Camden Lock market in London. But unlike the stall, No Barcodes dominated that market and had everyone, even the guy who sells doughnuts outside, talking.

The idea was simple – a comic convention run by the small press for the small press. If the trappings of the traditional comic convention are excised – the Transatlantic guests, the goodie bag, the public address system which always seems to cost a third of the budget – it can be run cheaply and with minimum hassle for the organisers.

The whole thing began with young Oli Smith, whose "Let’s Do It" attitude is inarguably impressive. When he first approached me about doing a weekly Camden stall I remember trying to convince him to wait a couple of weeks until I had less work on. He disagreed, suggesting that now is the best time to do anything. He’s probably right. And it’s that outlook that meant when the organiser of Camden Lock mentioned in passing that he’d like to do something interesting with the food hall he actually got something interesting. It was called No Barcodes.

One week after that conversation, Oli had made a video, Sean Azzopardi had screen printed a battery of posters and flyers and word had gone out.

Almost fifty comics creators showed up on the day, eager to hand over their fiver and in turn get a quarter of a table and a chance to sell their wares to the general public. And that’s precisely what happened.

"My favourite moment was when a passer-by stopped and asked me what was going on, Paul Rainey said. "I explained who we were, what we did, the diverse range of material available and the overall high quality of it to which he thanked me and left, I thought, to continue on to his original destination. Half an hour later, he reappeared and bought a couple of things from our table."

This reminds me of the time a few months ago when a young Eastern European gentleman showed up at the stall and asked what we were selling. He was baffled as he’d never actually read a comic. He became enthralled with the idea and walked away a few minutes later the proud owner of one of Andy Luke’s Revision Comics. Andy had this to say about No Barcodes: "The best comics festival I've ever been to!’ So there you go.

Everyone seemed to have a great day and sales were brisk by all accounts. But it’s not the selling that makes a comic convention, is it? No, it’s the socialising bit at the end. And who could argue that Camden is a far better location for that than an overpriced hotel bar?

"Sipping beer by the canal with a myriad of talented individuals was the culmination of a totally brilliant day, like the best kind of party, where you catch up with old mates and get to meet a load of fantastic new people,’ Francesca Cassavetti told me.

But what about the punters? I managed to track one down during the day-long buying frenzy. His name will be familiar to regular downthetubes readers, Matthew Badham. "No Barcodes surpassed all my expectations and then some," he feels. "It was a fun, productive and highly inspiring day. I went with the intention of spending no more than £30 on comics. I spent at least twice that.

"I could have done without being videoed though (especially as the clip ended up on the 'net without my permission). That was the only fly in the ointment though.’

I’ll leave the last word to the organiser-in-chief Oli Smith. When I asked him what the key to the success of the event was, he was controversial as ever.

"Comics geeks will enjoy anything if it's cheap".

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