James Bacon headed to Glasgow for the latest Commando and British Comic Swapmeet – and enjoyed his day… and two more are yet to come, later in 2024
Fabulously friendly, with thousands of comics, the atmosphere at the latest Commando and British Comic Swapmeet in Glasgow last Saturday was welcoming, and the surprising encounters pleasant, and the art on display and for sale was, simply, the icing on the cake.
The trek to the 29th Glasgow Sea Scouts Headquarters was one that many fans and professionals made last Saturday, converging to buy and talk comics and it was definitely worth it.
Kate McAuliffe from Commando comics was among the guests. It is always a delight to have the current editor at such an event. Kate’s knowledge of the title, and understanding, is a true insight into the process. As an accomplished Commando writer, with over half a dozen titles now in print by her hand, she appreciates both sides of the creative process, and what goes into it.
Gordon Tait, also from Commando, was on hand, and, as ever, delightful, and Commando editor emeritus Calum Laird was there too, unannounced. There all day, enjoying the event, he was frequently asked to sign Commando comics.
Commando writers Colin Maxwell and Stephen Hume, who was multitasking running the actual event, were also on hand, as were artists Colin MacNeil, who delighted many fans with sketches, some life long fans, so impressed that he was there, and Keith Burns. The latter had paintbrush in hand, and was rendering incredibly accurate paintings.
A fresh arrival to the Swapmeet scene was artist Gary Welsh, who has now drawn two Commando comic interiors. His most recent work, Commando 5707, “Duel in the Dark”, released last year, is a lovely comic, written by James Swallow, with a cover by Neil Roberts. (James talks about the story here on his web site).
There was much interest in original art, and there was a lot of it on sale, and at affordable prices.
Scouts from the 29th were once again on hand to help, and there was an extensive range of cakes, local delicacies, square sausage and bacon rolls, tea and coffee available. Plus, ample space to chat and talk – and the talk was good, as introductions were made and conversations began about areas of interest.
Stuart Steele and Edward Walker were back with a stupendous display of original art. This time they put the focus on Ian Kennedy and “Blank Covers of Johnny Red” with art by Ian, Patrick Goddard and Keith Burns amongst the many wonderful panels of art. Stuart and Ed have worked to bring in more collectors, and I was delighted to meet Joe Lang, who collects a wonderful mix of comic art, including girls, romance and TV comics, exhibiting an incredible selection of great variety. Some are huge and colourful, and so detailed; including an amazing selection of original pieces by Walt Howarth, recreating his covers, such as Batman World Adventure Library #2 from 1966.
Bruce Scott, Andy Yates, Stephen Hume and others also had pieces on display, work by Colin MacNeil, Mike Dorey, Graham Neil Reid and Graham Coton, and I love what Stuart and Ed have done here, welcoming in newer collectors of original art as well as collectors who have incredible work to share. It was great seeing new additions thrown into the mix, such as Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers and Star Wars art, amongst the dozens of other pieces.
I was impressed with a box of titles from the 1930s and 40s, including a considerable number of Gem, Magnet and so on, and I was minded of George Orwell’s essay boys weeklies, from Horizon (issue dated May 1940) which is a fascinating read where he said “… as I have tried to make clear, the unreality of the Wizard and the Gem is not so artless as it looks. These papers exist because of a
specialised demand, because boys at certain ages find it necessary to read about Martians, death-rays, grizzly bears and gangsters.” and I am minded that some stories are as popular as ever.
There was good value in comics, and there were no shortage of issues of Victor, Warlord, and Commando, and one dealer from the East of Scotland brought literally a van load of annuals, and had well over a thousand available. It was brilliant to see younger readers, who were keen on their comics.
These smaller events definitely have a following with fans travelling considerable distances, one collector and his wife making the pilgrimage from Surrey. One can see that networking is occuring, and it was great to find unexpected and unusual titles. The day finished off with a raffle, and as ever, funds were raised for the Scout group who was so kindly hosting us.
The Commando Swap Meets have two further events coming up this year: Stoke-on-Trent, Wolstanton on Saturday 13th July, and Colchester in the Colchester Baptist Church on Eld Lane, on the 12th of October 2024
Thanks to Stephen Hume, Andy Yates, Bruce Scott, Karl Kennedy, Stuart Steele, Ed Walker, Joe Lang, and Connie Hume and the 29th Scouts for a terrific day
Photos with thanks by Stephen Hume, Andy Yates, Karl Kennedy and James Bacon
James Bacon (he/him) is an Irish fan, a train driver living in London. A Hugo Award-winning editor of the fanzine “Journey Planet”, he is a comic fan and enjoys comic art, war Comics, Star Wars, Irish aspects to comics and railways in comics or otherwise. He has been writing about comics for over thirty years.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Exhibitions, Features
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