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Game On: Why UK Comics is ready for its own “Ally Pally” moment

By downthetubes Guests on December 17, 2025 • ( 0 )

With the publication of Comic Book UK’s “Vision for growth” white paper today – essentially the blueprint for everything the newly-formed trade association plan to do going forward – Mark Fuller, its Chief Executive outlines their strategy…

Comic Book UK's "Vision for growth" white paper graphic (2025)

As we head towards Christmas, a specific kind of madness is descending upon North London. The World Darts Championship is well underway at the Ally Pally. For the next few weeks, much of the nation will be glued to the TV, watching a sport that has transformed itself from a pub pastime into a global success story.

Watching the coverage, it’s hard not to draw a parallel with the comics world. If you muted the commentary and just looked at the crowd – thousands of people dressed as Batman, The Flintstones, and Bananaman – you’d be forgiven for thinking you were walking the floor at ComiCon. Comics and darts fans share much of the same DNA: the passion, the colour, and the willingness to wear a cape in public.

The comparison doesn’t completely hold – we’re unlikely to see the tabling masses at Thought Bubble launch into a chorus of Sweet Caroline next year – but it serves as a timely reminder of what is possible when a sector organises itself, builds the right partnerships, and secures the professional infrastructure needed to shine on the biggest stage. Darts didn’t become a phenomenon by changing what it was – it succeeded because the sport came together to champion its unique culture to the world.

Comic Book UK has just released A Vision for Growth (PDF Link), a report that asks: what if we could do the same? We believe that by combining our world-class creativity with keen commercial instincts in a supportive environment, we can turn UK comics into a major economic powerhouse.

Strength in Numbers

The UK comic industry is already an incredible success story, built on the dedication of creators, and publishers. Comics and graphic novels are hitting historic highs in sales, proving the appetite for visual storytelling is stronger than ever. But we know we can achieve so much more. That’s why Comic Book UK’s members came together in the first place. Associations that carry real weight around Whitehall and in global markets have long been standard features of most industries, helping to drive collective success. It was high time that UK comic companies took their place among them.

We’re now taking a big collective step forward by setting out a credible but ambitious vision for the future of our industry. The report isn’t a list of demands or a call for subsidy; it’s a blueprint for a more connected ecosystem.

We currently face a challenge where international content, particularly Manga, is capturing a dominant share of our own growing market. While we celebrate that growth, it highlights an opportunity for British publishers and creative pros to step up. There is so much scope for the UK industry to feed the growing global appetite for comics – offering a distinctly British flavour that readers can’t get elsewhere. But it requires a show of real commercial ambition. This means leaning into the strongest markets, creating more comic titles aimed at children and young people, for example. It means making full use of the widest possible range of sales channels, with specialist and mass market retail being part of the mix alongside online readers, subscriptions and crowdfunding platforms. And it means a willingness to innovate and evolve, embracing technologies in ways that work for rather than against the long term sustainability of comics.

It also means doing all we can to ensure a healthy creative talent pool. Our vision rests on having an ever-expanding supply of industry-ready creators and business professionals that can add real value to the industry. Creative talent is often our most direct link to the wider creative industries – over half of Comic Book UK members’ current freelancers maintain “portfolio careers” that span video games, film, and TV. This, along with the value of our IP, cements comics importance to the wider creative economy.

We need to invest in efforts that support people to navigate and thrive in that environment, ensuring that comics industry growth supports sustainable careers for everyone – from the debut artist to the veteran writer.

However, ambition needs a foundation. For UK comics to reach that next level of mainstream visibility – our own “Ally Pally” moment – we need the right structures in place to support our growth.

A Vision for Growth outlines how the government and the wider creative sector can help us build that foundation:

Investment Readiness: We need to make it easier for finance to flow into comics. Too often, there is a disconnect between creative businesses and potential investors. We want to help publishers understand how to access investment and investors themselves on the potential returns, bridging the gap between artistic vision and sustainable growth.
A Supportive Tax Regime: We are asking for the same recognition given to our friends in film and video games. Extending Creative Industry Tax Reliefs to comics isn’t about handouts; it’s about providing a safety net that allows publishers to take risks on new stories and support talent with better advances and page rates.
Opening Doors Together: We want to see UK comics reaching readers globally. An “Export Accelerator” would support publishers – large and small – to travel together to international rights fairs, presenting a united front to the world .

Collaboration in Action

The most exciting part is that this collaborative future is already here. We are seeing partnerships that blend heritage with innovation to reach new audiences.

Take the collaboration between Createch start-up Comixit and DC Thomson, working together to bring Dennis the Menace to a new generation via webtoons . Look at B7 Comics, assembling a dream team of talent to revitalise Dan Dare. And consider the upcoming Rogue Trooper film – a testament to how comic creators and filmmakers can work together to take British IP to Hollywood.

And just look at the success of The Phoenix comic. A weekly title for kids that in just over a decade has become a staple of thousands of family homes and a genuine bookstore sensation – all by matching creative talent with savvy marketing.

We have the heritage. We have the talent. And now, we have a plan to work together to secure the future that talent deserves. It’s time to step up to the oche.

Mark Fuller

• Comic Book UK is online at comicbookuk.com

• Read Comic Book UK’s full vision for the British comics industry here (PDF link)

Comic Book UK is the collective voice of the UK comic industry. Its members include the publishers of some of the world’s most celebrated characters, award-winning graphic novel specialists taking new creative voices to global audiences, multimedia drama producers investing in comics to nurture new properties, and innovative startups developing online platforms to engage new readers.

They have come together around a shared mission to drive growth in our industry by making the UK the best place in the world to create, publish and sell comics and graphic novels.

Head downthetubes for…

• BBC News: Kids are into comics again – is their timing spot on?

“At comics shop Forbidden Planet in Wolverhampton, something is happening. For years, the comics product there – and at stores like it – has been largely consumed by adult hobbyists; those who form the backbone of the direct-to-consumer, specialist market where staples include the superhero fare of US publishers Marvel and DC.

“But manager Chris Ball, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years, reports another crowd getting stuck into the pages – a ‘healthy wave’ of young people…