This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2020) |
Titan Distributorswas a Britishcomic bookdistributorwhich existed from1978to 1993, when it was acquired by a larger U.S. distributor. Operated byNick Landau,Mike Lake,andMike Luckman,Titan Distributors supplied comics, science fiction, and other genre products to retailers all over the United Kingdom. Titan also operated the retailerForbidden Planet,produced the bimonthlyWestminster Comic Marts,and operatedTitan Books.
| Company type | Comic book distribution, Comic marts, Book publishing |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comics |
| Predecessor | Comic Media Distribution Service |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Fate | Acquired byDiamond Comic Distributors,1993 |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | Nick Landau,Mike Lake, Mike Luckman |
| Products | Books,trade paperbacks |
| Divisions | Forbidden Planet bookstore Westminster Comic Mart Titan Books |
History
editOrigins: Comic Media Distribution Service
editIn 1973, when only a small range of US comic books were available in Britishnews agents,Nick LandauestablishedComic Media Distribution Service(CMDS), which imported American comics from the "big two" publishersDCandMarvel.[1]
Formation of Titan Distributors / Forbidden Planet
editIn 1978, Landau partnered with Lake and Luckman and re-formed CMDS asTitan Distributors.[2]In addition to their distribution business, the partners also immediately founded a retail location, theForbidden Planetbookshop, a small store onDenmark Streetin London. As the scope of the store expanded beyond comics to embrace film and television, a second store was opened just around the corner onSt Giles High Street.[3]The store's success led to overcrowding, necessitating a move to much larger premises onNew Oxford Street.[4]
Westminster Comic Mart
editIn late November 1979, Titan began operating theLondon Comic Mart(a venture started by Landau and his former partner,Rob Barrow,in 1972),[5]staging shows roughly on a bimonthly basis atCentral Hall Westminster.[6]TheWestminster Comic Mart,as it became known, was the center of the London comics scene for much of the 1980s; theBritish Comic Art Conventiondisappeared after the 1981 show, and theUnited Kingdom Comic Art Conventiondidn't start up until 1985, so there were no actual comic book conventions being held in London during this time. Publisher/editorPaul Gravettbegan his career managing theFast Fictiontable at theWestminster Comic Marts.Gravett invited artists to send him their homemade comics, which he would sell from the Fast Fiction table, with all proceeds going to the creator. The 1983 Westminster Comic Mart was the host convention for theEagle Awards,[7]which were presented byAlan MooreandDave Gibbons.[8]
Titan Books
editIn 1981, Titan Distributors set up the publishing companyTitan Books,whose first title was thetrade paperbackcollection ofBrian Bolland'sJudge Dreddstories from2000 AD.This was one of the earliest high-quality, book-format publications of comic material in the UK,[citation needed]and Titan Books followed the first title with numerous other2000 A.D.reprints. Titan Books expanded operations in 1987, putting out its first original title —Pat MillsandHunt Emerson'sYou Are Maggie Thatcher— and also taking over publishingEscapemagazine.[9]
Dissolution and sale
editIn 1992, Landau, Luckman, and Lake dissolved their partnership and traded their company shares: Landau became sole owner ofTitan BooksandForbidden Planet London;Luckman became sole owner of Forbidden Planet's New York stores,[10]and Lake became sole owner of Titan Distributors.[11]Lake almost immediately sold Titan to the U.S.-basedDiamond Comic Distributors,which added its clients and warehouses to the Diamond UK operations.[12]He then opened Forbidden Planet locations in Scotland and northern England (an operation later named Forbidden Planet International).[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Burton, Richard. "Meditorial,"Comic Media News#15 (Sept. 1974).
- ^Skinn, Dez."Early days of UK comics conventions and marts, part 3"Archived2012-02-01 at theWayback MachineDezSkinn. Accessed Mar. 3, 2013.
- ^"How cult comic book shop Forbidden Planet changed the way we consume geek culture".The Independent.2018-09-07.Retrieved2022-07-04.
- ^"How cult comic book shop Forbidden Planet changed the way we consume geek culture".The Independent.2018-09-07.Retrieved2022-07-04.
- ^Burton, Richard. "Meditorial,"Comic Media News#29 (Jan./Feb. 1977).
- ^"Comic Mart: Britain's Largest Comic Fan Gathering" advertisement, Comicon '79 program booklet.
- ^"The Eagle Awards - Results: 1983,"Eagle Awards website. Archived at the Wayback Machine. Accessed Jan. 27, 2020.
- ^"News From Hither and Yon: Eagles Return, New Dog Strip, EC Update, Computer Comics,"The Comics Journal#84 (Sept. 1983), p. 22.
- ^Plowright, Frank. Opening Shots: And As Ye Reap, So Shall Ye Sow, "The Comics Journal#122 (June 1988), p. 11.
- ^abBarnett, David."How cult comic book shop Forbidden Planet changed the way we consume geek culture: Four decades on, the institution is still enjoying a position both at the top of the market and in the hearts of nerds across the land,"The Independent(07 September 2018).
- ^"NewsWatch: Diamond Acquires Titan Distributors,"The Comics Journal#154 (Nov. 1992), p. 14.
- ^"Newswatch: Diamond Acquires Titan Distributors [part II],"The Comics Journal#162 (Oct. 1993), pp. 35-36.