With the coronavirus becoming a global pandemic going to a comic convention might not be the most important thing on peoples minds. Although at the moment we don’t know how long the home isolation will last and what the affect will be on the comic industry as a whole. We have already seen a pause by Diamond Comics who used to distribute comics and toys to comic shops all over the world.
The pause of comic conventions will be a big knock to retailers and artists who normally self employed and make a living from attending comic shows like MCM throughout the year.
For those who miss seeing attending the MCM conventions we’ve compiled a list of the retailers and artists who trade online.
Subversive Comics have been a big presence in the Comic Village for years, they attend a lot of shows all over the country and make some amazing comics. Metal Made Flesh their Cyberpunk series has won awards and is has some really amazing artwork from some really big names in British comics including Phil Buckenham who also attends most MCM conventions. With Diamond not shipping new comics there has never been a better time to support some indie publishers. You can buy the top titles from Subversive comics from https://www.comicsy.co.uk/subversivecomics/ or find out more from their website http://www.subversivecomics.com/
Phil Buckenham who has worked on Subversive comics Metal Made Flesh and numerous other big titles has an online site too which features some of his artwork which would make a great gift for someone. https://philbuckenhamart.wixsite.com/philbuckenham/shop
Gundam Mad are one of if not the biggest retailer of Gundams in the UK and worked on all the MCM comic shows I’ve been to since the start, since the pandemic they have been working hard on their website to keep things going. Gundams are a great way to spend your time at home especially at a time like this. They sell kits to suit just about anyone from HG kits to the upper end PG level. I’m. working on a Perfect Grade Gundam myself at the moment most evenings and its been great to built a robot and take my mind of things. Also if the coronavirus goes on importing Gundam kits and other merchandise from Japan will be more difficult so there has never been a better time to order a kit. Visit https://www.gundammad.co.uk/ to see what they have in stock.
Card Empire is another of the retailers hit hard by the pandemic, they don’t just attend most of the MCM expo shows but also run several card and plushe stores in the North of England. Pokemon Cards are one of my personal collector hobbies but they also stock a lot of other series including Yu-Gi-Oh. They have one of the biggest if not the biggest collection of cards in the UK and most of their stock is available from their website https://www.cardempire.co.uk/
Westoast Cartoon Lovers: Probably my favourite fashion brand right now. They do original designs with hand screen printed t-shirts and prints. I’ve recently purchased an Akira T-shirt and it was amazing quality and arrived a day or two after the order. https://www.westost.co.uk/tshirts. Also checkout their Instagram https://www.instagram.com/westost_cartoon_lovers/ to see some of their designs.
Cakes with faces is run by a girl called Amy who has really amazed me with her designs inspired by Japan at recent MCM shows and I try to stop by when I can, Cakes with Faces also have an online presence with most of their products and designs on. If you’re looking for an original birthday present for someone or just want to treat yourself I’d highly recommend a visit to https://www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/
MangaUK usually have s very big presence at all the MCM shows and are responsible for distributing a lot of Anime throughout the UK which we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. They also sell a lot of anime box sets online in physical releases and on ITunes which is perfect for anyone wanting to binge watch the latest anime series. https://www.mangauk.com/shopmanga
Art:
Little Finger are always worth a visit at the MCM shows, I love how they have taken recycling onto a whole new level. They take old cans and turn them into really impressive works of art, almost unrecognisable from what it started life as. They sell online also at https://littlefingeruk.myshopify.com/collections/all
More coming soon…
Posted by Adi Mursec on April 13, 2020
Super Robot Mayhem 2008-2022. This site is a none profit blog made for fun and to promote the arts. Privacy Policy. Contact us to request a comic review.