User:Mikeross22/Sandbox/Birmingham Comic Art Show

The Birmingham Comic Art Show was a British comic book convention which was held in Birmingham between 1984 and 1986. The convention was the site of the annual presentation of the Eagle Awards for achievements in British and American comic books.

Most editions of the convention took place in the summer, over a weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The convention featured floorspace for exhibitors, including comic book dealers and collectibles merchants. The show featured panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals. The convention included an autograph area, as well as a so-called "Artists' Alley" where comics artists signed autographs and sold or did free sketches. A souvenir booklet was published for each show, which included sketches and artwork by official convention guests.

History
The Birmingham Comic Art Show was a successor to the British Comic Art Convention (commonly known as "Comicon,") which ran — originally in Birmingham but mostly thereafter in London — from 1968 to 1981. It was organised by Phil Clarke (via his comics specialty store Nostalgia and Comics), the original organizer of the first Comicon in 1968.

The Birmingham Comic Art Show was succeeded as the main British comics convention by the United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (UKCAC), which was held between 1985 and 1998.

In 2015 the city of Birmingham began hosting an annual the Birmingham Comics Festival. The 2017 edition included a "Birmingham Comic Art Show" — held with the blessing of original organizer Phil Clarke — on 24 June 2017.