Reed POP/MCM Uber Alles: Reed POP Acquires MCM Comic Cons In The UK

Friend of Comicon.com, Rich Johnson over at Bleeding Cool called it first over the weekend, but now the cat’s out of the bag and it’s official: Reed Pop have bought up the successful UK comic-con stalwarts, MCM, to create something of an uber-con group and possibly promising more comic creators as a result, given this is always one of the biggest complaints I hear online and out and about when covering MCM comic cons.
Yes, MCM’s business model does seem to favour TV and film guests past and present, but they have always been a champion of the indie press scene over here in the UK with many indie creators I’ve spoken to over the years praising MCM for exactly that. Many of these small press creators still do their best business–and in a packed comic-con calendar too–at these shows, and with Reed POP now in charge I imagine, as they did with their first show at New York back in 2006, they’ll put the ‘comic’ back into ‘comic-con’ and invite more creators from all fields; both professional big time Charlies and the small press gang I’ve come to know and love.
I just hope the indie creators who have supported these shows in the past are not marginalised or even pushed out as a result. That would be a real shame given their loyalty to these shows up and down the UK over the years. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open on that front.

Here’s little history about MCM for my Colonial cousins reading this in the US of A:

MCM Comic Con was co-founded by Bryan Cooney premiering the show in 2002 as the London Expo. The next few years saw London Expo grow and flourish. In 2004, it rebranded as London MCM Expo–the ‘MCM’ standing for ‘Movies, Comics, Media’; and in 2005, it took the first steps that would transform it from a collectors’ and autograph event into a comic con, with the addition of dedicated comics and anime areas plus film and TV content. More recent years saw MCM spread its wings, launching events across the UK.

And, as Lance Fensterman, Global Head of ReedPOP, puts it:

The addition of the MCM brand extends the reach and influence of the ReedPOP portfolio and further solidifies our place as the number one producer of fan events across the globe. We cannot wait to work with the MCM team to build even bigger and better events for fans in the UK.

Looks like 2018 is going to get even busier here in the UK. Now, can we get an NYCC here in Birmingham please? London has more than it’s fair share of super cons already, right?