In 1970, 300 people turned up to a small hotel in Southern California to meet comics legend Jack Kirby. That marked the very first San Diego Comic-Con, today an annual media circus with an attendance of over 130,000 fans and a slew of media merchandising. It’s a success story that apes the giants of the comics industry itself, DC and Marvel, that both stem from humble beginnings. But unfortunately the resulting monopoly of the comic book world creates a ripple from sunny San Diego that can be felt all the way here in South Wales.

Smaller conventions and comic expos are commonplace here in the UK, especially within cities like Bristol and Cardiff that lack the draw and central location of the bigger London cons. These events cater to fans by drawing reasonably well-known creators from larger comic companies and showcasing them alongside small press comics, those independent books without the financial backing of the industry giants. For the creative small businesses, these events are vital in getting exposure to their books, generating a pool of talent that the bigger fish can scour for new artists, writers and inkers to join their ranks. One such event, Mini-Con, is being held this weekend, and boasts small press artists galore alongside a slew of retro games.

However, larger companies like events management firm Showmasters have shown increasing desire to bring the ‘media con’ experience to the UK, prioritising media guests and movie merchandising over the comics themselves. These events should be able to peacefully coexist, but evidently, sometimes it’s much easier to grab an existing fanbase then to build your own. Comic store owner and veteran of the Cardiff comic scene, Kristian St John Barry, told us of the small-press events that were bought out by Showmasters to become the increasingly gargantuan Cardiff Film and Comic Con:

Although CFCC does in fact include full sections showcasing small-press comics and local talent, at our visit to the Con we were hard pressed to find any. When we sat down in a busy Starbucks with Joe Glass, Cardiff writer and co-creator of fantastic local books The Pride and Stiffs, the picture became a little clearer.

“We were upstairs” he began, hesitating slightly. “This… wasn’t something we were informed of when purchasing the tickets. As a matter of fact, when we bought our tickets last time, we were advised that we would be downstairs amongst it all. They decided they wanted more retailers in the main hall and put all the comic section upstairs.”

See the vid below for more on the way CFCC treats its small press vendors.

The logic behind this move is firmly rooted in history. San Diego Comic-Con, although effectively considered nerdvana and a single, perfect party, is about comics in the same way The Avengers franchise is about comics. Although both products are firmly rooted in their history, they have been cleaned up for mass consumption and maximum merchandising effect. A child who has no knowledge of comics can see the Avengers films, watch an Iron Man cartoon, play as Hawkeye on Disney Infinity and buy a Captain America t-shirt, all without reading a single comic, because nobody really reads comics anymore outside of hobbyists. In fact, despite the current superhero boom, sales of print comics remain distinctly lacklustre.

Therefore, while smaller cons can cater to this niche, any larger company out for a bigger buck will follow the smell of money to the Doctor Who t-shirts and Iron Man snapbacks, leaving the independent comic creator out of pocket. When this happens, the talent pool shrinks into a dying reservoir.

Alan Stealth, a fine art graduate and the creator of experimental comic School of Bitches, believes exactly this; that the prolific, merchandise driven superhero stuff is killing creativity in comics.

“I don’t think comics are ever going to be really respected if the people that are making the most money from it carry on as they are” he tells a crowd at a magazine launch last Tuesday. “I do this. I’m working indie. I’ve got a friend that was paid £7K to do an issue of Spider-Man. That money is hard to argue with, and unfortunately the mainstream dictate where the money’s at. The market’s with cinema, with children. Comics could be a lot more interesting, more diverse. The art scene,” he declares, mic dangling from a loose fist, “is dead.”

Although this all sounds rather bleak, there is good news. With the big events becoming increasingly watered down, the hobbyists are being driven into the open arms of the mini-cons. This in turn creates an audience for independent creators, galvanising the small-press gang into action.

“There are other cons that will try to mix things up” offers Joe Glass. “Thoughtbubble is a great con. They’re very much an indie and small press con, but at the same time, they’ve got big names in and everyone is in the mix together. The Pride was at SCARdiff for the last two years, and there’s another little con held at Nos Da this weekend that I couldn’t make but would love to. You’ve only got to come upstairs at Comic Con to realise that there is a lot of talent out there.”

The Pride’s status as a fun little comic in the post-Dark Knight world is reflected in Glass’ cheery optimism. Although there will always be big business chasing bigger bucks in any industry, the nature of comics is that they are constantly evolving. Despite the copycat nature of the Comic-Con business model, as long as people are passionate about the medium, the creativity of independent comics will continue to thrive in Cardiff.

To hear Joe Glass talk more about small press comics at cons, check out our Soundcloud interview here. We asked the question, “do you feel welcome at cons, or as a small press creator, are you often sidelined?”