The Black Panel is closed

We closed up shop in 2016, after an incredible run of nearly fifty sales events. This site is left preserved to showcase the wonderful talents on this isle. Thank you everyone who supported us.

Black Panel V. 2.1 - Online Ordering, Still here!

About six months ago I added ordering details for our complete line of stock. I told my personal website and everywhere I could, but I forgot to update here. (ICN's head tells me they're blacking out all news pertaining to me, which didn't help)

Regardless, if you scroll to the new pages: Comics, Anthologies, Ongoing series, Comics for kids, Prose, you'll find samples, product description and links to the largest range of contemporary Irish-made comicbooks available to buy anywhere. This site processes orders from Northern Ireland for the whole of the UK and we carry links to purchase from the South of Ireland and world-wide. I hope this is to your liking.

Launching The Black Panel v2.0

Hello from Andy Luke and welcome to the new Black Panel Distribution. For the last few years, Patrick Brown and myself have sold Irish indie comics through stalls at The Black Box Bazaar and Black Market, Black Books, Chilli Fest and others. It's been an interesting trip, but with venues in Belfast drying up, a track change was necessary. We've asked our publishers to come forward with details where I can provide payment, and are waiting on their help in settling any outstanding accounts from the first incarnation.

So, Phase 2 - I'll be continuing to distribute Irish comics, but now dedicating my efforts to achieving permanent showcase spaces, shops within shops if you will. As a resources agency, The Black Panel will be utilising it's network of facilitators and affiliate sites to showcase the sixty fantastic comics in our stock. Communications and customer access and satisfaction are the aim of the game. The Panel will be operating across Counties Antrim and Down, helping promote and sell entrepreneur's comics from all over Ireland.

Black Panel logo c. Paddy Brown 2009

Some very interesting chats with Avalon Arts in Belfast and helping facilitate their December 9th Comics Fayre. The Fayre takes place in Haymarket Arcade off central Royal Avenue. This was the route through to the site of the old Talisman, one of Belfast's first comics shops, and to Impact, now trading as The Stack, who have agreed to be part of the event.

We're working in partnership with Stuart Gould's UK Comics Creative agency. His new Showcase magazine includes over 260+ products - from Markosia, Rough Cut, Accent UK, Neptune Factory, Braw Books, Comic Book Alliance, Time Bomb Comics, Team Girl and others. Debuting at the MCM Expo 27-28 November, Showcase also features links to the Black Panel, and the first edition includes eight recommended titles from our stock:


Gran - 2nd edition by Andy Luke
Cattle Raid of Cooley - Paddy Brown
From Rags To Rockstars by Tommie Kelly
The Well Below by John Robbins
Last Bus by Paddy Lynch
Matter by Phil Barrett
Romantic Mayhem by Various
Supernatural Showcase by Gar Shanley and Cathal Duggan

 The beta version of Showcase is up now, with the full catalogue ready mid-November at http://www.ukcomicscreative.co.uk/showcase-magazine.htm

Next week, an announcement on our first permanent shop-placings.....stay tuned!

Black Box Bazaar tomorrow

The Black Market is no more. In its place, the Black Box Bazaar. Which is exactly the same. Andy's taking a break, but I'll be there as usual with the usual range of self-published comics by artists from both sides of the border, alongside all the other handmade crafts and buns and old vinyl records and everything else. And they do great slices of pizza in the cafe in the front. Tomorrow, Sunday 14 August, at the Black Box on Hill Street, 12 to 5 pm. Come along and see what creative Belfast has to offer.

New comix Belfast - more than a rack-load!

[Update: A few extra dates on the events calendar at the side - This Saturday! Check it out!]

Hallo.

I'm hungover but it's blogger's duty to be here. Or is that a drunk's duty? I'll behave.

The April Black Market featured new comics!

Don't Panic!, a really great 'writer drawing' book by Debbie McCormack and Gareth Andrew McKnight. Already attracting mini-meme attention with it's "Further Adventures of Nick Cave" strips. Here's the website. That's a quid.

Lo-Fi (The Hungry Eye), a glossy collection of really beautiful street art pieces from over 20 artists at Belfast's Base event and beyond. Funded by Bag of Bees under the Vectors Versus Vandalism project. Three quid.

And ¿@#!*$ is doing the rounds, a free comics sheet to accompany the Catalyst Arts exhibition of the same name. (Which you should really check out) Good collection with the usual Catalyst names attached, and folk such as Phil Barrett, Douglas Noble and Malcy Duff. Oh, and I've a piece there too. The Facebook link is here.

As part of the exhibition/festival Stephen Downey and I will be releasing the new edition of Absence.

This comic about epilepsies has received funding for distribution all over the province and quite frankly, it's bloody brilliant. A big thanks to everyone who purchased Version 1.0 at the Market and beyond, and who provided feedback and reviews. These actions nurtured an important comic in a fragile stage. But no, you can't have your money back, but you can have this new copy for free.

The launch party is on April 21st. Facebook link.

The Black Market returns this Sunday!

The Black Market is back, for the first time since before Christmas, on Sunday 6 February. Our stall will be there as ever, selling the finest selection of comics from Irish artists from both sides of the border, not to mention a few ex-pats.

We'll have two new titles available: First, Waiting for the Mothership, Deirdre Ruane's second collection of strips from her Wasted Epiphanies webcomic (and we've got a restock of her first, One Word For Everything, as well). So more autobiographical musings, whimsical science fiction vignettes and "Tempin' Bear", this time in colour!

Our other new title is Supernatural Showcase, in which the satirical wits of Gar Shanley and Cathal Duggan, who previously brought us Superhero Showcase, turn their attention to horror, with even funnier results.

Not to mention our many other fantastic titles. Hope we'll see you there!

Happy Birthday and Christmas: The Black Panel is a bit like Jesus

The forthcoming Black Market (Dec 5th) and Black Books (Dec 19th) will mark the Black Panel's 1st anniversary at the stall. This is good. We should probably have a big bash with special guests. Of course, all our guests are special.

Here's a preview of what's coming through the doors and off the floors in 2011:

Deirdre Ruane, author of Wasted Epiphanies, and the collection, One Word for Everything, is having a collection to fund a print run of a new 48-page comic. We plan to get some in. We've just sold out of Deirdre's work, so if you'd like a copy of Waiting for the Mothership that might arrive in time for Christmas you can secure one for £5 (or more) by visiting her project funder at Indiegogo. [LINK]