Nick Landau

Nick Landau is a British media figure. He is co-owner of the Titan Entertainment Group, which publishes Titan Magazines and Titan Books, and owns the London Forbidden Planet store. In the 1970s, before starting up Titan Distributors, he published a fanzine, organized comic marts and comic book conventions, imported American comics into the UK, and spent part of a year as an editor with '' 2000 AD''.

Origins

Landau was significantly involved in comics fandom starting in at least 1968.Skinn, Dez
"Early days of UK comics conventions and marts, part 3"
DezSkinn.com. Accessed Mar. 3, 2013. He attended the very first British Comic Art Convention (known as "Comicon"), held in 1968 in Birmingham.

A frequent customer of Derek "Bram" Stokes' Dark They Were and Golden Eyed bookshop, Landau produced a fanzine on the shop's hand-cranked duplicator.

Career

Comic Media

In 1972, Landau and fellow enthusiast Richard Burton Landau and Burton established the Comic Media brand,Burton, Richard. "Meditorial," ''Comic Media News'' #20 (May/June 1975). from which Burton published the fanzine '' Comic Media News'' and Landau organized comic marts and delved into direct market distribution.

First, Burton and Landau published the short-lived fanzine ''Comic Media.'' Burton's ''Comic Media News'' (''CMN'') ended up lasting 40 issues, until 1980. (Landau contributed articles to ''CMN'' throughout much of its history.) In 1973, when only a small range of US comic books were available in British news agents, Landau established Comic Media Distribution Service, which imported American comics from the "big two" publishers DC and Marvel. During this time, while also pursuing a post-graduate course at film school, he ran a shop selling imported US comics in London's Notting Hill.

Comic Mart

In August of 1972, Landau organized Comicon '72, the fifth edition of the British Comic Art Convention. Later that year, Landau and Rob Barrow produced the first official London Comic Mart, a one-day event held at Lyndhurst Hall, that attracted around 250 attendees.Burton, Richard. "Meditorial," ''Comic Media News'' #29 (Jan./Feb. 1977).

After producing another Comic Mart in late February 1973,"The February Comic Mart," '' Comic Media & The Comic Reader UK Edition Newsletter'' #3 (Feb. 1973). Landau and Barrow stepped in to rescue Comicon '73, scheduled for the weekend of 21–22 July, but which had been abruptly canceled. Landau and Barrow, however, managed to put on a one-day version of the show on 22 July at Comicon's usual London location, the Waverley Hotel. (From that point, Barrow organized and produced the following five editions of Comicon.)

In 1974, Barrow and Landau expanded Comic Mart to become a more frequently occurring affair, with four editions, the summer one being a two-day affair co-billed with Comicon '74. With Barrow now focusing his energies on Comicon, in 1975 Landau continued the Comic Marts on his own.Sallis, Ed. "Fan-Things," '' Bemusing Magazine'' #10 (Aug. 1976), p. 7. That year he produced three editions, one of them being a two-day affair, held at Central Hall Westminster (which eventually would become Comic Mart's signature venue).

Landau staged two Comic Marts in 1976, both at London's Regent Centre Hotel. Meanwhile, Rob Barrow (under the aegis of his corporate entity Fantasy Domain), returned to the "mart scene" in mid-November, organizing a competing, "more intimate" mart.DMR. "The Insider Strikes," ''Bemusing'' #4: Comic Mart Special (Feb. 1975), p. 6.Rob Barrow's Comic Book Marketplace advertisement, ''Bemusing Magazine'' #11 (Nov. 1976), p. 6. Landau staged seven London Comic Marts in 1977, in such locations as the Regent Centre Hotel, Old Town Hall, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Old Hall in Vincent Square. (Meanwhile, Barrow put on two of his "Rob Barrow's Comic Book Marketplace" events.)

Also in 1977, Landau was one of a group of individuals (including his Comic Media partner Burton, and retailers Mike Conroy, Colin Campbell, and Phil Clarke) who set up the Eagle Awards. Burton, Richard "'The Eagles' are launched!" in Burton (ed.) ''Comic Media News'' #30 (Mar-Apr 1977), p. 11. (Landau continued to be involved with the Eagle Awards, up into the late 1980s.)Plowright, Frank. Opening Shots: And As Ye Reap, So Shall Ye Sow," ''The Comics Journal'' #122 (June 1988), p. 11.

In the beginning of 1978, Landau left the Comic Mart scene, bequeathing the name to Mike Conroy,Sallis, Ted. "Fan-Things," ''BEM'' #17 (Feb. 1978), p. 5. who put on three editions of his "New Original Comic Mart" in 1978.

IPC Magazines and ''2000 AD''

In the spring of 1978, Landau changed focus (temporarily, it turned out) to join the editorial staff of IPC Magazines. The opportunity came from an interview he conducted for ''Comic Media News'' at the offices of the still-new science fiction comic '' 2000 AD'' with editor Pat Mills.''Thrill Power Overload'', p. 34. Mills was planning on resigning once ''2000 AD'' had become established, and following the interview, had decided that Landau would make a suitable chief sub-editor, saying:

Landau didn't get that job due to his lack of experience, but he was soon given the same position at IPC Magazines' ''Action''. When Mills stepped down at ''2000 AD'' after sixteen issues, replaced by Kelvin Gosnell, Landau was brought in as Gosnell's chief sub-editor.''Thrill Power Overload'', p. 36. Gosnell was overwhelmed by the amount of work needed to launch ''2000 AD'''s new sister title '' Starlord'', and Landau took up the slack. As Gosnell describes it, "As soon as ''Starlord'' came on the scene, I lost it. I had to have someone running ''2000 AD'' and that was Nick Landau. He was halfway between editor and chief sub,"''Thrill Power Overload'' p. 41. and Roy Preston was made a sub-editor to take up the slack and help Landau.''Thrill Power Overload'' p. 42. With the focus on the launch of ''Starlord'' (issue No. 1 was cover-dated 13 May 1978), Landau, Preston, and art editor Kevin O'Neill had more creative freedom. As Mills says, "Some of the best decisions on ''2000 AD'''s future were made while they were running the show. They were responsible for "The Cursed Earth", credit cards and encouraged talented artists like Garry Leach

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