The Black Panel is a distribution service run from Belfast by Andrew Luke. The Panel was formed by Patrick
Logo designed by Patrick Brown, 2010
Brown late in 2009, assembling a large collection of small press comics by Irish creators. It is purported to be the largest collection of Independent Irish comics available.
It's most recent incarnation was in occupying a section of the Haymarket Arcade in Avalon Arts' The Craft Shop. The store closed mid-March 2013.
The Black Market[]
Brown and Luke sold the range of approximately sixty Irish-produced comics at the monthly Black Market held at the Black Box, Hill Street on the first Sunday of every month The locally renowned Black Market was run as a joint venture between the Black Box and Trans Urban Arts,
a cross-community organisation. During this time, The Black Panel also exhibited at the Black Books events running each months of 2010 , and the Trans and Belfast Council Chilli Fest 2010.
Brown and Luke at The Black Box
Shop Within A Shop[]
The Markets ceased running in late 2011, after which time Luke took on the central running of the service. The
Black Panel was re-positioned as "a shop within a shop", offering stores support and publicity in exchange for stocking works on a sale-or-return percentage basis.
The Panel operated for a brief time in Avalon Arts' The Craft Shop, located in The Haymarket Arcade. Although only there a month, (Feb-March 2013), over thirty comics were stocked at the site.
Titles Stocked[]
Titles available include:
- Ness, The Cattle Raid of Cooley, Tamara Knight, Something and After the End by Patrick Brown
- Gran by Andrew Luke
- Last Bus, In the Aquarium, Stop Gap and Johnson by Patrick Lynch
- Everyone is into Comics, My First Festival, Gazebo, Matter, Moronoid and Blackshapes by Philip Barrett
- The Dead by Berserker Comics
- Found by Deirdre de Barra, Superhilbo! by Hilary Lawler, and other titles from Longstone Comics
- Superhero Showcase by Gar Shanley and Cathal Duggan
- Cancertown by Cy Dethan and Stephen Downey
- Dubcity Comics Presents by Alan Nolan
- Rí-Rá #1 by various artists
- One Word for Everything by Deirdre Ruane
- Funny Ha-Ha #3 by Davy Francis
- Road Crew: Electric Ladyland by Tommie Kelly
- Fish for Fish #1 by Gareth Hanrahan and Edel Ryder
- Machines, Miracles or Magic? by various artists
- Good Craic Comics #1 by Malachy Coney
A complete list can be found in the catalogue.
External links[]
- The Black Panel blog
- The Black Box
- PDF of the The 2012 Black Panel Catalogue 2012 Black Panel Catalogue