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Mark Bennett is the Owner of Vanguard Comics, in Gosport's Stoke Road. He is organising Gosport's Comic-Com exhibition, to be held at the Hampshire town's Thorngate Halls, in April 2024.
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Mark Bennett is the Owner of Vanguard Comics, in Gosport's Stoke Road. He is organising Gosport's Comic-Com exhibition, to be held at the Hampshire town's Thorngate Halls, in April 2024.
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Mark Bennett is the Owner of Vanguard Comics, in Gosport's Stoke Road. He is organising Gosport's Comic-Com exhibition, to be held at the Hampshire town's Thorngate Halls, in April 2024.
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Graeme Freer is the owner of Vanguard Comics, a shop in Gosport. He moved the shop from Lee-on-the-Solent about 14-15 months ago and it has been more successful in its new location. The shop sells models, comics, and memorabilia, including Airfix models and Warhammer, which is a popular fantasy roleplay game. The shop also has a gaming space where people can play games like Warhammer. Graeme also runs weekly clubs and events, including an upcoming Comic-Con at Thorngate Halls on April 14th. The Comic-Con will feature celebrity guests such as Doctor Who's Colin Baker and members of The Bill. There will be stalls selling merchandise and photo opportunities with props from popular shows and movies. Graeme hopes for a turnout of over 1,000 people. The event will take place in the ballroom and theatre of Thorngate Hall. Hello, it's Graeme Freer here. I'm in a shop in Stoke Road, Gosport. It's called Vanguard Comics. It used to be situated in Lee-on-the-Solent, right up the other end of the High Street. And Mark Bennis is the man who runs this place. In fact, I've known Mark for about three or four years, something like that. I think it's more like six or seven to be honest. It is that line. Time flies when you're having fun. It does indeed. So you moved from Lee to here? Yes, just about 14, 15 months ago. And is it successful for you here? It's far better here than in Lee. We've got much bigger footfall, business increases, footfall increases on a weekly basis, and it's a really enjoyable place to be. Well, you were quite stuck up the far end of the street and not much passing trade up there, I'm thinking. No, you didn't get a lot of passing trade. We used to get people seeking us out because of the hobby side of it and because obviously I used to shop share with Sophie and the Vintage and Retro, which is also doing very well, but she's more online now. So you've moved to here now and you've been here about 18 months, I think you said? About 14 or 15, yeah. And it's been a successful move so far? So far, yes, it's been very good. So basically your models are you? Models, comics and memorabilia. So basically then, I know about Airfix and things, I've seen Airfix models on the wall. I used to do it as a kid myself. Yeah, and they're great and they haven't really changed since we were young, which is great. I mean some of them are even in identical packaging to when we were younger. So basically then you sell all these things? Yeah, and Warhammer, which is possibly my biggest seller. It's a fantasy roleplay, wargaming, metal game and it's very popular. Good. Sorry. No, no, no. That's all right, no problem. Please come in. So that's the problem with having a shopfront on a high street sort of thing. People come in and go, but then you need that sort of thing, don't you? Yeah, I mean we are very busy sometimes. Wednesdays, as it is today, it's traditionally quiet anyway, but we do really well throughout the week. We get a lot of footfall in here, people coming in. Some people want to buy, some people just want the chat, and some people want to use the gaming space that we've got here. We have games on this table on a regular basis. What, board games? Not so much board games, more Warhammer. I see. They come in and play. I also run clubs every week. I'll turn up weeks in Leon Solon and Thorngate Halls. Now talking of Thorngate Halls, you're having an event coming up there soon, aren't you? We've got Comic-Con, Gospel Comic-Con coming up there on the 14th of, sorry, 14th of April, which is a Sunday, and it's looking to be a really good event. We've got a lot of celebrity guests come in and I'm still talking to some celebrities that are looking at coming. Can you give us any clues as to who might be coming? Well, I can tell you who's definitely coming, and that's Doctor Who Colin Baker. Really? The sixth Doctor, yes. His companion, Nicola Bryant, who played Perry Brown. We've got Sophie Aldred, who played Sylvester McCoy's assistant and companion. Ace. We have got, on top of that, we've got three members of the Bill cast, and I'm hoping to add to that. We have got the legend, which is Larry Dan, who was also in Carry On Films. We've got Natalie Rowles and Raji James, who were both in the Bill in the 2000s. We've got Brian Wheeler from Star Wars Return of the Jedi and Harry Potter films, and Martin Ballantyne, who was in Harry Potter and the Dark Knight, and also Andy Beckwith, who was in Pirates of the Caribbean. And what is the mortar that holds all these bricks together? Fandom, I suppose. People wanting to see these things happen and come and help me out to do it. I mean, although I am the main organiser, I couldn't do it without a great deal of help and support from the fan community. I've got guys from my Warhammer Club helping me out and working, and they'll be putting on a display of the day of Wargaming and so on. And I've got support from Johnny Summers of Zone 5 Podcasts, who will be there to do broadcasting on the day and putting out live podcasts and filming interviews. And I've also got ASAP Imagination Comics coming to support me, and it's going to be a good day, because these things wouldn't exist without the support. Now, you hope, of course, to sell the stuff on the day, which makes back what you're spending, I suppose. Well, the tickets will pay for that. I won't have time to be selling anything personally. I'll be running around making sure everything's kept together. But yes, the tickets are on sale. £10 for an adult, £25 for a family ticket. And we're really hoping that we have a good turnout. Are you getting any estimation yet of what it's going to look like? Well, I'm hoping that we'll have a really big turnout of more than 1,000 people come in. And that's what I'm aiming for. Lee, when we had a mini one at Lee, that was exceptionally well attended, with upward of 600 people coming on the day. Wow. So what's it going to be? Small little stalls within the stall? We'll have lots of stalls in there selling stuff. We'll have photo opportunities with things like the Simpsons couch, the Tom Tom from Empire Strikes Back, or two Tom Toms from Empire Strikes Back, and Ewok Village. And I'm also working on other photo ops. We've got the Daleks and the Tardis coming back. So yeah, I'm constantly working on more stuff to bring there. Wow. Tremendous. Gosh, I've never seen anything like this. It's not for me to say. I'm sure there's been other events in the past which have put on really good shows. But I don't think it's had this many celebrities come for a Comic Con before. I know there was a Comic Con previously in Thorngate Hall, which did have a few people from the screen, but not that many. So I think we've got some big names and I'm still working to bring more. So remind me, when is it actually happening? It's April the 14th, which is a Sunday. It's the last Sunday of the Easter holidays. And it's Thorngate Hall between 11 and 5pm. In which part of Thorngate Hall? We've got the ballroom, and we've got the theatre and potentially more rooms if we need them. That's an awful lot of space. It's an awful lot of people and stalls I've got to accommodate. And we don't want it too crowded. We want people to have plenty of room and have a really good enjoyable day. Well, I'm sure they will. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you, Graham. Pleasure as always.
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