Nick Landau is a British entertainment entrepreneur. He co-owns

Titan Entertainment Titan Entertainment is a British entertainment company. It was founded from Forbidden Planet London in 1993 by Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung. The company comprises Forbidden Planet Limited and Titan Publishing Group, which has four divisions: T ...

, with his partner Vivian Cheung, which comprises the

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...

Limited store chain and

Titan Publishing Group Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinem ...

. A lifelong science-fiction, comics and movie fan, Landau’s career has spanned retail, publishing, distribution, theatre production, web TV production and convention organising."Financial Times interview with Titan's owners Nick Landau & Vivian Cheung"
Retrieved 15 December 2022
Retrieved 2 February 2023

Origins

Landau’s first involvement in comics fandom was in 1968 when he attended the very first

British Comic Art Convention The British Comic Art Convention (usually known by the moniker Comicon) was an annual British comic book convention which was held between 1968 and 1981, usually in London. The earliest British fan convention devoted entirely to comics, it was als ...

(known as ''Comicon''), held in Birmingham.Skinn, Dez
"Early days of UK comics conventions and marts, part 3"
DezSkinn.com. Accessed Mar. 3, 2013.

Career

''Comic Media''

In 1971, Landau established ''Comic Media'' magazine, in order to interview comic-book creators and bring news and features to a nascent British comics fandom.Burton, Richard. "Meditorial," ''Comic Media News'' #20 (May/June 1975). Landau was joined the following year by

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

, with whom he built a group of magazines, including ''

Comic Media News Richard Burton is a British comic publisher and editor who had a lengthy career at IPC Magazines. While an assistant editor at '' 2000 AD'', he became known to readers as Tharg the Mighty's bumbling assistant Burt, who appeared in a number of st ...

'' (later taken over solely by Burton) and ''Comic Catalogue'' (a “buy and sell” magazine for the comics industry).

Conventions, Comic Mart and Eagle Awards

In August 1972, Landau organised ''Comicon '72'', the fifth ever

. Later that year, Landau created the ''

London Comic Mart Comic Mart is the catchall term for a series of British comic book trade fairs which were held in the United Kingdom from 1972 until the early 1990s. The Comic Mart was one of the earliest recurring public comic events in the UK, predated only by ...

'', a one-day event held at Lyndhurst Hall that attracted around 250 attendees, which later expanded into significantly larger events at the Royal Horticultural Hall and

Central Hall Westminster The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building also houses an art gallery, a restaura ...

and ran through to 1978. In 1977,

and retailer Mike Conroy set up the Eagle Awards, with Landau coming on board shortly after, prior to Conroy’s departure. Burton and Landau grew the Eagle Awards into an international comics industry event supported by the world’s major comics publishers. Landau continued to be involved with the Awards into the late 1980s.Burton, Richard. "Meditorial," ''Comic Media News'' #29 (Jan./Feb. 1977).

Film and television societies

From fall 1972 to summer 1975, Landau attended

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a ...

to study for a degree in Management Science. Whilst there he founded the Warwick University Television Society, and built their Film Society into one of the largest student-run organisations in the country, which ultimately won “film society of the year” in the UK. From fall 1975 to spring 1977, Landau studied for a postgraduate qualification in film and television production at the West Surrey College of Art and Design, with the intention of forging a career in television. In addition to producing television drama and documentaries during this year, Landau directed ''Six Inch Nails and Baling String'', a documentary about a UK circus in decline.

Comics distribution

In the early 1970s Landau started trading his magazine ''Comic Media'' with US retailers. This evolved into a US fanzine importation service operating under the name Comic Media Distribution Service. On a trip to the US, an opportunity arose to expand this service into importing US newsstand comics into the UK. At this time, a Brooklyn teacher named

Phil Seuling Philip Nicholas Seuling (; January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was an American comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, orig ...

took the first steps towards creating the “direct market” by setting up a direct sales service for US comic book retailers, creating a direct sales service between them and Marvel and DC. Landau was a vocal supporter of Seuling’s initiative and Comic Media Distribution Service became Seuling’s first international customer. After first being assisted by

and then Mal Burns, Landau was joined by Mike Lake and Mike Luckman at Comic Media Distribution Service. Landau and his partners came to feel that the company had grown out of its original name and re-branded their operation with Landau’s choice of company identity:

Titan Distributors Titan Distributors was a British comic book distributor which existed from 1978 to 1993, when it was acquired by a larger U.S. distributor. Operated by Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and Mike Luckman, Titan Distributors supplied comics, science fiction ...

IPC Magazines and ''2000 AD''

In the spring of 1977, Landau changed focus to join the editorial staff of

IPC Magazines TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

. The opportunity came from an interview he conducted for ''

'' at the offices of the still-new science fiction comic '' 2000 AD'' with editor

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfath ...

.''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: When Landau arrived at IPC Magazines, he found himself assigned to their controversial weekly comic ''

Action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

''. When Mills stepped down at ''2000 AD'' after sixteen issues, replaced by

Kelvin Gosnell Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977, and was its second editor (1977–1978). He also edited '' Starlord'' (1978) and ''Tornado'' (1979). Biography ...

, 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 Garry Leach (19 September 1954 – 26 March 2022) was a British comics artist and publisher. Biography Garry Leach's early work for ''2000 AD'' included mainly one-off stories featuring ''Dan Dare'' and '' M.A.C.H. 1''.Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ''2000 AD (comi ...

."''Thrill-Power Overload'' p. 44. Gosnell points out, however, that " is wonderful gush of creative freedom they felt when I started on ''Starlord'' nearly got ''2000 AD'' taken off the market."''Thrill-Power Overload'' p. 45. They ran into legal problems over fill-in stories for "The Cursed Earth" (which satirised the big food companies, including figures like

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...

and the

Jolly Green Giant Green Giant and Le Sueur (spelled Le Sieur in Canada) are brands of frozen and canned vegetables owned by B&G Foods. The company's mascot is the Jolly Green Giant. Company and brand history The Minnesota Valley Canning Company was founded ...

)''Thrill-Power Overload'' pp. 46-47. but the main problems came over ''Inferno'', the sequel to ''

Harlem Heroes ''Harlem Heroes'' is a British comic strip that formed part of the original line-up of stories in '' 2000 AD'' (February 1977). Inspired by the popularity during the 1970s of kung fu films and the Harlem Globetrotters, ''Harlem Heroes'' was devis ...

''. Concerns were raised over the violence in the story, but the sequence of events is unclear, as detailed in the '' 2000 AD'' history ''

Thrill-Power Overload ''Thrill Power Overload'', or ''TPO'' is a book about the history of the British comic '' 2000 AD'' written by David Bishop, one of its editors. History The book started life as series of articles written by David Bishop and serialised in the ...

'', " ying to determine exactly what happened next is problematic, due to conflicting memories and the passage of time."''Thrill-Power Overload'' p. 50. The outcome was that, with issue No. 86 (cover-dated 14 October 1978), when ''Starlord'' was merged into ''2000 AD'', Landau was moved into the same role at the

war comic War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

magazine ''

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

'' (swapping places with

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan; born 1953) is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub- ...

).''Thrill-Power Overload'', p. 51. While “resting in the trenches of ''Battle''” Landau devised a new British comic-book concept called ''Heroes'', coming out of his experience at ''2000 AD'' and ''Action''. The title was to feature heroes of past, present and future in their own strips, all secretly linked with each other (a fact that would only reveal itself over time) to battle a trans-time corporation. Although Landau was promised editorship of this title by IPC’s publisher, he was disappointed to find that Kelvin Gosnell was ultimately named editor. Gosnell wanted to take ''Heroes'' in a direction influenced by the classic IPC titles of the 50s and 60s (''Lion'', ''Valiant''), far away from Landau’s original concept (which had been influenced by the harder-hitting and more contemporary ''Action'' and ''2000 AD''). The last straw for Landau was when Gosnell returned from an IPC board meeting where the ''Heroes'' name was jettisoned in favour of ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

''. Landau’s reaction was “to ask why the title had been named after a cleaning fluid.” Very shortly after this, in the spring of 1979, Landau resigned from IPC and focused full-time on the world of commerce.

Forbidden Planet

By 1977, Landau and his distribution partners Lake and Luckman had become increasingly concerned about their key customer’s ability to pay its bills. They decided their recourse was to open up their own retail outlet, named

and based in London’s Tin Pan Alley,

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

. From summer 1978 to spring 1979, Landau combined his role at IPC with running Forbidden Planet, before focusing full-time on Forbidden Planet. In 1993, Landau, Luckman and Lake dissolved their partnership and sold Titan Distributors to the U.S.-based

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

. Landau became sole owner of Titan Books and the Forbidden Planet mega stores (including the flagship London store); Luckman became sole owner of Forbidden Planet's New York store.

Titan Entertainment

Landau set up the

in 1993 with Vivian Cheung, his business partner and wife. The group now includes the Forbidden Planet mega stores (including the flagship London store), Titan Books, Titan Comics and Titan Merchandise.

In popular culture

* Landau, Luckman, and Lake, a fictional organization appearing in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, is named for the original three founders (including Landau) of Titan Distributors and Forbidden Planet bookstores.Cronin, Brian (27 March 2008)
"Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #148"

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Nick Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Titan Entertainment Group British comics writers