We are greatly saddened to report that Alan Austin, pioneer of UK comics fandom and a long-time friend of 30th Century Comics, passed away yesterday morning after a long struggle with cancer.
      Beginning in the 1970’s, Alan published the long-running fanzine Fantasy Unlimited (later Comics Unlimited), which drew together comics enthusiasts from all over the UK, and indeed, all over the world. He also published Whiz Kids, Golden Age Fanzine, and the Marvel Super-Hero Index, as well as being a co-publisher of the very first Comics Price Guide for Great Britain. For many years, he ran the shop Heroes, in Islington, London, and in later years was a regular feature at UK comic marts.
      30th Century’s Will Morgan remembers:
      “In 1972, when I was a lonely delinquent, stuck in reform school in Yorkshire, writing to comics fanzines was one of the few forms of socialising I had. Alan’s letters in reply to my comments on Fantasy Unlimited were always friendly and welcoming, and he was the first person to publish my reviews and articles, and to encourage me to continue writing. To a large extent, everything I’ve ever written since then is partly his fault!
      “I didn’t meet him in person until moving to London in the 1980’s, but found when I did that his superficially irascible surface demeanour concealed a well-guarded compassionate heart. He became a frequent and welcome visitor to our shop, as well as being a fixture at the Comic Marts, despite his failing health in later years.
      “His influence reached further than he possibly ever realised, and he was thought of with more warmth than he would ever have believed.”