By 1986 Ridout was the publication's editor, with Ashford having moved to the editorial board. With issue #75 (July 1987), "Speakeasy" changed its logo tagline to "Read about the world of comics in... [Speakeasy]" and became more of a professional magazine than a zine. The June 1988 issue was a double-issue, being numbered #86/87. Beginning in the summer of 1988, "Speakeasy" began being distributed in the United States via Eclipse Comics (which had a co-publishing arrangement with "Speakeasy"'s parent company Acme Press). With issue #95 (Feb. 1989), the magazine introduced a new look (and devoted much of the issue to Tim Burton's "Batman" film). Issue #95 also featured an interview with Frank Plowright of the United Kingdom Comic Art Convention. The Managing Editor was Ashford, the Features Editor was Hansom, and the News Editor was Nigel Curson. (Board members were Ridout, Hansom, Curson, and Ashford.) Grant Morrison wrote a column for Speakeasy, titled "Drivel", beginning with issue #101 (Aug. 1989). John Brown Publishing acquired "Speakeasy" from Acme Press in late 1989; with issue #106 (Feb. 1990) Rian Hughes redesigned the magazine. The new editor was Nigel Curson. Curson left before the end of the year, and his assistant Stuart Green took the editorship. In 1990, after an obscenity raid by British police on a London comic shop, "Speakeasy" called for a comics legal defense fund. In April 1990, the magazine sponsored the inaugural Speakeasy Awards, which were presented at the Glasgow Comic Art Convention, held at Glasgow City Chambers, Glasgow, Scotland. Pressures on "Speakeasy" around this time included the 1990 debut of a competitor magazine, Dez Skinn's "Comics International", and the fact that "Speakeasy"'s sales were limited to comic shops (whereas, say, "Comics International" was also sold on newsstands). "Speakeasy" published its final regular issue, #120, in May 1991; that issue contained the results of the 1990 "Speakeasy" readers' poll. "Speakeasy" continued as a 16-page insert in the first five issues of the fellow John Brown Publishing title "Blast!", but that title itself only lasted seven issues, being cancelled with the November 1991 issue.