New Lakes International Comic Art Festival "App" offers artwork rewards

Heading to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival? Get the Festival app on your iPhone, iPad or iTouch - and grab some artwork rewards as you explore Kendal.

Created by Mobetrics, a Cumbrian mobile technology and app development company, the app, designed by Joe Lethbridge at Cactus Creative, will enhance your Festival experience by providing event information, assistance in finding venues.

With Bluetooth enabled, the app also offers the option to collect artwork on your as you go along, by artists such as Duncan Fegredo, Aimee de Jongh and Christian Ward, among others.

This is the first phase and the Festival is looking for your feedback on what will make the app, and the Festival, even better!

Based in Cockermouth, Mobetric's work designing apps for IOS, Android and Blackberyy includes Stolen Lives,  a learning resource featuring an illustrated comic book, which builds upon extensive research into the use of visual content and mental exploration to aid learning as well as employing the principles of transformative learning techniques.

Cactus Creative - a team of eight - are based in Kendal in The Factory – an independent, creative hub which is home to other talented creatives and artists. Their work includes Kendal's own web site (visit-kendal.co.uk) and work for Keswick's Theatre by the Lake.

• Download the app from iTunes here (requires iOS 10.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch)

• Comic Art Festival www.comicartfestival.com

• Mobmetrics: mobetrics.com | Follow Mobetrics on Twitter @mobetrics

• Cactus Creative: cactuscreative.com | Follow Cactus Creative on Twitter: @cactuscreative

Kendal Calling: An interview with cartoonist Lynn Johnston

With the Lakes International Comic Art Festival just over a week away, we continue our Kendal Calling interviews with a chat with Lynn Johnston, a Canadian cartoonist known for her newspaper comic strip For Better or For Worse. She was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.

David, We’re Pregnant! which sold over 300,000 copies. Shortly after, she was divorced and worked as a commercial artist, freelancing from home.

Lynn was born in Ontario and grew up in British Columbia. She attended the Vancouver School of Art then took a job in an animation studio in Vancouver, where she began to apprentice as an animator. After getting married, Johnston moved to Ontario in 1969, and in 1972 the discovery that she was expecting her first child led to the publication of

In 1975, Hi Mom! Hi Dad! was published as a sequel to David, We’re Pregnant!. By this time she was remarried and continued to freelance until her daughter Kate was born. Do They Ever Grow Up? was the third publication in her first sequence of books about parenting.

In 1978, Universal Press Syndicate asked if Johnston was interested in doing a daily comic strip. She signed a 20-year contract and the work on For Better or For Worse began. This comic strip has been syndicated since 1979 and, at its peak, appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers in 23 countries.
Lynn was the first woman to receive a Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year in 1985, she has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, has received the Order of Canada and claims a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

downthetubes: Which comic project you’ve worked on are you most proud of and where can people see it or buy it?

Lynn Johnston: I ended the story of For Better or for Worse in 2007. It was a syndicated comic strip, running in over 2000 papers at the time. Right now, I’m painting and working on a series of comic art fabric patterns. I hope to have a few clients interested in bedding, draperies and children’s apparel. I’m also updating my original comic strip art for the web.

downthetubes: Which comic project you’ve worked on are you most proud of and where can people see it or buy it?

Lynn: I’m proud of everything I do! I’d like folks to see my comic strip – all 29 years worth on our website. There are many collection books available through Amazon and it will soon be available again in a series of hard cover books. The first of these should be on sale soon.

downthetubes: How do you plan your day as a cartoonist? Do you plan your day?

Lynn: I have just turned 70, but I’m still working. I put in three days a week on the fabric patterns and paint when I feel the muse. I also produce new art for the website and occasionally write an article for same. I am also working with another artist on a graphic novel about his life. We have set a year from now as our goal for publication.

downthetubes: What’s the best thing about being a comics creator?

Lynn: The best thing…for me, was doing what I loved to do and be gainfully employed doing it. I think that all of us who were/ are syndicated or in some way, doing comic art for a living, feel the same.

Another tremendous plus was meeting all my heroes. I came into the business when Charles Schulz was there – and Will Eisner, Bil Keane, Dik Browne, Johnny Hart... I knew many of these wonderful, talented and generous people. What a privilege to have called them my friends.

downthetubes: And the worst?

Lynn: The worst part of doing a syndicated comic strip was also the best: I hated the pressure. No matter what else was happening in my life, I had the relentless pressure of deadlines. I worked harder than I ever worked before. This made me more productive and focused than I had ever been, so I did a huge amount of work; something I’d never have done on my own!

Aside from the comic strip, I worked on a series of animated specials. It was a pleasure to work with talented artists and writers; the bad side was dealing with horrible budgets, which resulted in a poor quality product. “We don’t want it good, we want it now!” was the mantra, and the lack of care showed.
I had to quit the shows and refuse to let them be released as a series. I have never been as angry at anything as I was when we did these animated shows!

downthetubes: What most distracts you from getting your work done?

Lynn: Everything distracts me now. Now that I am my own supervisor and have flexible, self imposed deadlines, I tend to slack off, dawdle about and generally waste time. I’m “retired” but for me, that’s a lame excuse for not doing more! The deadlines for syndication were wicked, but I sure got things done!

downthetubes: Do you think it’s easier or harder for young comic creators to get published today?

Lynn: I don’t know what’s happening in the comic art world right now! With newspapers not too sure what to do with themselves, the internet still coming into focus, graphic novels becoming the new go-to for reading and new technology turning animation into the most incredible resource imaginable, we are seeing new areas for cartoonists to explore every day.
I think if you are really good at what you do, can deliver on time and work well with a team, you’re going to find employment as a cartoonist.

downthetubes: Have you ever been to the Lake District before?

Lynn: No. My mom’s family was from Lincolnshire and my dad’s was from the Stonehenge area. The last name was “Ridgway” from the area of the Ridgeway. My partner was born in South Shields and moved to Canada at the age of nine, so we both have strong ties to “the old country”.

What do I expect? To really enjoy myself in Kendal and to feel quite at home!

downthetubes: Which one comic creator would you most like to meet, and why?

Lynn: I think I’ve met all the people I dearly wanted to meet. How fortunate I’ve been.

downthetubes: How do Festivals and other comics events help creators most, do you think?

Lynn: What festivals do for me is to allow me to see what’s new; what’s happening and to meet young cartoonists (and old friends) who are experimenting with and sharing their talent.

I’ve met a number of people here in Vancouver who are doing wonderful stuff - with graphic novels and animation. I’m excited to see that comic art still has the power to inspire artists who then pull us into their world. What a gift.

downthetubes: What one piece of advice do you offer people looking to work in the comics industry?

Lynn: Advice? Learn how to draw backgrounds. Everyone likes to focus on characters, but characters have to live somewhere! Young artists especially, spend hour after hour perfecting a superhero costume and forget that this character has to eat and sleep and get to work somehow.

So, draw stuff! Houses and trees and vehicles and chairs...stuff!!

I find that realistic toys are extremely helpful. Those good quality die-cast cars, trucks and buses will give you a vehicle you can hold up and see from all angles. I have a box full of toys. In the box are animals, toy bicycles, hats, shoes, roller blades, skis - all kinds of realistic “models” for my drawings.

Another piece of advice is; learn how to write. If you can’t write well, you can’t create a good story or time a good punch line. Reading poetry is helpful because there is a cadence to good writing, which draws the reader along; as if he was driving on a good highway. Any junk on the road, any unnecessary detour, anything that detracts from the easy drive will pull your audience out of your world and what happens to them? They become critics. Learn how to write.

downthetubes: What’s your favourite comic right now and where can people get it?

Lynn: Right now, I’m enjoying Sean Karemaker’s work. He is a graphic novelist who works on long scrolls. It’s a unique way to work and it allows him to use stereographic imaging to create a movable, interactive environment. He writes about his childhood in Denmark, with charm and insight.

downthetubes: Lynn, thank you very much for your time and we look forward to seeing you at the Festival!

Book Your Festival Tickets Now!

• Book your tickets for this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival here. This year’s events programme includes live draws, masterclasses, interactive talks and a chance to get up close to the best comic creators in the world! 

Web: www.comicartfestival.com | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Podcast | View the Festival Programme on Issuu | Download the Programme (PDF)

LYNN JOHNSTON ONLINE

• Web: www.fborfw.com
• Twitter: @fborfw
• Facebook
• Instagram

Rainbow Orchid Prequel In The Phoenix This Friday

Artist and writer Garen Ewing’s latest adventure of Julius Chancer, The Secret of the Samurai, a prequel to his three book Rainbow Orchid saga, is starting a four week run in The Phoenix beginning this weekend. The twenty page adventure will be published in five page segments over four weeks beginning in issue 75 due on Friday 7 June and concluding in issue 78 due on Friday 28 June 2013.

The Secret of the Samurai takes place several years before the events depicted in The Rainbow Orchid. Talking about it in his blog, Garen says, “My plan is that one day I will do a connected but equally stand-alone story of the same length, so there's the possibility they could be published together as a complete book. This will not derail the full-length (60-80 pages) adventure I have plotted and ready to start - hopefully this summer.”

Despite recently becoming a father for the second time, Garen continues to attend conventions. He will be attending Stripped, the comics ‘festival within a festival’ at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, where he will be taking part in three events on Sunday 25 August 2013. The full programme for the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Stripped will be announced on 20 June on the BookFest website. In addition, over the weekend of 19-20 October 2013, Garen will be selling, signing and sketching at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival’s Comic Clock Tower in Kendal in the Lake District.

• There are more details of all Garen Ewing’s work on his website and more details on The Secret of the Samurai and The Rainbow Orchid on his Adventures Of Julius Chancer website.

• The Phoenix comic is available from Waitrose supermarkets, Travelling Man and Forbidden Planet International stores, as well as a selection of other comics shops and book shops around the UK.

• There is more information about The Phoenix on the title’s website including a location guide to stores that sell it. Subscriptions and back issues are also available for those who do not have a local stockist.

Tickets go on sale for the first Lakes International Comic Art Festival

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Tickets for the first Lakes International Comic Art Festival, which will feature top talent from both sides of the Atlantic including Kurt Busiek, Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot and Jose Munoz, go on sale on Monday (13th May).

The festival will run from 18-20 October 2013 in Kendal, Cumbria with an exciting line up of more than 50 writers and artists including some of the biggest names in comic art from the United States, Europe, South America and the UK.

The range of guests show the diversity of comics, including biography, political cartoons, comics journalism, satire, superhero comics, comedy, adaptations of historical novels and innovative new story-telling.

Astro City 2 by Kurt Busiek

There will be more than 35 events including panel discussions, interviews, live drawing events, films and workshops. As well as the ticketed events, there will be a number of free exhibitions, including work by founder patrons Bryan Talbot and Sean Phillips, and free activities in a special Family Zone.

The organisers also aim to make the whole of Kendal part of the event, like the popular festivals on the continent in places such as Angouleme, so people can expect to find comic art around every corner.

One of the opening events on the Friday evening will be The Big Comic Draw, with Doug Braithwaite (X-Men and Storm Dogs), Carlos Ezquerra (Judge Dredd), Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy) and Jose Munoz (Alack Sinner).

They will be followed by The Write Comic Stuff, a chance to hear from two hugely popular American writers Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Criminal and Fatale) and Kurt Busiek (Spider-Man, Marvels and Astro City).

Other events over the weekend include 2000AD: An On-Earth Odyssey, a special celebration of the evolution and influence of the ever-popular British comic 2000AD with Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.

Another event will provide a rare chance to hear Viz creators Simon Thorp and Graham Dury discuss their work.

Festival patron Bryan Talbot will talk about Grandville and the Anthropomorphic Tradition. Gilbert Shelton (The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers) and Hunt Emerson (Dante’s Inferno) will be talking about their work from the underground comix of the sixties to the present day. And there will be a discussion on The Art of Crime and Noir with Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Jose Munoz and David Lloyd (Kickback).

British political cartoonist Steve Bell will be interviewing the ground breaking American comics journalist Joe Sacco. Steve will also be discussing his own work in a separate event.

Other interviews with guests will provide opportunities to learn more about the work of writers and artists like Ed Brubaker, Kurt Busiek, Posy Simmonds (Tamara Drewe) and Andy Diggle (The Losers and Doctor Who).

A key feature of the festival will be the special live Watch them draw events. Artists featured over the weekend will include Charlie Adlard (Walking Dead), Glyn Dillon (Nao of Brown), Spanish artist Pau and Hunt Emerson.

In Quick Strips, a myriad of comic artists, some famous, others emerging, will talk about and present an aspect of their work-in-progress for a maximum of six minutes each.

There will be a chance to see Alan Moore and David Lloyd's seminal graphic novel V for Vendetta brought thrillingly to life on stage.

Festival patron Mary Talbot will be part of a panel for a discussion on The Art of the Memoir.  A group of innovative new wave comic creators who are published by Jonathan Cape will take part in a discussion on the Caped Crusaders and writers published by Selfmadehero will discuss adaptations in Re-imagining the Classics.

Nobrow writer and artist John McNaught, who won the award for the best newcomer at Angouleme earlier this year, will be interviewed together with Luke Pearson, the creator of the popular Hilda series of books. Both men have been nominated for Eisner awards this year.

Writers and artists will be running workshops including Al Davison (The Spiral Cage), manga artist Inko (Milk The Cat Comix), Karrie Fransman (The House That Groaned) and Hannah Berry (Adamtine).

The Brewery Arts Centre is putting on a special film programme including American Splendour, Tamara Drewe, 300, V for Vendetta, A History of Violence, and manga films My Neighbour the Yamadas and Oldboy.

The Comics Clock Tower will be the festival’s version of the marketplace.  Based in Kendal Town Hall it will champion breaking talent from all styles and genres. Many of the big name writers and artists visiting the festival will also be appearing in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend and new adventure anthology STRIP: The Adventure Comics Magazine, which launched last month in newsagents, will also have a stand there.

A Weekend Pass will cost £25 and provide unlimited access to the Comics Clock Tower plus four daytime events (starting before 7pm).

A day pass on the Saturday or Sunday will cost £14, providing unlimited access to the Comics Clock Tower plus two daytime events.

Tickets for additional events can be bought separately.

Organisers are emphasising that places need to be reserved for most events, including the wide range of talks and discussions. So if people buy passes, they also need to plan which events they would like to attend and some of the events are expected to get booked quite quickly.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.breweryarts.co.uk or by phoning 01539 725133.

Festival patron Bryan Talbot says: "Our aim is to make The Lakes International Comic Art Festival like the European comic art festivals rather than the conventions that many fans will be used to.

"We think there's something for everyone in the wide range of events the team have put together, both the fans of different genres but also people who may not have read a comic book for many years.

"As well as being able to see artists drawing in our version of the comics marketplace there will be special live draw events, one of the most popular elements of European festivals. There will be interviews with some individual writers and artists as well as discussions on topics like the art of the memoir, horror and adaptations.

"People will be able to book their seats at events rather than having to waste time queuing. We also have a lot of free events including exhibitions and activities for children, so there's no excuse for not coming to find out what it's all about."

Fellow festival patron Sean Phillips says: "I'm really looking forward to this first event. Not only is it on my own doorstep but it's modelled on events like the Angouleme comic art festival, which is something I've long wanted to see in the UK.

"In countries like France and Italy they take comics very seriously and huge numbers of comics are sold every year, most of them to adults.  This event is a great opportunity to find out more about comic art and the writers and artists working in the medium."
​
• More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.  It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page.

Breaking talent to be showcased at Kendal-based comic art festival’s Clock Tower

Some of the UK’s best emerging and established comic art talent will be showcasing their skills at the specially-dedicated Comics Clock Tower venue as part of Kendal's The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in October, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Print Media, publishers of STRIP: The Adventure Comics Magazine.

The festival will run from 18-20th October in Kendal in Cumbria. Held beneath the landmark tower of Kendal Town Hall, the Comics Clock Tower venue will be a vibrant mash-up of writers and artists from a wide variety of styles and genres, who will be signing, sketching and selling their original creations.

Occult antiquarians will rub shoulders with urban teen vigilantes. Slacker vampires will size-up the romantic poets in a venue that promises to have something for comic fans and those who may not have read comics since they were kids.

The aim of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival’s Comics Clock Tower is to champion some of the breaking talent of comic art, as well as some of the industry’s more established names. The focus is on writers and artists who are pioneers of new styles in the field of comics and graphic storytelling. The venue will celebrate and introduce their work to a new audience.

Owen Johnson, co-ordinator of the Comics Clock Tower, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to reveal some of the comic creators and publishers taking part in the three-day marketplace.  These are some of the brightest, freshest names in British comics and it really is a privilege to present them to a wider audience.

“In the lead up to the show, we plan to use our various social media platforms to present interviews and artwork from these guests in order to explore them and their work in graphic novels.”

There will be an emphasis on creators working or living in the North of England. These will be joined by a selection of cutting-edge names from across the country, as well as leading UK publishers.

Guests who will be appearing at the Comics Clock Tower include:

• Emma Vieceli, 33, from Cambridge, who has worked on the Manga Shakespeare series for SelfMadeHero, Girl Comics for Marvel, Violet for The DFC, My Little Pony for Hasbro, and Comic Book Tatoo for Image Comics.
  Her more recent work includes The Avalon Chronicles, the award winning Vampire Academy and the graphic novel adaptations of the Anthony Horowitz Alex Rider series.
• Great Beast, a publishing house which is dedicated to making fun, creative, accessible and pop-culture inspired comics.
• Black Hearted Press – Scotland’s leading independent comic book publisher. The publisher’s leading title School of the Damned has been optioned to be made into a motion picture.
• Andrew Tunney (aka 2hands) – Manchester-based, Andrew’s debut self-published comic GIRL&BOY was nominated for Best Comic in the first ever British Comic Awards in 2012. He is also the colourist for Peabody & D’gorath.
• Nich Angell – Nich has been drawing explosive, vibrant and colourful comics for clients such as Mattel, Hasbro, WWF, Titan and the BBC for more than seven years. He has also recently produced concepts and games for an animated series for Nickelodeon UK.

Many of the more than 50 special guest writers and artists who will be appearing at the festival will also make appearances within the Comics Clock Tower., which will give an opportunity to people to buy from a wide range of new and existing comic art of all genres.

Names already announced as attending the festival include founder patrons Bryan and Mary Talbot and as well as Sean Philips, Ed Brubaker, Charlie Adlard, Posy Simmonds, Kurt Busiek, Joe Sacco and many others.

Julie Tait, festival director, said: “We want to give comic fans the chance to discover something new and also encourage others, who may perhaps think comics are just for kids, to pick up a graphic novel and find out what they are missing.

“The Lakes International Comic Art Festival wants to highlight the diversity of the UK comic arts community. One of the ways we will be doing this is through the Comics Clock Tower – our version of a comics’ marketplace.”

• More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.

Lakes International Comic Art Festival announces full guest list

Duncan Fegredo is just one of the latest
guests announced for LICAF

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has now announced the full line up for the event which will run from 18-20th October in Kendal, Cumbria.

15 new guests are being revealed today. These are on top of the 37 guests who have already been confirmed including Kurt Busiek, Ed Brubaker, Posy Simmonds, Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, comics journalist Joe Sacco, Gilbert Shelton, Hunt Emerson, Glyn Dillon, Doug Braithwaite, Viz creators Simon Thorp and Graham Dury and Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard.

The founder patrons of the festival are Bryan and Mary Talbot and Sean Phillips.

​Bryan Talbot says: “Everyone can now see the full line up for the festival in October.  It’s an impressive list of some of the best and most innovative comic creators from around the UK and overseas.

“Kendal is the perfect place for a European-style festival and we’re all looking forward to seeing the town transform itself into a centre for comic art in October.  We look forward to welcoming the fans but also those who perhaps have not picked up a comic book since childhood.”

The final group of guests revealed by festival organisers includes a leading British political cartoonist, an artist on the Hellboy comics and some of the best of the new wave of comic writers and artists.

Steve Bell is one of the UK’s leading political cartoonists, producing cartoons for the leader pages of The Guardian. His strip cartoon Maggie’s Farm appeared in Time Out and City Limits in the 1980s and since 1981 he has also written and drawn the daily If… strip in The Guardian.

Steve created the memorable images of John Major with his underpants worn outside his trousers, of Tony Blair with Margaret Thatcher’s rogue eyeball and of George W Bush as a chimpanzee. His work has been published all over the world and he has won numerous awards.

Artist Duncan Fegredo is best known for his work on the Hellboy comics created by Mike Mignola. As we reported earlier this week, the pair are currently collaborating on a new Hellboy project, The Midnight Circus, which is due out later this year. Duncan Fegredo has also worked on a number of other comics, including Judge Dredd.

Duncan is the only other artist that Mike Mignola has entrusted with Hellboy. Mike Mignola has described him as a 'genius' saying: "Duncan can draw anything.  He can draw the real world, he can capture the mystery and the atmosphere that the book needs-but he's also a fantastic cartoonist, so he can keep the life and the humour that I try to get in my stuff."

Al Davison is an award winning graphic novelist. He is also a film maker, martial artist, fight choreographer, performer, and teacher, and is probably best known for his autobiography The Spiral Cage. He is currently illustrating Blood-Light, a graphic novel written by Alex Finbow.

Dave Taylor is a comic artist who has worked for Marvel on Zorro and for DC on Batman.  He is also known as one of the artists on Judge Dredd and is working on a film and TV project based on the 1980 UFO incident at Rendlesham forest known as 'Britain's Roswell'.

American Nye Wright was hailed as ‘an amazing talent’ for his first book Lex Talionis: A Jungle Tale. He was the animation director for a cartoon sequence in Michael Moore’s Academy Award-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine. His book Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park was published by Myriad Editions in February 2012.

Isabel Greenberg is an illustrator and writer. She won the Cape/Comica/Observer Graphic Short Story Prize in 2011 with 'Love in a Very Cold Climate'.  It forms the prologue to The Enyclopedia of Early Earth, which will be published by Jonathan Cape later this year.

Daryl Cunningham is a prolific cartoonist, sculptor and photographer. His most recent book, Science Tales, was published by Myriad Editions in spring 2012.  It is a documentary comic book debunking myths and exposing the lies of scientific naysayers and conspiracy theorists, and the role of the media.

Ian Williams is a comics artist, physician and writer. He originated the website www.graphicmedicine.org, coining the term that has been applied to the interaction between comics and the discourse of healthcare.  His book The Bad Doctor will be published by Myriad Editions in 2014.

Ed Hillyer is a comic strip writer, artist and editor. His works have been published by Marvel, DC and Dark Horse in the USA, Kodansha in Japan, and numerous independent companies worldwide. He is currently working with Joe Kelly of Man of Action studios (the creators of BEN10) on a brand new concept called Kid Savage and Room4Love, a graphic novel for Selfmadehero.

Kate Charlesworth is a successful cartoonist and illustrator who is currently working with Mary and Bryan Talbot illustrating 'Sally Heathcote – Suffragette’.

Art by Gary Erskine

Gary Erskine is a Scottish artist who has worked on a wide range of comics including Judge Dredd, Hellblazer and Star Wars. One of his latest projects is Roller Grrrls.

Katie Green's first graphic novel, Lighter than my Shadow, will be published by Jonathan Cape in October.

Andy Poyiadiagi is a filmmaker and comic artist. His comic Teapot Therapy was shortlisted for the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize.

Dan Berry is an illustrator, designer, cartoonist and lecturer.  He also runs a podcast on comic art called Make It Then Tell Everybody. His book, The Suitcase, is published by Blank Slate Books shortly.

Owen Johnson is a Cumbria based artist who is also organising the festival’s version of a comics marketplace. His first graphic novel was Who on Earth was Thadeus Mist. He is now working on his next book Raygun Roads & The Infinity Loop Death-Trap of Ullysses Pomp, which is due to be published in the summer.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is modelled on the popular festivals on the continent in places such as Angouleme.  The format will be more like a literary festival than the comic conventions that UK fans are more familiar with.

There will be a wide range of talks, special live drawing events, workshops, films, exhibitions and a kids’ zone.  Some of the events, including the exhibitions and the kids’ zone will also be free.

The festival's marketplace – the Comics Clock Tower - will champion breaking talent from all styles and genres.  Many of the big name writers and artists visiting the festival will also be appearing in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend.

Sean Phillips, one of the patrons of the festival, is the artist on Fatale which recently received six nominations in the Eisner Awards, the Oscars of the comics industry.  He says: “Like many people working in comics, I’ve long wanted to see a British version of the kind of festivals that take place in Europe, so I’m delighted to be involved in this new festival.  We have a fantastic line up and we hope to turn Kendal into a comics town for duration of the festival.

“With talks, special live drawing events, exhibitions and a kids’ zone there will be something for everyone to enjoy.  If you think you don’t like comics, we think you’ll be in for a surprise, with a huge diversity of work on offer in different genres from superheroes to politics, journalism to manga, and comedy to crime.”

The Festival is being supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

The founder partners of the event are the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal College, South Lakeland District Council and Osprey Communications. Founder supporters are Curious Road, Designworks, Jonathan Cape, Kendal Town Council, Forbidden Planet, Absolute Digital Print and Kendal Library.

The festival is also supported by publishers Myriad Editions, Nobrow, Blank Slate, Knockabout, DC Thomson, Cinebook, Dark Horse and SelfMadeHero and by 2000AD, Game, Comica, Panini, Redan, Westmorland Shopping Centre, The Phoenix Comic, Derwent Pencils, Soundsmith and Aha Marketing.

• The full list of guests is available at www.comicartfestival.com. It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page. Tickets for the festival will go on sale 13 May 2013.

Cooking up a treat: Busiek, Hine, Lloyd and Emerson join Lakes International Comic Art Festival line-up

Kendal's Lakes International Comic Art Festival has revealed more of the writers and artists who will be taking part in the event later this year.

The festival, which will run from 18-20 October 2013 in Kendal in Cumbria, now has a guest list running to more than 50 writers and artists from the United States, Europe, South America and the UK.

The latest guests announced by the festival again show the diversity of the medium including superheroes, comedy, adaptations of historical novels and innovative new story-telling.

American Kurt Busiek has won over two dozen industry awards for his work.  He has had runs on Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman, Conan and others, and has co-created books such as Thunderbolts and Arrowsmith.

He is best known for his work on the multiple-award-winning Astro City and Marvels.  A commercial and critical hit, Marvels tells the story of superheroes like Spider-Man and the X-Men from the point of view of an ordinary man on the street.  Stan Lee described it as 'a giant leap forward, bringing us to a new plateau in the evolution of illustrated literature'.

David Hine is a British writer who has worked with Marvel on comics such as X-Men and Spider-Man, as well as writing Batman comics for DC.  He is currently working with fellow festival guest Doug Braithwaite on Storm Dogs and has also worked on a comic adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel The Man Who Laughs, illustrated by Mark Stafford, which is published this week by SelfMadeHero.

Hunt Emerson has received several comics industry awards and in 2000 was named one of the 75 Masters of European Comics by the CNBDI, the noted French comics Academy.  He has produced witty adaptations of stories such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, as well as two books based on the ideas of Victorian philosopher John Ruskin. His latest book is a riotous take on Dante's Inferno.

David Lloyd, who launched a new digital comic Aces Weekly, last year, is the well-known illustrator and co-creator of V For Vendetta. He has also produced stories for the Hellblazer series, Aliens, Marlowe, War Stories, and the acclaimed crime thriller, Kickback.

Pete Doherty is an artist and colourist who is particularly known for his work on Judge Dredd.  He is currently colouring Jupiter’s Legacy, a new epic tale by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely.

Stephen Collins began cartooning for The Times in 2003, and has since won several awards, including the Jonathan Cape/Observer Graphic Short Story Prize 2010. He contributes regular comics to the Guardian Weekend and Prospect magazine. His first graphic novel The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is published by Jonathan Cape next month.

Warren and Gary Pleece’s Montague Terrace, published by Jonathan Cape last month,  is a series of surreal vignettes based in and around a decrepit London block of flats. The Observer's Rachel Cooke said the Pleece brothers' black and white drawings are 'brisk and economical, they have an energy that pulls you along. Their story gets under your skin.'

Steven Harris is a British cartoonist and writer, based in London. His first graphic novel Eustace was also published by Jonathan Cape last month.

Artist Rob Davis is best known for reinventing Roy of the Rovers and for drawing Judge Dredd. He has recently finished illustrating a second volume of Don Quixote stories, which will be published by SelfMadeHero in May.

Belgian Ivan Petrus is the author of The Nieuport Gathering, a moving historical comic book on World War One, in which a Belgian, French and English soldier meet each other on the front line, starting a friendship that will transcend life and death.

Nicola Streeten is an illustrator and the co-creator of Laydeez do Comics, a graphic novel forum with a focus on the new wave of comic work based on the drama of everyday life.  Her first graphic book, Billy, Me & You, was published by Myriad in October 2011.

Gareth Brookes is known for his unusual approach to materials, using embroidery, textiles, lino-cut print, stenciling and even pressed flowers in his work.  In 2012 he was the winner of the First Graphic Novel Competition. Myriad Editions is due to publish his book The Black Project in September 2013.

The guests who have already been announced include Ed Brubaker, Jose Munoz, Posy Simmonds, Viz creators Simon Thorp and Graham Dury, Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, comics journalist Joe Sacco and Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard. The founder patrons of the festival are Bryan and Mary Talbot, and Sean Phillips.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival aims to make the whole town of Kendal part of the festival, like the popular festivals on the continent in places such as Angouleme.

There will be a wide range of talks, special live drawing events, workshops, films, exhibitions and a kids’ zone.  Some of the events, including the exhibitions and the kids’ zone will also be free.

The festival's Comics Clock Tower will champion breaking talent from all styles and genres.  Many of the big name writers and artists visiting the festival will also be appearing in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend.

Festival Director Julie Tait says: “We want to turn Kendal into a comics town for the festival weekend and we are looking forward to welcoming all the writers and artists who will be coming here from across the UK, the US and Europe.

"Whether you call them comics, graphic novels or sequential art, this is a medium that is growing in popularity, so this new festival couldn’t be starting at a better time.

"We want to give the comic fans the chance to discover something new and encourage others who think comics are just for kids to pick up a graphic novel and find out what they're missing.

"We'll be celebrating people like Kurt Busiek and David Hine who have made their names taking forward the stories of some of our most famous superheroes.  We'll also be exploring the work of the many talented young British graphic novelists who are using comic art to tell a huge range of exciting and innovative stories.”
​
More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.  It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page. Tickets will go on sale 13 May 2013.

Charlie Adlard, Viz creators and more join Lakes Festival line up

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has revealed more of the writers and artists who will be taking part in the event later this year.

The festival, which will run from 18-20th October 2013 in Kendal in Cumbria, has a guest list running to more than 50 writers and artists from the United States, Europe, South America and the UK, who work in a wide range of different genres.

The latest group of guests range from Charlie Adlard, the artist on the hugely popular zombie comics The Walking Dead, to the men who created Britain’s most irreverent comic Viz, and American cartoonist Gilbert Shelton.

Charlie Adlard currently works with American writer Robert Kirkman on The Walking Dead, which dominates the list of US best selling graphic novels month in and month out.  It has been turned into a popular TV series, which is currently being broadcast on FX UK, with the third series due to start on Channel 5 around late spring.

Charlie says: “I'm very much looking forward to the event, particularly because the organisers are trying to style it on an Angouleme-style show, which I'm a big fan of.”

Simon Thorp and Graham Dury are two of the people who created Viz, which introduced characters like Raffles the Gentleman Thug, The Fat Slags, Felix and his Amazing Underpants and Roger Mellie the Man on the Telly to the world.

Viz parodies British comics like The Beano and The Dandy, with crude toilet humour, black comedy and surreal jokes. This will be the first comic event they have attended for more than 25 years (as far as they can remember!)

After a period producing underground comix in the sixties American Gilbert Shelton created The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy’s Cat. Unlike many cults from the sixties which have since faded away, The Freak Brothers are still going from strength to strength and are acquiring new fans all the time. They are published in 15 languages and worldwide sales are now over forty million copies.

Bryan Talbot, who is a patron of the new festival, says: "Gilbert Shelton is a comedy genius and a true original. His strips furnished catchphrases to the entire underground counterculture."

Hannah Berry is one of the talented young artists at the forefront of the new golden age for British comic art.  Her first graphic novel, Britten and Brulightly, was published by Jonathan Cape while she was still studying.  The Daily Telegraph said it was ‘superb’.  The New Statesman described her second graphic novel Adamtine as doing 'horror in the traditional way, while using the quirks of the medium to ratchet up the fear'.

Hannah says: "Just as comics are finally creeping into the public consciousness in the UK, The Lakes International Comic Art Festival takes the stage as the biggest, boldest and brightest celebration of their place in our culture. Long may it continue!"

The prize winning Argentine writer and illustrator Oscar Zarate has created two graphic novels with comedian Alexei Sayle - Geoffrey The Tube Train and The Fat Comedian.  He has also worked with Alan Moore on A Small Killing and produced several graphic novels with Carlos Sampayo. He will be celebrating his new book The Park at the festival as well as running an exclusive masterclass.

Karrie Fransman's autobiographical comic strips were published in The Guardian and her comic serial The Night I Lost My Love ran in The Times. Her graphic novel, The House That Groaned has been praised by film director Nicolas Roeg and was chosen as Graphic Novel of the Month in The Observer.

Robbie Morrison is best known for the Eagle award-winning Nikolai Dante saga which was serialised in 2000AD and, as we reported recently, he has written Drowntown, an epic adventure set in a flooded, futuristic London, which will be published by Jonathan Cape in the summer.  He is also a regular writer on Judge Dredd, and has scripted Batman and Spider-Man.

Spanish cartoonist Pau has won The Oscarcomix children's comics award, the Luis Molina International contests award (Italy) as well as the Haxtur Award for Humor, for his daily editorial cartoon Pau Per Tots.

Ravi Thornton is a multi-award-winning fiction writer whose work often involves a mix of different artistic approaches including graphic novels, sound and theatre.  Her work deals with adult subject matter and ranges from dark and disturbing, through wickedly outlandish, to heartbreakingly insightful. Her graphic novel The Tale of Brin and Brent and Minno Marylebone, published by Jonathan Cape, has been nominated for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards by the Horror Writers of America

Ravi says: "As a cross-media writer, I think very visually. I don't, however, draw. This means people who do draw are one of my most favourite things. At The Lakes International Comic Art Festival I'll be surrounded by them. It doesn't really get any better than that."

Luke Pearson is the writer and artist behind the highly-acclaimed Hilda series of comics published by Nobrow, which are aimed at both children and adults, and the short graphic novel Everything We Miss.

INJ Culbard won the award for Best Graphic Novel or Comic at the 2011 British Fantasy Awards for At the Mountains of Madness, published by SelfMadeHero.  He has also illustrated Deadbeats, which was published by SelfMadeHero late last year, in which a trio of 1920s Chicago jazz musicians find themselves battling with monsters, moonshiners and mobsters.

Inko is a Japanese Manga artist who now lives in the UK.  Her work includes Milk The Cat Comix and MangaQuake. She was also commissioned to create 19 Manga posters at Embankment Station in London as part of Art on the Underground.

Hannah Eaton was shortlisted for the First Graphic Novel competition in 2012 for Naming Monsters, which was published by Myriad Editions, the story of Fran a keen amateur crypto-zoologist – an expert in the study of animals that may not exist.

Kate Evans is an environmental campaigner who marries words and images for political effect.  Her latest book The Food of Love, published by Myriad Editions, is an ironic, self-deprecating view of the impossibility of perfection in an imperfect world.

They join founder patrons Bryan and Mary Talbot, and Sean Phillips, as well as writers and artists like Ed Brubaker, Jose Munoz, Posy Simmonds, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and Joe Sacco.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is modelled on the European comic festivals rather than comic conventions that UK audiences are more familiar with.

The aim is create an ‘en fete’ atmosphere, making the whole town part of the festival.  There will be a much bigger emphasis on the range of talks, special live drawing events, workshops, films, exhibitions and a kids’ zone.  Some of the events, including the exhibitions and the kids’ zone will also be free.

There will be a marketplace – The Comics Clock-tower - in Kendal Town Hall, where people will be able to buy comics and where authors and artists will be signing copies of their work. It will be smaller than at most comic conventions and will focus on writers, artists and publishers who are pioneers of a new wave of innovators in the field of comics and graphic storytelling.

Festival Director Julie Tait says: “We’ve now revealed more than half the line up for this year’s festival, so hopefully people have a real sense of the range and quality of what will be on offer later this year.   There’s an exciting mix of some of the big names from the world of comic art over the last few decades, as well as some of the best up-and-coming young writers and artists working in comics.

“We want to create something that is modelled on the European comic art festivals rather than the comic conventions that UK audiences will be more familiar with.

“We hope to take Kendal over for the weekend with comic art and we’ll be putting a lot of effort into individual events to give visitors a special experience.

“So people should expect something a bit different from most other comic events.  We hope it will not only appeal to the fans but also help to bring a new audience to comics, including many local people who may still be wondering what it’s all about!”
          
• More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.  It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page. Tickets will go on sale 7th May 2013.

Brubaker, Sacco and Munoz among first 'big name' guests for Lakes International Comic Art Festival

Lakes International Comic Art Festival Poster
by Bryan Talbot. Competition below!

Some of the biggest names in comic art - including top names such as Joe Sacco, Ed Brubaker and Posy Simmonds, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra - will be heading to the inaugural Lakes International Comic Art Festival later this year.

Festival organisers have just announced some of the guests of honour who will be appearing at the event which will run from 18-20th October 2013 in Kendal in Cumbria, who include writers and artists from the United States, Argentina, Spain and the UK, working in a wide range of different genres.

The event, which is modelled on the European style comic art festivals such as Angouleme, has a guest list running to more than 40 writers and artists - some yet to be announced.

Ed Brubaker. Photo: Luigi Novi

Organisers plan to reveal more names over the next few months, in the run up to tickets going on sale in May.

American writer Ed Brubaker is making his first visit to a British comic art event.  He is famous for his work on comics like Captain America, Batman, Catwoman, Uncanny X-Men and Daredevil, as well as the creator owned comics Criminal and Fatale. He has won four Eisner awards, the comic industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Artist Sean Phillips, a founder patron of the new festival along with Bryan Talbot, has been working with Ed Brubaker for about 12 years, most recently on Criminal and Fatale. “I find Ed’s work believable," he says. "We do crime fiction so there are obviously things like armoured car heists, pickpockets and other crime plots.

“But the important bit is the characters and how they react to their situations.  And the way the characters created by Ed react is always believable.  You have to be able to care about what happens to the characters and that is what he does really well.”

Jose Muñoz

Another guest at the festival, the highly rated Argentine artist Jose Muñoz, has had a strong influence on a number of other leading comic artists.  Muñoz is noted for his influential black and white artwork and his graphic novel series Alack Sinner was the inspiration for Frank Miller's Sin City comic series.

Art by Joe Sacco

Another US writer and artist who will be flying over for the festival is Joe Sacco, who writes and draws international political reportage in a comic book format, providing an insight into the complex issues of global politics while telling the stories of some of the ordinary people living in war torn areas like Sarajevo, Chechnya and Palestine.

Festival patron Bryan Talbot says: “Joe was trained as a journalist and singlehandedly created the genre of reportage in graphic novel form. Immersing himself in a situation, his in-depth reports use the medium of sequential art to its full advantage. His books, such as Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde or his recent Footnotes in Gaza, follow his investigations and interviews, explaining the history, politics and dynamics of the situation as he goes along.” 

Judge Dredd fans will be particularly looking forward to meeting British writer John Wagner and Spanish artist Carlos Ezquerra, who are the co-creators of the famous law maker.  They have both created many other characters for 2000AD including Strontium Dog. 

John is also credited as being one of the people who revitalised British comics in the 1970s along with Pat Mills and others.

The work of another guest, cartoonist Posy Simmonds, could not be more different.  She satirises the English middle classes, particularly those of a literary bent.  Her cartoons for The Guardian, Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, have both been turned into books.  Tamara Drewe won the Prix Des Critiques in 2009 and was made into a feature film in 2010. 

Posy has also written and drawn several books for children.

Two British comic creators coming to the festival recently won prestigious awards at Europe’s biggest comic art festival in Angouleme.

Glyn Dillon won the the Prix Spécial du Jury for The Nao of Brown, the story of a half Japanese, half English woman who suffers from violent morbid obsessions and a racing, unruly mind.  He has had a wide ranging career, including working as a storyboard artist and concept designer for both film and television.

Jon McNaught was the first Briton to win the Prix Révélation, The Best Newcomer Award, at Angouleme, for his first full-length book Automne (entitled Dockwood in English).

Artist Doug Braithwaite began his career in comics 25 years ago working for Marvel UK and 2000AD.  He has worked on many of the industry’s flagship titles, and has drawn just about every major character for both Marvel and DC comics. His recent work includes Secret Invasion: Thor, Wolverine Origins, and the award winning Justice series for DC comics.  He is currently working on the creator owned series Storm Dogs with writer David Hine.

Another British writer who will star at the inaugural festival is Andy Diggle.  He is currently working on Superman and writing stories for Doctor Who, Thief of Thieves and a new supernatural comic, Uncanny.  Andy has recently launched his own thriller called Snapshot with artist Jock.  He has also been nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award for co-creating the New York Times best-selling action thriller The Losers, which was turned into a film.

Andy says: “The wider world is finally waking up to the richness, vibrancy and immediacy of the comics medium in all its diverse genres. Comics aren't just great art and great entertainment - they're also educational. Multiple studies have shown that kids who read comics have improved literacy, and go on to read more prose in a wider range of styles and genres than kids who don't.

“So it's great to see a European-style comics festival come to the North-West, bringing the joy of comics to a whole new audience.

"As for myself, I'm looking forward to meeting the fans - and the other creators. Festival Director Julie Tait has pulled together an amazing line-up of talent, especially considering it's the inaugural festival. Long may it continue!”

These first nine guests of honour join founder patrons Bryan and Mary Talbot, who won the biography category in the Costa Book Awards earlier this year, and Sean Phillips.

Bryan Talbot has also created a special festival poster which features Kendal’s town hall a lake and references to 28 different comic art characters. If you can name all the comic characters referenced in the Festival's poster which has been created by Bryan Talbot, they'll put you into a prize draw to win one of five signed copies and our festival mug. Email your answers to media@comicartfestival.com by 11.00am on Monday 18th March.

The festival will include events where people will be able hear from writers and artists, panel discussions, special live drawing events, films, several exhibitions, workshops and a kids’ zone.  Authors and artists will be signing copies of their work and there will be a marketplace to buy comics and comic art.  There will also be some free events and exhibitions.

Festival Director Julie Tait says: “We’re very excited to give people their first real taste of the guest list for our new festival.  We have a great line up which includes top creators from the UK, Europe and further afield who are recognised as leading lights or exciting new talent - all are pioneers in some shape or form.

“We’ll be revealing more big names over the next few months.  We know people are eager to find out who all our guests are but we want to keep people in suspense for a bit longer!

“The festival will include a wide range of events, including some which are free.  We want The Lakes International Comic Art Festival to appeal not just to the people who are already big comic art fans but also to help bring new audiences to this fantastic and versatile medium.”
          
The founder partners of the event are the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal College, South Lakeland District Council and Osprey Communications. Founder supporters are Curious Road, Designworks and Jonathan Cape. The festival is also supported by Kendal Library and publishers Myriad Editions, Nobrow, Blank Slate, Knockabout and Selfmadehero.

The leader of SLDC, Councillor Peter Thornton, says: “I’m really excited about this inaugural Comic Art Festival. Super Heroes in Kendal, Spiderman climbing the Town Hall – who knows what will happen?

“Kendal’s a great place to have this festival and I know that it will draw in many visitors who will experience Kendal hospitality and return again and again. Great work by Julie and her team, South Lakeland District Council is pleased to be able to support this event.”

• More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.  It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page.

New festival to celebrate comic art launched in Lake District

A new festival which aims to match the vibrancy of France's annual Angouleme event was launched last night, to celebrate the very best comic art from across the world, from cartoon strips to superhero comics and manga to non-fiction graphic novels.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival will run from 18-20th October 2013 in Kendal, Cumbria.

The founder patrons of the new festival include Bryan and Mary Talbot who won the biography category in the Costa Book Awards earlier this month. They are joined by another internationally renowned comic artist Sean Phillips.

And, while the Festival organisers are keeping tight-lipped about their guest line-up, at a special event at the Brewery Arts Centre attended by local comic creators, arts organisers, press and councillors, Bryan revealed Guardian cartoonists Steve Bell and Posy Simmonds are signed aboard.

The full guest list will be revealed over the next few months, with top comic archivist and promoter Paul Gravett also on board and lending his support. The organisers, who have been attending numerous comics events around the country over the past few months and are planning the Festival as something long term, have already gained support in kind from designers, PR experts and local business, and had meetings with publishers in an effort to attract their support.

The launch of the new festival comes at a time when there is a growing buzz about comic art. Graphic novels have been taken increasingly seriously over the last 20 years.

Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, written by Mary Talbot and illustrated by husband Bryan, was the first graphic novel to win the biography category in the Costa Awards. The Chair of the 2013 Man Booker Prize has also encouraged entries by authors of graphic novels.

Bryan Talbot’s work also includes Batman, Judge Dredd, Alice in Sunderland and his Grandville series of detective thrillers. He also wrote and drew A Tale of One Bad Rat, which is partially set in the Lake District, a haunting tale homaging the work of Beatrix Potter.

Bryan Talbot at the Festival launch

“The UK is one of the only countries in Europe that doesn't have an international comic festival, celebrating the whole range of this versatile and exciting medium," he says. "This is the golden age of graphic novels, with more, and better, comic art being produced today than ever before.

"The Lakes International Comic Art festival is therefore a concept whose time has come."
Giving a brief overview of British and US comics history, and enthusing about the achievements of European comic festivals such as Angouleme, Bryan clearly has high hopes for this new Festival, supported by his wife.

“The medium of comics, or sequential art, is as valid an art form as any other and is capable of dealing with any subject and any genre in its own unique way, a way that is direct and accessible," he feels. "The best graphic novels are comparable to the best in prose, film or drama.”

The festival will include events where people will be able hear from some of the biggest names in comic art, panel discussions, films, exhibitions and workshops. Authors and artists will also be signing copies of their work and there will be a marketplace to buy comics and comic art.

Sean Phillips, who lives in Cumbria, has also worked as an artist on comics such as Batman and Hellblazer, and more recently on crime genre comics Criminal and Fatale.
“It's great to be involved with any festival that is interested in promoting the vast range of comics out there," he says.

“Comics is a medium, not a genre. It's not just superheroes and the Beano, and this festival is a good chance to see that there are comics for everyone, no matter what their interests are. Comics can be used to tell any type of story in any genre, and that should be celebrated.”

Festival organiser Julie Tait outlines plans for the event

The festival is the brainchild of Julie Tait and her 14-year-old comic fan son Finn, who live in Kendal.

"The Lakes International Comic Art Festival will celebrate this exciting and vibrant art form, which is gaining a growing number of fans of all ages," says Julie. "For me, the fusion of great art and great writing is dynamite. It makes it a very exciting, inspiring and challenging art form to be promoting, celebrating and encouraging."

The event's founders have looked to the comic art festivals held on the continent for inspiration, including Europe’s largest celebration of the art form at Angouleme in France, which takes place later this month.

"In countries like France there's a real appreciation of comics as an art form and our aim is to create something of the atmosphere at comic art festivals like the one in Angouleme," Julie enthuses. "There will be plenty for the real enthusiasts but we also hope it will help to introduce a new audience to comic art."

Julie also runs the team behind the Lakes Alive outdoor arts festival. Speaking about her latest venture she says: "There's a real enthusiasm in the Lake District and across Cumbria for new, contemporary cultural events. We believe this new festival will provide something that is inspiring, exciting and creative for local people to enjoy, as well as bringing in audiences from outside the area."

The new festival will take place at a number of venues across Kendal, including the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal College and the Town Hall and will be created and presented by Lakes Arts Festivals Ltd, a not-for-profit company.

• More details about the new event will be available at www.comicartfestival.com shortly. It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page.