More British Comic Creators Wander Lakes-wards in October

Kieron Gillin. Photo © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

Kieron Gillin – heading to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in October. Photo © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

As the Lakes International Comic Art Festival team get set to fly out to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival with one group of talented British creators, it’s also announced more UK guests for its upcoming October weekend (16th-18th October 2015).

Joining an already impressive line up of both British and international guests that includes Darwyn CookeSteve BellBouletKathryn and Stuart ImmonenBill Morrison and Dave McKean will be Tank Girl co-creator Alan C. Martin, Marvel Comics writer and Eisner Award-nominated Kieron GillenJudge Dredd Megazine writer Si Spencer and comic artists Jock and DIX.

This latest announcement comes as the Lakes team prepare to head to TCAF with several British guests for its first “Lakes Pavilion” event, including comics creator Hunt Emerson; comics creator, educator and 24 Hour Comic Marathon co-ordinator Dan Berry; graphic novelist Joe Decie, who is working on a longform project thanks to funding from the Lakes Festival; Oliver East, author of titles such as Trains Are Mint, who has just completed his “Elephant Walk” from Edinburgh to Manchester in preparation for a new graphic novel funded by LICAF; UK-based stitcher and prolific tea drinker Felt Mistress AKA Louise Evans; illustrator Jonathan Edwards, co-creator of the Festival’s much-loved Poblin mascot with Louise; and Manchester-based author David Gaffney.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is the only one of its kind in the UK. Modelled on European-style festivals, such as Angoulême in France, it takes over a whole town for a weekend with comic art. Its aim is to celebrate the whole spectrum of comic art, inspiring existing comic art fans and creators and, it hopes, generating new audiences and creators too. It invests in creators through a commissioning programme and has an emphasis on developing international collaborations.

The festival takes place in one of the UK’s most beautiful areas – the English Lake District in the North West of the country and in the market town of Kendal.

The hugely successful 2014 Festival featured a stellar cast of both British and international creators and a number of special exhibitions, and attracted thousands of fans young and old to the Lake District town.

The Festival’s dedicated organisers are determined to build on last year’s visitors numbers still further, reflecting their aim to deliver a truly European-style comics festival involving the whole of the local community and visitors in a truly unique comics experience.

• Tickets for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival go  on sale from 3rd June 2015.

• For the latest news on the 2015 Lakes International Comic Art Festival visit: www.comicartfestival.com

Lakes International Comics Art Festival: Latest Guests

Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin, circa 1994.

Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin, circa 1994.

Alan C. Martin is a comics writer best known as author of the comic strip Tank Girl, who began his comics career in 1986 after meeting Jamie Hewlett at Worthing Art College where they collaborated on the comic/fanzine Atomtan.

Tank Girl first appeared in the debut issue of Deadline in 1988, a British magazine intended as a forum for new comic talent, or as its publishers Brett Ewins and Tom Astor put it, “a forum for the wild, wacky and hitherto unpublishable,” and it continued until the end of the magazine in 1995. The character made the leap to the big screen and has a huge cult following across the globe, with a new collection now in the works from Titan Comics.

Martin has produced a comprehensive Tank Girl website which has information, exclusive art, blogs and exclusive sneak previews, as well as links to all Tank Girl material in print.

• Alan C. Martin on tumblr: http://alancmartin.tumblr.com

• The Official Tank Girl web site: http://www.tank-girl.com

Wicked + Divine Art

Cutting his teeth in journalism, largely about gaming for which he won several awards, Kieron Gillen moved into writing comics. He describes his efforts in the medium as “divided between arty credible ones which will make girls nod sagely and find him more attractive and things with zombies and machine-guns”.

His work which he’s most closely associated with is Phonogram, which he produced with Jamie McKelvie and was received with the correct mixture of rapture and bemusement and has, along with his work for Marvel Comics and other publishers, made him one of the hottest writers in the industry.

Since Phonogram, he has continued to work with McKlevie, with a celebrated run on Young Avengers and their current sale hit published by Image Comics, The Wicked + Divinewhich has just been nominated for an Eisner Award.

His other credits include ThorJourney Into MysteryUncanny X-MenIron Man and, in 2015, the new Star Wars title for Marvel, Darth Vader.

At Avatar Press, he is writing the World War Two  superhero book Uber and Mercury Heat.

• Kieron Gillen’s WorkBlog: http://gillen.cream.org

JockJock is an award-winning, British artist renowned for his edgy, dynamic style and gritty design aesthetic. He is best known for co-creating New York Times bestselling graphic novel series The Losers with Andy Diggle. His previous work includes the original graphic novel, Hellblazer: Pandemonium for DC Comics and stunning covers for numerous titles such as X-Men, Daredevil and Scalped, which led to his nomination as Best Cover Artist at the Eisner Awards.

He has recently completed writing and drawing his first mini series for Marvel Comics, Savage Wolverine, and is currently drawing a major new creator owned ongoing series, Wytches, with writer Scott Snyder.

Official Site: www.4twenty.co.uk

Si SpencerSi Spencer is a writer for comics and television. As a TV scriptwriter, he has written for  Grange Hill,  EastEnders and  The Bill. His comic work includes strips for Judge Dredd Megazine and  Deadline and the longer works  Books of Magick (with Neil Gaiman), Hellblazer: City Of Demons, The Vinyl Underground, and the award-winning 2014 cult hit series  Bodies, all published by DC/Vertigo.

His latest graphic novel is a mould-breaking horror story, Klaxon, illustrated by DIX and published by SelfMadeHero in October 2015.

• Follow Si Spencer on Twitter @/sispencer

DIXDIX is a freelance illustrator, designer and comic book artist whose output includes regular strips for  The Guardian. His work has featured in  It’s Dark in London, the classic anthology edited by Oscar Zarate (SelfMadeHero),  Crisis magazine, and many more publications.

He is the co-founder of  Purr magazine and has written and designed several children’s books. Most recently, he collaborated with Si Spencer to create Klaxon, a mould-breaking horror story to be published by SelfMadeHero in October 2015.

• Official Site: http://grimreality.org


 

• Tickets for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival go  on sale from 3rd June 2015.

• For the latest news on the 2015 Lakes International Comic Art Festival visit: www.comicartfestival.com

• Sign up for the Festival’s newsletter here for the latest news! 



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