The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has revealed its poster and first guest announcement for its annual event, in Kendal in October.
Top award-winning American comic creator and classically trained painter Bill Sienkiewicz, best known for, perhaps, for his work for Marvel Comics such as Elektra: Assassin and Moon Knight, and Stray Toasters, and much more, besides, will make his first appearance at the long-running event, and has created this year’s main poster.
It’s a nod to both the Lakes and the organisation’s new logo, which will be used across all its LICAF The Foundation work, including its local, national and international partnership work.
“It’s a ways off yet, but I’m thrilled to say I’ll be a guest at the Lakes District international Comics Arts Festival in October,” Bill told his fans on Facebook yesterday. He will be at the event over the entire weekend.
The Festival returns to Kendal over Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th October 2026, after being hosted in Bowness-on-Windermere since 2022. Discounted Early Bird tickets are available now from the new Festival website at licaf.co.uk/festival.
The brand new website will not only be the place to keep abreast of Festival announcements, along with its social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, but also to keep up to date on the inaugural Barrow Does Comics, taking place, and the work of the Comics Laureate, the post currently held by Bobby Joseph.
More guests, artists and Festival surprises are coming soon.
LICAF has been on a mission to unleash the power of comics since 2013. Across its work, they champion accessibility, spark inspiration, and deliver pure entertainment through a world-renowned festival, alongside dynamic, year-round initiatives spanning vital research, creator support, and exciting educational projects.
• Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2026, Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th October 2026, Kendal | Discounted Early Bird tickets are available now from the new Festival website at licaf.co.uk/festival | Direct Ticket Sales Link on TryBooking
Meet Bill Sienkiewicz
Award-winning artist Bill Sienkiewicz (pronounced sin-KEV-ich) is a multi-Eisner Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated artist known for revamping the style of comic and graphic novel illustration – a feat earning him an international reputation across media industries, as well as entrée into the Eisner Hall of Fame.
He is most noted for Marvel’s Elektra: Assassin, Moon Knight, and New Mutants – inspiring FX’s Legion and Disney’s New Mutants – and his acclaimed graphic novel, Stray Toasters. He earned two Emmy nominations for his work on the animated series Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Sienkiewicz has also contributed on-set and promotional artwork for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Batman, Dune: Part One, Dune: Part Two, the Moon Knight series, the 2018 Halloween remake, Logan, The Grinch, The Green Mile, and Unforgiven.
His work, including his ident design for the Lake Como Festival and new Hawaiian Islands Comic Art Festival debuting January 2027, has graced numerous album and book covers, US Olympic campaigns, and museums and galleries across the US, Canada, Europe, and Brazil. In 2025, his work spent a month aboard the International Space Station.
• Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2026, Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th October 2026, Kendal | Discounted Early Bird tickets are available now from the new Festival website at licaf.co.uk/festival | Direct Ticket Sales Link on TryBooking
• Bill Sienkiewicz is online at billsienkiewiczart.com
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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Well, that’s confirmed what I’m doing in the first weekend in October