Four cartoonists – Marc Jackson, Jim Medway, Young Comics Laureate Mollie Ray and Emmeline Pidgen – visited four schools this week, to further the cause of the Barrow UK Comic Book Town project, initiated by The LICAF Foundation, organisers of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.
The latest part of the project comprises a programme of 22 free workshops for Barrow Primary, Junior and SEND schools, with Emmeline, Jim Marc and Mollie
out in Barrow schools workshopping this week. 16 workshops take place this week alone, with more to follow in coming weeks, supported by the BEANO, who have provided hundreds of copies of the weekly humour comic to give away to each school.
“A great day for comics in Barrow and today is only the start!” Marc enthuses.
“The LICAF mission is simple… to bring comics and comic art storytelling to the children across Barrow! Each bringing a unique approach to comics which gives the children an incredible opportunity to create and be a part of it all.”
Barrow-in-Furness was officially declared the UK’s first Comic Book Town earlier this year, marking a significant milestone in a year-long initiative led by The Lakes International Comic Arts Foundation (LICAF). You can follow their progress on Facebook.
Announced just before the Barrow Does Comics festival in April, featured last month on the BBC’s The One Show, the project underscores the potential of comic arts to enhance literacy, creativity, and community involvement. By making Barrow and Cumbria a centre for comics education, the initiative sets the stage for innovative new approaches to reading and learning across the country.
LICAF has been on a mission to unleash the power of comics since 2013, with its first Festival event in Kendal. The organisation champions accessibility, sparks inspiration, and delivers pure entertainment through a world-renowned festival, alongside dynamic, year-round initiatives spanning vital research, creator support, and exciting educational projects.
Marc Jackson is has created comics, characters and projects for BEANO, The Phoenix, Hey kids comics, his own comic, GOOF, Aces Weekly, The Brooklyn Red Hook Star- Revue, and more. His 2017 comic, Here comes Cat Stevens, was commissioned by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival and funded by a grant from the Arts Council England. He also runs cartoon and comics workshops in Schools and Libraries around the world and organises MACC-POW! a comic art festival in his hometown, Macclesfield, each year. Marc also co-owns and runs Room For Comics a comics and cartoon art studio also based in Macclesfield.
Jim Medway, who studied in Manchester and is now based in Furness Vale, High Peak, is a cartoonist whose credits include The Phoenix and its predecessor The DFC. His work includes Crab Lane Crew Collection, and Sgt Chip Charlton & Mr Woofles of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, both published by Bog Eyed Books. He’s exhibited in the North West and across the UK, and worked with the Arts Council Collection and the Government Art Collection. As an educator, he’s done comics workshops around the UK and was a visiting tutor on the Graphic Storytelling course in Viborg, Denmark; and played a key role in the Qusasat Comics Camp in Palestine earlier this year.
Emmeline Pidgen is an illustrator and author specialising in children’s books and comics, as well as a wide range of illustration for commercial projects.
She loves creating heartfelt stories and characters inspired by family, nature, history and magic, and has worked for IDW and Egmont, works in advertising, comics, picture books, chapter books, book covers, and editorial illustration from a cosy studio in the North West of England.
Her work specialises in narrative and sequential illustration for both children and adults, strong use of character, and a bold colour palette; using a combination of digital and traditional media.
“I draw on my love of history, popular culture (mostly TV shows, boardgames, podcasts and video games!),” she says on her official web site, “learning new things, nature, and mythology to inspire my illustration work. “You’ll spot a lot of strong female characters, side profiles and coral/teal colour palettes in my portfolio.”
Mollie Ray was appointed as the UK’s inaugural Young Comics Laureate by Comics Youth CIC in partnership with LICAF and Comics Youth SCIO last year, a ground-breaking national role designed to champion comics for young people of all ages. Hailing from Lancaster, Mollie is an acclaimed comics artist whose debut graphic novel Giant (Faber & Faber, 2024) which tells the story of a family navigating a teenage boy’s cancer diagnosis – a wordless, emotionally charged work inspired by her younger brother’s illness.
Beyond her own practice, Mollie has led workshops in schools, SEN settings, care systems, and refugee communities, and collaborated internationally, including in Palestine, to help young people tell their stories through comics.
• Find out more about the Barrow Comic Book Town project here on the LICAF website
• You can follow the Barrow Comic Book Town Project progress on Facebook
• More about the LICAF Laureate Programme here
- About the Author
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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.
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