Music Meets Comics at first Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival in July

By John Freeman on February 29, 2016

As part of the award-winning Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival, ICE con organiser and publisher Shane Chebsey will be organising the first ever Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival in July.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the UK comic industry to be part of a popular music event,” Shane enthuses “and I am incredibly proud to be involved in such a prestigious festival in my beautiful hometown of Shrewsbury.”

The Shropshire town is of course no stranger to invading artists, as it has hosted the unconnected Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival for 13 years (with the next event on Saturday 13th April).

“For comic fans or those who love comics related material like The Walking Dead, Marvel movies and TV we are very excited to announce that we have a whole host of special guest artists lined up to appear,” says Shane, “for signings and other special events.”

Howard Chaykin – heading to Shrewsbury in July.

Announced guests so far include American Flagg creator Howard Chaykin from the US, Barry Kitson, Jimmy Broxton, Dylan Teague and independent comics creator and educator Dan Berry – to name just a few.

If another major UK comics event wasn’t enough for you, headlining the Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival on the Saturday are legendary indy band The Happy Mondays – one of the most influential bands of the 1990s.

“The best news is that if you buy your tickets now you get entry to the festival for the incredibly low price of just £29,” Shane urges.

“This is a top event” says Shane, “a massive opportunity for comic creators to reach a whole new audience.

“It’s not a convention just for fans it’s full festival… the whole town is behind it!”

• Early bird weekend tickets now available for Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival (from Friday 15th July – Sunday 17th July 2016) are available here

• Follow the Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival on Facebook here

About the Author
Latest Posts

John Freeman

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.