Welcome to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival publications, some still available through bookshops, both physical and digital.
24 by 7
On 16th October 2014, seven artists – Dan Berry, Kristyna Baczynski, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, Joe Decie, Sarah McIntyre, Fumio Obata and Jack Teagle – entered a room together as part of the Lakes International Comic Festival in Kendal. Their mission was to each draw a 24-page comic in 24 hours. By the evening of the following day all the stories were drawn and boxes of the comics were being picked up from the printers to go on sale at the show. This book, edited by Dan Berry, collects those stories.
• You can buy it from AmazonUK
Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash
In 2016, Dark Horse proudly presented a new original graphic novel by the legendary artist Dave McKean based on the life of Paul Nash, a surrealist painter during World War One. Initiated by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Black Dog – the Dreams of Paul Nash saw comic art tackling one of the most harrowing and dark periods of human history, providing a new insight into Nash’s iconic World War One artworks.
David McKean is an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art and sculpture. After a trip to New York in 1986 during which he failed to find work as a comics artist, McKean met writer Neil Gaiman and the pair collaborated on a short graphic novel of disturbing childhood memories, Violent Cases, published in 1987. This was followed in 1988 by a Black Orchid miniseries (again with Gaiman) and Hellblazer covers for DC Comics. Beginning in 1989 he produced the covers for Gaiman’s celebrated series The Sandman, all its collected editions and many of its spin-offs, and the Batman graphic novel, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, with writer Grant Morrison (1989).
• You can buy it from AmazonUK
Carrot to the Stars
This Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2016 hosted the official global English language launch of Carrot to the Stars (La carotte aux étoiles). The LICAF team translated the publication and were joined at the festival by artist Riff Reb’s and publishing Director, Pascal Meriaux, who organises the Amiens Comics Festival, to mark the release of this special new edition.
Riff Reb’s was born in Algeria and lived his formative years in Le Havre, France. He attended The School of Decorative Arts and later co-founded the Azylum Studio, a place of creativity of now-recognised artists. Their first project, Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, an animated series, was adapted simultaneously as a comic book. After years of publishing comics in France and developing a bittersweet drawing style, Riff Reb’s has become a leading figure in a new school of comic books, skilfully blending a dynamic, innovative drawing style with an often-irreverent style of speech.
• You can buy it from AmazonUK
Coelifer Atlas
Coelifer Atlas was the outcome of a special 24 Hour Marathon Comic project at LICAF 2016, featuring a stellar line up of talent, aiming to raise awareness of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Coelifer Atlas was written by Alex Paknadel and Dan Watters, and drawn by Dan Berry (editor), Craig Thompson, Charlie Adlard, Emma Vieceli, Petteri Tikannen, Bruce Mutard, Nick Brokenshire, Bryan Talbot, Ken Niimura, Joe Decie, Mike Medaglia and Jacob Phillips.
The Spirit Newspaper
In October 2017, to celebrate the centenary of Will Eisner, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival launched the Spirit Centenary Newspaper featuring a cover by Becky Cloonan and work by Brendan McCarthy, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Graham Dury and Simon Thorp, Chris Samnee, John M Burns, Sergio Aragonés, Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo, Seth, Jason Latour, Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch, and Michael Cho.
Traces of the Great War
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2018 saw the launch of Traces of the Great War, a remarkable, original anthology of 18 thought-provoking graphic short stories bridging the past and present. Internationally-acclaimed comic book artists, graphic novelists and writers explore the continued relevance and resonance of the First World War and its legacy in our lives today.
• Read More about “Traces of the Great War: An Anthology of Illustrated Stories for 14-18 NOW”