licaf overview 2013

The Lakes InTernaTIonaL ComIC arT FesTIvaL 2013 Overview

“You did a massive job - and a fi ne one - with the festival. I think it will be very important for British comics.”Joe Sacco, USA, guest creator (Journalism, Palestine, The Great war)


Created and presented by Lakes Arts Festivals, a not for profi t company ltd by guarantee

www.comicartfestival.com

“We’ve just come back from a new Comic Art Festival in the UK - in the Lake District - which is called, appropriately enough, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Very progressive, inasmuch as it aimed to cover all angles in the growing and growingly enriched fi eld of comic art here, by having a wider range of creators in the mix than generally seen in most similar shows - and from around the globe. They’re a bit like us, actually! They had political cartoonists, underground cartoonists, indie folks and extremely famous folks, and the new group of creators who are directly published in book form via companies like Blank Slate.

This festival was obviously successful and is good news for all those looking to widen the audience for comic art creativity. Its policy of encouraging attendance from casual visitors curious about the medium in its various forms proved a positive move - and there’s no doubt that’s the only way to ensure its healthy development for the future.”David Lloyd, UK, guest creator (v for vendetta) and ACeS weekly (digital comics)


How it came about and what it is trying to do – a personal perspective

The idea had been building up for some time and towards the end of 2012 a whole series of circumstances and possibilities came together to drive me to take the leap and establish this new festival. i have been working in the arts for nearly 25 years and have found my place in areas where “excellence” and “accessibility” really do sit together, “the great art for everyone” mantra of the Arts Council. My most recent work has been in the street and outdoor arts arena where risk-taking, subversiveness, humour and beauty are the order of the day and where people are taken out of the ordinary and can imagine alternatives, difference etc. i don’t mean this to sound at all pretentious - it is fact and i have seen it involve, inspire and enthuse audiences from the widest backgrounds and tastes, many of whom would not class themselves as arts “consumers” or attendees at all. really exciting and motivating it is too.

Comic art has always been an interest and my 15 year old son has intensifi ed this for me over the last few years so it has become a shared interest. we have been to a wide range of conventions and events together. He has

Asperger’s Syndrome so our experiences have been a little unusual too - a longer story. i have seen the parallels between outdoor arts and comic art and feel there is huge potential to reach a wider audience and so much amazing work going on - innovative and of the highest quality. Call it zeitgeist - there was no major event in the North west celebrating comic art and where better to put on a true cultural festival about this medium than the Lakes?

i approached Sean Phillips, an internationally-renowned comic artist, who lives locally, and suggested the idea of a new festival. He has attended many comic art events across the world and thought a new kind of event here was an interesting proposition and suggested i speak to Bryan Talbot regarded by many as the “godfather” of British comics. He couldn’t have been more enthusiastic and poured forth with ideas and contacts. He agreed to be a founder patron as did his wife and collaborator Mary Talbot. Not long after Bryan and Mary won the biography category of the prestigious Costa Book Awards, the fi rst time a graphic novel had won a major literary prize in the UK.

The idea was shared with a number of people who i have worked with successfully on other projects and who leapt at the opportunity to support – they quickly became core partners. These were Curious road Design, Osprey Communications, Designworks and Kendal College and the Brewery Arts Centre (the latter two becoming the critical core partners). And the rest is history…..

Julie Tait, October 2013


Did It Work?in many respects the best way to assess whether it achieved its goal of a) putting on a new kind of comic art event celebrating the whole spectrum of the medium and b) of creating a comic art town for a weekend european-style is by reading the reviews of a few key arts and comic arts bloggers and writer. Here are some extracts with more being submitted as the days go by:-

THe LAKeS COMiC FeSTivAL GeTS everYTHiNG riGHT LAURA SNEDDON – 28 OCTOBer 2013

Last weekend i headed south for Kendal, a bustling town in the beautiful Lake District of england for a comics festival with a difference. The Lakes international Comic Art Festival fully embraced a european (Angoulême) approach to the medium, with the whole town celebrating the weekend of events, and perhaps consequently drawing a much more diverse crowd than even the largest comic conventions can boast.

with Mary and Bryan Talbot, winners of a prestigious UK Costa literary prize, as two of the founder patrons, the festival found itself splashed across the mainstream media in the run up to the event: why academics are taking comic books seriously (BBC); Mary Talbot’s family run comic- book revolution (The independent on Sunday); Comic and graphic novel stars take over Kendal for new festival showcase (The Guardian) Yes, two of those are mine (i confess!) but given how diffi cult it is to actually get comic features into these papers – and in the busiest literary month of the year no less – it was interesting to note just how much attention this new festival was receiving. i was really interested to see just how busy the various events would be, and what kind of crowd mix would be drawn to the very varied program.

Only a handful of cosplayers but they seemed to have fun nonetheless!

How busy was it then? very! i was expecting a large number of the usual crowd given the star-fi lled guest list, but i think what really sealed the event’s success was both that great diversity within that line-up, and the fact that everything was so much a part of the town and so much more visibly accessible than many of the comic conventions i have attended in the past. This worked particularly well in Kendal, as it is already a thrumming tourist and market town on an average day.

People walking past many of the venues, from the library to the clock tower, and the cinema to the arts centre, were all free to pop in and have a look at what was going on. The streets were decorated with banners and fl ags advertising the festival – a Batman fl ag fl ew proudly above the Clock Tower – while various shop windows on the high street had been given over to celebrating all things comic.

i was also impressed to see signage for all the venues generously posted around the town – ideal for someone with no sense of direction like myself! Free exhibitions in various venues, showcasing art from the likes of Bryan Talbot, Sean Phillips (the third founder patron), Hannah Berry and Stephen Collins, also helped tempt the crowds in off the streets. with guests including ed Brubaker, Joe Sacco, Mary and Bryan Talbot, Posy Simmonds, Kurt Busiek, Andy Diggle, Hunt emerson, David Lloyd, Trina


robbins, Sean Phillips, Gilbert Shelton, Carlos ezquerra and many more, there was a wonderful mix of comic fans, graphic novel afi cionados, and newcomers to the medium (of all ages) mingling and enjoying the festival atmosphere.

in some regards it reminded me of the recent Stripped strand at the edinburgh Book Festival, but it was more welcoming even than that – with a huge number of events across the days and into the evenings, as well as many events in the family zone (again, well sign-posted!) for any kidlets passing through.

The number of events did mean it was impossible to see everything, but with the very different guests attracting different sections of the audience, i didn’t fi nd many people complaining about missed opportunities. Looking around at various events i found that while there were defi nitely still more men than women, the latter were closing the gap to that 50/50 mark, and most evident of all was the huge age-span of the audience – in some places i was the youngest, in others the oldest! Always a good sign.

extracts :-

Taking place over three days and a whole host of venues, the best description of it comes from one of the festival’s founders, Bryan Talbot (more on him later!), in the offi cial programme:

“Thirty years ago i attended my fi rst major european comics festival in Lucca in italy and it blew my mind. Here was an entire town en fete, a public celebration of the medium we love. ever since then i’ve had a dream of a UK equivalent and now, at last, it’s here.”

in a marked contrast to other comics things i’ve been to, there’s less an atmosphere of the attending comics readers being weirdo outsiders (not that there’s anything wrong with that) plonked into the middle of a world of staring, mildly- amused/disgusted ‘normal’ folks, and more an air of “Cool! Fun! Festival atmosphere! Get involved!”. it’s of interest to people who know fuck-all about comics too, y’know? The fact it deals with comics all across the spectrum helps, too, from your superheroes to the Beano to the Phoenix to viz to autobio stuff and on and on oh man it was basically a right treat.

All in all, it was such a fun weekend, and it felt inclusive and inspiring (i’m overusing that word, eh?), and i never felt that i was dragging my Signifi cant Other to events that were Not For Them (except maybe the comics colouring talk), who is mainly an autobio comics reader. There was something for everyone and oh my, it was just so pleasant and nice and amiable and i’m really going to have to invest in a thesaurus.

One venue seemed to specialise in live drawing showcases, another in one on one panels, and the Clock Tower was perhaps the busiest of all, hosting the small (and big!) press tables, independent creators, and signing events. it was here that i spent most of my time, catching up with friends, meeting new people, and yes – new people!

Meanwhile across town there were talks from Bryan Talbot, Steve Bell, ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Hunt emerson and Gilbert Shelton, and “watch them Draw” events with Charlie Adlard, Stephen Collins, Glyn Dillon, and Oscar Zarate. i caught the Phillips and Brubaker talks which were both interesting – i believe Sean Phillips had a few sneaky copies of Dynamite’s upcoming The Art of Sean Phillips HC – and it was particularly great to see ed Brubaker on his fi rst trip to a UK event. The writer of incognito, Criminal, and Captain America spoke about many of his comics and screenwriting gigs, as well as his fondness for spy stories thanks to his father who worked in naval intelligence, and his uncle who worked for the CiA.

But all that was just the Saturday alone, unfortunately all that my hectic schedule allowed for. There were many more events on the Sunday and on the Friday night too, with lots of fun going on long into the evening. The talks i went to were packed, the various venues full, and thank goodness that Kendal is a tourist town anyway as even though the coffee shops were all overfl owing, there was always a seat to be found somewhere. Having the venues spread across town, though still fairly close together was a clever move – allowing room to breathe between time slots, and for the whole town to benefi t from the infl ux of visitors. And indeed for the festival to benefi t from more curious passers by coming along to enjoy the show.

All in all, the Lakes international Comic Art Festival was probably the most relaxing comics convention/festival i have attended yet, and a great way of both celebrating the medium that we love and of opening the doors to that wider audience. And the best news of all is that the festival has proven so successful, that it is defi nitely returning next year. Kudos! Laura Sneddon is a comics journalist and academic, writing for the mainstream UK press with a particular focus on women and feminism in comics.

THe LAKeS COMiC FeSTivAL GeTS everYTHiNG riGHT (continued)

i wAS AT THe LAKeS iNTerNATiONAL COMiC ArT FeSTivAL OCTOBer 27 2013BLOG THE SLOW BULLET – 27 OCTOBer 2013


extracts :-

Yesterday i managed to sneak away for a day for a good long drive to The Lakes international Comic Art Festival (LiCAF) that was being held in Kendal over the weekend of. And that last word Festival is the most important word to be used in discussion with LiCAF. it’s a FeSTivAL, not a Convention. i repeat it is NOT a convention as most comic fans expect. You know show up at an enormous shed with lots of tables and the artists and writers sit and sign all day with areas allocated for talks. Hell no, the organisers took over the eNTire town.

Arriving into town they had set out their stall with massive posters where you usually see the welcome to Kendal signs advertising LiCAF, and as you got closer to the town massive banners across the streets advertising the Festival. No not your standard comic convention this. And then once you have parked up etc, and start to walk through the town you really start to see that the Festival had truly taken over the entire town. it wasn’t just the multiple venues everywhere; there were activities all over the place covering comics in many different ways.

Such as over 50 shop owners who had decorated their windows with amazing displays of comic art and comic related goodness, what a splendid effort and helped made the town look so special. And just wandering about i kept discovering lots of events for everyone to get involved in LiCAF no matter their age or comic tastes.

Such as in the westmorland shopping centre where several of the shops had been turned over to comics workshops for the kids to have a go at drawing comics and boy did the kids get stuck in, from colouring in superheroes to making up a massive strip that went round the walls. How wonderful to see kids still loving comics, maybe the next Talbot or Phillips started their fi rst step on their journey with this? There was also a superhero face painting and photography event and a seaside type attraction where you stick your head through and get your photo taken looking like a superhero. But this wasn’t all, over in another shopping centre the Beano had set up a pop up shop and the next door library was having various comic related events and while i popped in a Peppa Pig event where they were reading Peppa Pig comics. So yes the kids were really being catered to at LiCAF which was wonderful to see.

But so far this is only scratching the surface of what was all going on as i now headed off to wildman Street where fi rst off there was a brilliant exhibition of Bryan Talbot art on the entire weekend, that featured his very early stuff right up to his latest work Sally Heathcote, Suffragette. And what a great variety of people were in attendance at this event, in fact i think i was only person in at the time below retirement age! it seemed the local area had really gotten excited about the Festival and had turned out to see just what comics are about. Then round the corner there was a restaurant/historical house that had a huge selection of original comic artwork by Hannah Berry and Stephen Collins, including a fantastically funny Fru T. Bunn viz gingerbread character lying on the bed. But i was the only person

looking round this! And that was probably my only problem with such a spread out Festival in that i don’t think most people had realised just how much stuff was spread everywhere round the town waiting to be found and discovered. i haven’t even started talking about the main venues yet that had massive crowds, as i say this was a Festival and i think there could have been a bit more work done by the organisers to let people know about all of this wonderful stuff, and again why i’m mentioning all of this wonderful stuff fi rst. it was this that made the Festival special and unique, not the talks or the mart/signings.

And that isn’t me criticising the organisers in any way, this was LiCAF’s inaugural year and how amazingly organised it was. it felt like it was in at least its fourth or fi fth year. it had no teething problems that i could see and was running like a well oiled machine with excellent queue management and super friendly volunteers enjoying LiCAF just as much as the guests and audience.

And what a wonderful weekend of celebration of comics it was even from my short visit, and what a great start for future years. if this was year one and they managed to do things on such a large and professional scale i can see this event being as large as Angouleme in years to come, just as long as it continues to be funded by the various organisations that have funded the event this year, and it certainly deserves to be. it’s not in any shape or form like any of the other comic’s events in the UK, not even the recent Stripped strand at the edinburgh Book Festival. Just don’t come expecting sketches and signings, come and enjoy comics and comics people instead!

THe LAKeS iNTerNATiONAL COMiC ArT FeSTivAL - ONe DAY ALL COMiC BOOK SHOwS wiLL Be LiKe THiS BLEEDING COOL – 23 OCTOBer 2013


extracts :-

There’s a new kind of comic event coming to our shores, modelled not on the superhero- focused all-American approach, but on a much closer neighbour: the european comic festival. with founder patrons including the Costa prize-winning Mary and Bryan Talbot, the Lakes international comic art festival has an eclectic guest list, from the artist of The walking Dead, Charlie Adlard, to the graphic journalist Joe Sacco. And unlike a fair number of other conventions, which have come under fi re in the past few years for only inviting only one or two women guests – if any – this weekend’s event taking over the whole of Kendal, Cumbria, aims to include talents old and new from both sides of the gender divide.

COMiC AND GrAPHiC NOveL STArS TAKe Over KeNDAL FOr New FeSTivAL SHOwCASe – LAKeS iNTerNATiONAL COMiC ArT FeSTivAL eSCHewS SUPerHerO MODeL TO Give wOMeN wriTerS AND ArTiSTS eQUAL BiLLiNGTHE GUARDIAN – 17 OCTOBer 2013


The main events programme

A series of 52 carefully-produced, ticketed events including live draws (watch them Draw), presentations, panel discussions, one-to-one interviews and some theatrical performances plus a related fi lm programme. Most events were followed by guest signings/sketchings to give audiences an exclusive opportunity within the festival to meet the creators. This programme was populated by our main guests who were invited to participate, paid an honorarium for their attendance and whose travel, accommodation and subsistence was paid for by the festival. Some support was given by some publishers but in year one this was limited being a fi rst year. There were 59 guests in total from right across the UK, USA, Spain/Argentina, Belgium and France.

The elements of the programme in brief (please see printed programme for full detail) with some facts and fi gures and basic observations

we also worked with more than 10 presenters including Paul Gravett, Dr Mel Gibson, John McShane Nicola Streeten, Dr Dave O’Brien and Dr Andrew Miles.

Additional special guests as observers at the festival included Dan Franklin (Publisher, Jonathan Cape), Christopher Butcher (Director, Toronto Comic Art Festival), Andrew Butcher (Owner, The Beguiling comic book shop, Toronto), Helene Fiamma (French Cultural institte) and major players on comic arts scene from Sweden and Finland.

The venues were diverse focussing on the Brewery Arts Centre and The Box (Kendal College) but also including Kendal Library (3 free events to extend access), Kendal College Main Site (Sat eve only) and the Abbot Hall Gallery (Sat eve only).


Audiences and observations

Just short of 3000 tickets were sold with a large number of complimentary tickets made available to guests, media etc. it meant the auditoria were generally quite full for each event but not on a paying basis with around 70-75% capacity. Total tickets released numbered just over 4,000 with estimated attendance of 2,000 people.

The 3 free events which included ‘everyone we Know Loves the Beano’ attracted a total audience of nearly 300 people with the latter being over-subscribed.


The basic box offi ce data available to us suggests that the audience demographic was :-

1) Age – approximately 50% were aged 26-45. Mapped against the national Taking Part (cultural participation survey) this is a signifi cantly larger percentage than average in this age group

2) Gender – fairly equal mix throughout all elements of the festival

3) Origin – a map showing UK origins is here though we know a signifi cant number had traveled especially from France, Spain, Belgium, Scandanavia, the USA and Japan. The map shows origins with purchasing pattern too ie how many tickets bought (lightest yellow: 1-2 tickets, soft orange: 3-9 tickets, darker orange: 10-40 tickets, mid red: 41-191 tickets, dark red: 192+ tickets)

review cards were devised and handed out at a wide range of events by the CN Group (North west evening Mail) to get instant feedback. Of 200 reviews completed 125 gave a maximum rating for quality and enjoyment of 5 stars and 47 gave 4 stars. A word cloud is here which summarises the responses.

There were many lessons learned about improvements to the content and style of some events and to the gaps between events (and venues) too. These are minor issues to address we feel. The watch Them Draw events, which

were intimate and relaxed and featured artists drawing live with their work projected onto a big screen, were particularly popular and captured people’s imaginations regardless of whether they knew anything about comic art or not. The diverse range of comic artists and events was hugely appreciated and some people who had come for just one niche of the programme found themselves traveling in new directions. The fi lms with introductions worked well but may need to be more carefully aligned with the guests in the future and there is clearly a hunger for more manga and events suitable for younger people.


“Thank YOU and everybody else involved in organising it. Though I was feeling quite knackered and jaded when I arrived, I felt truly invigorated by the time I left. It was great to meet old friends and make new ones. I’ll be back like a shot. Just say the word. Regards”Steve Bell, UK, guest creator


“First of all, thank you (x thousand) for a most excellent fi rst Festival. I aim to write some lengthier feedback once I am home, but for now I am still on the road, and fair buzzing from the excitement. My greatest compliment goes to the red shirt brigade, who were truly outstanding - capable, helpful, and every one great fun to talk to. They refl ected back so well on the level of preparation and organising here. That the town as a whole was so truly welcoming also does not hurt!

Thanks again, ever so much, for an outstanding and historic weekend. More strength to your elbow. It is fabulous news that it will be happening again next year. We fi nally have a comics event that rivals the best of the community festivals that Europe has to offer”ILYA, UK guest creator

“I honestly believe it could not have gone any better! The exhibitions were superb, Bryan and Sean’s gallery exhibitions were spot on, insightful and educational.

The talks were wonderful and thoroughly engaging (my highlights: Steve Bell and Joe Sacco-Hosted by Steve). I missed the Posy Simmonds talk, but i know she is always highly entertaining and i’m sure her talk went down a storm.

The staff and helpers were wonderful and I managed to talk to one of the councillors on Saturday night and was encouraged to hear how inspired he was by the whole event.

I could go on, but you already know how i feel - you have created something special here and I’m proud to have been part of it.”Doug Braithwaite, UK guest creator


The talks were wonderful and thoroughly engaging (my

I missed the Posy Simmonds talk, but i know she is always

The staff and helpers were wonderful and I managed to talk to one of the councillors on Saturday night and was encouraged to hear how inspired he was by the whole event.

I could go on, but you already know how i feel - you have created something special here and I’m proud to have been

The Comics Clock Tower

we aimed to put a spotlight on the brilliance, diversity and quirkiness of comic art. One of the ways we did this was in the Comics Clock Tower, our version of a comics marketplace and artists’ alley. This offered a chance to meet creators, see them sketch, get work signed as well as buy books, prints and more. Some work was available for the fi rst time at the festival.

The Clock Tower was not the traditional marketplace that people are used to at comic conventions. For one thing the venue was relatively small so we had to make choices and limit the number of creators and stalls we could offer to our audiences. we aimed to feed the hunger of existing comic art fans of all genres whilst, we hope, appealing to a curious, new audience eager to fi nd out more. There was a mix of retailers (such as Forbidden Planet), publishers (large and small) and creators and more. we offered a showcase both established and emerging talent drawn from across the UK, europe and further afi eld with a healthy contingent from Cumbria, the North west and greater North of england.

Most of our international guests who featured in our main events programme also appeared in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend to sign and sketch and meet their fans.

The Comics Clock Tower day pass was £3.50 Saturday and £3.50 Sunday (under 12s accompanied by an adult free) offering unlimited access during opening hours.

There were 55 creators drawn from right across the UK and USA, Denmark, Finland, Belgium and Spain, 18 publishers from UK and France and retailers/dealers too including a pop-up Forbidden Planet store.

The Clock Tower also featured free portfolio sessions and a special Arts Council briefi ng on Grants for the Arts – all places for these were taken up very swiftly.


The Comics Clock Toweraudiences and observations

Around 2,000 people entered the Clock Tower over the weekend with a broad mix of visitors and local people and of those who had attended comic art events before and those who clearly hadn’t. This is what appears to have made it distinctive in the eyes of many of the exhibitors and creators. There were many families and under 12s and perhaps more family content could be considered in the future though only to achieve a slightly better balance.

Commentary by visitors included the recognition that there was a good mix of creators and publishers. How we maintain this and, at the same time, develop content is a challenge as the majority from this year wish to return requiring more space potentially. A larger venue is possible but the Town Hall, christened the Clock Tower now, is ideal both in terms of location and atmosphere.

A charging structure for “exhibitors’ needs to be carefully and fairly established to make the festival more sustainable.


“I had a stall at the comic art festival last weekend and I wanted to write to you and let you know how fantastic the whole thing was. It was the best comic con’ I’ve ever been to. The volunteers worked tirelessly and were helpful, cheerful and so friendly. Everyone was lovely and the organization was awesome. You guys went above and beyond, every step of the way, to make the whole thing appear effortless and awesome. I am truly amazed, there are many organisations that could learn a lot from the way you run things.”Jack Knight, UK, Comics Clock Tower creator



“Just wanted to say thank you for all the hard work getting so many comic strip ‘luminaries’ to Kendal for a rainy weekend in October. I thought it was brilliant and just what Cumbria needs. I spent a fair amount of time talking to punters in the comics clock tower who were full of praise for the festival - some local but many had traveled fair distances to be there - and many mentioned they would be booking again for next year, which bodes well.

The students who I brought down with me had a great time in the CCT - we sold a bit of stuff but more importantly managed to send out a message on what we do up at the university. Adam & Fionn got to talk to Jon Allison who was very gracious with his time and advice. Edwin really enjoyed his workshop with Oscar Zarate - getting up really early on the Sunday to fi nish off his script for the 2nd workshop.”

Nick Dodds, University of Cumbria



“Hi JulieThanks for having me, it was absolutely brilliant! I think you succeeded in creating an Angouleme style festival, which is very exciting as we haven’t had that before in the UK. I think that whereas other UK fairs offer a few panels and lots of tables, this offered much more to punters, and increased awareness of the range of comics around. Maybe a few comic creators weren’t used to the tables not being the center of attention, but the punters I spoke to were so much happier with a range of stuff to do.Crucially I think it brought people in who don’t know that much about comics. I spoke to people who hadn’t read a comic since they were kids but who left the festival having bought a bunch of underground alternative comics. The way people reacted to comics was really exciting.Other than that it was amazing. I’m telling everyone that it was the best UK comics festival I’ve experienced. It’s exactly what we need to grow UK comics as a medium. Well done!!”

Garen Ewing, UK, creator, Comics Clock Tower



“One of the things I found refreshing about LICAF was that about half the punters who went past my table were just ordinary local people who had never been to a comics event before (and most hadn’t even read a comic since they were wee). It also meant they approached everyone with a blank slate attitude, i.e. they were just as likely to walk up to me or Carlos Ezquerra and ask “well, ‘oo are you, then?” ;) ”

Terry Wiley, UK, creator, Comics Clock Tower

“Thank you so much for inviting us to your amazing event! I’ll go as far as to say it was the most interesting comic festival I’ve attended to date.

It was also an honour to be part of the fi rst manifestation of something that I hope continues. The experience was special, as were the guests, attendees, and crew. I loved the layout, which included greats like Hunt Emerson, and Gilbert Shelton mixed in between small press creators - such a morale boost.

If there’s any feedback to the town, kindly thank them - shops, bars, local people - for opening their hearts and embracing comic art, geeks, and guests.”

Yomi Ayemi, creator, Comics Clock Tower

The Comics Family Zone

“Free events and activity for all the family (even if they’re not all in to comics!) in the Comics Family Zone at the westmorland Shopping Centre, elephant Yard and Kendal Library. From cartoon strips to superhero comics, manga to graphic novels – come and fi nd your favourites or discover new ones”

This was the “pitch” and it featured a wide range of drop in (with some pre-bookable) activity and all part of the nationwide Family Arts Festival 2013:-

1. The Magic of Peppa Pig – a chance to meet Jenny O’Connor, the editorial Director of redan Publishing, and fi nd out how a Peppa Pig comic page is created and set out.

2. Comics Masterclass with Kev F Sutherland - A special comics masterclass by internationally-renowned comics creator and all-round entertainer Kev F Sutherland for those aged 7+ and living in South Lakeland (part of The Big Draw and supported by Lakeland Museums’ education Network)

3. Comics surgery with Dr Mel – a chance to chill-out surrounded by comics with Dr Mel on hand to help fi nd graphic novels in the library collection to fall in love with!


4. Calling all true believers – a chance to fi nd out more about the Stan Lee excelsior Awards from its creator Paul register.

5. The Phoenix Comics Creation Centre - The Phoenix is a 32 page weekly story comic for children aged 6-12. Packed full of brilliant original stories of every genre, and with no adverts, The Phoenix has taken the comic’s world by storm!

6. Tim Perkins (wizard’s Keep) & Dave windett

7. Perfect Spiral - inspirational duo Gary erskine and Mhairi Stewart will take you from superpowers to superheroes; design your own superhero from nature. Perfect Spiral’s challenge was to describe a superpower that nature hasn’t already conquered.

8. Local artists Colin Shelbourn (the cartoonist for The westmorland Gazette) and evsie (robin Grenville-evans)

9. Art Heroes – Featuring live digital drawing and a Creating Characters competition on Saturday by a dynamic duo who have worked in arts venues across the North and beyond.

10. waterstones, westmorland Shopping Centre – A programme of signings and sketchings by some of our key guests.

11. Game, westmorland Shopping Centre- in store activity and competitions.

12. The Beano Pop Up in elephant Yard Shopping, Stricklandgate.

This was supplemented by lots of activity led by our team of volunteers in the lower mall area of the Centre including mask-making, face-painting, individual and mass-drawing.

There was also a special Come Draw with Me event at the Abbot Hall Gallery – this got limited numbers partly because of the distance to the venue away from the main activity, partly because there was so much happening at the same time and partly because the Gallery made a charge for entrance to adults which may have acted as a barrier to some.


The Comics Family Zoneaudiences and observations


it is estimated (by increased footfall in shopping centre and Library and known attendance at specifi c events) that more than 3,000 people in total directly experienced the family zone over the weekend in some shape or form. The response to the activity was effusive from those who visited. Many families spent all day there and a high number both days too. it was encouraging that a good number decided to try out one of the main festival events as a result of whetting their appetites (anecdotal via box offi ce or at venues).

Feedback from the workshop and activity leaders was very positive and all have expressed an interest in returning. There were many small and inevitable teething problems to address mostly related to where they were placed, signage etc. Two major considerations for the future are paramount. Firstly how to change and develop content balanced with bringing back some of those creators who had such a fi ne offer /response from the public and who now know how the festival works so can maximise their potential. Secondly should we and how do we maintain a distinct and coherent family zone whilst not ghettoising – should we weave family activity into the wider festival whilst being limited in terms of venue/s and respecting the necessary focus of the Library and Shopping Centre (s) as natural locations and funders/sponsors?

“Thank you so much for having us. I think you nailed it and did an unbelievable job. The festival totally took over the town which was awesome and the atmosphere was brilliant. Really great exhibitor lunch/dinner too. We felt very looked after and all the volunteers were lovely. I thought Waterstones were also wonderful.

I think you can all give yourselves a huge pat on the back for a job incredibly done. I think it’s amazing that was year 1. It felt like a festival that had been around for years.

We’ve got some thoughts and ideas but we def want to be back next year if you’ll have us! ”

Tom Fickling, Director, Pheonix Comics (Family Zone)

The Comics Family Zoneselection of feedback from library events (some free presentations and others workshops)


“Most excellent and inspiring free creative cartoon workshop. Thanks so much. All 3 boys loved it!”

“Just attended Comics Masterclass and was really impressed with artist and the way he engaged the children. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.”

“Without a doubt the best art workshop for any age group I have ever seen (and I’ve seen plenty!)”

“Kev Sutherland – Comic masterclass. Excellent workshop, fantastic enthusiasm, great venue.”

“My son is absolutely full of how much he has loved K Sutherland. What a brilliant thing for K Lib to put on. Thank you so much.”

“This was an excellent event; a real pearl of an opportunity to engage with the artistic/creative process close up. The three writers were articulate and interesting. The setting was fabulous (fi tting the context of the story). Superb!”

“Most interesting presentation. Well worth the introduction to this medium. More please!”

“Thank you for the opportunity to learn more about the Suffragette Movement & graphic novels – unique.”

“An excellent event – informative & thought provoking & in a library Keep libraries open!”

“The ‘Peppa Pig’ comic activity and children’s library in general was fun, welcoming, very much encouraging to children to come to the library & enjoy reading etc.”

“Good to have something different and interactive in the library space. Thank you”

“George (aged 9) and a big Beano fan loved it – especially the history and seeing old comics and the cartoonist. Brilliant for kids and adults”

“This has always been my favourite library and the expectations I put into this lovely, amazing place are never wrong. Thank you!”

Exhibitions programme

There was a comprehensive exhibitions programme across Town curated in-house by a voluntary team with the exception of the Sean Phillips exhibition which he and his wife (a visual artist) curated. The town main exhibitions in year one were by the festival’s founder patrons, Sean and Bryan. All exhibitions were free. There was an additional exhibition at the wordsworth Trust which was also the location for an special trip on Friday 17 October by our international guests organised and hosted by Cumbria Tourism in association with the wordsworth Trust. The programme consisted of:-

Brewery Arts Centre – Sugar Store Gallery - 6 October- 10 November 2013 The Art of Sean Phillips

Brewery Arts Centre – intro Bar - 16 October-10 November 2013 The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize– The Shortlist 2013

Brewery Arts Centre – warehouse Café – 16 October-10 November 2013 Young People’s Comic Art Competition winners

wildman Studios, wildman Street 4 October – 10 November 2013 Brainstorm! : The Art of Bryan Talbot (Invigilation of the exhibition at Wildman Street was undertaken by Kendal College students)

The Castle Dairy, wildman Street - 16 September to 10 November 2013 Celebrating the new, the innovative, the quirky and more……and the wonders of tea! Featuring work by A J Poyiadgi , Hannah Berry, Stephen Collins Gareth Brookes

ruskins Café and Bar, Stricklandgate - 18-20 October 2013 V for Viz in the re-named Fnarr Bar

The wordsworth Trust, Grasmere 4 October-3 November 2013 Hunt Emerson : Original works from the Ancient Mariner and Frankenstein

Additional exhibition material also featured in Kendal Library including a celebration of the magazine Tripwire’s 21st Anniversary and the original artwork of The Mob, a social media based creative cartooning project raising funds for cancer charities and featuring input by major celebrities and comic artists.

Spin-offs – there were several new creations for the festival beyond the Patrons’ festival artwork and designs including a special limited edition ‘Teabag Theory’ by Andy Poyiadgi, telling the story of Kendal Mintcake as a mini comic inside a teabag, plus a special incarnation of Astrodog landing outside Kendal Town Hall by Paul Harrison-Davies.


Exhibitions programmeaudiences and observations

it was an ambitious programme to implement both in terms of content and number of exhibitions. it stretched the team to its limits though was necessary again to put down a marker. it had a very small budget which necessiatetd some ingenuity which had some remarkable results. The reaction to the diversity and quality has been excellent. The exhibitions are also a great way of engaging different audiences and also creating longevity as most were up well in advance of the festival and stayed up for at least several weeks. This has generated additional audiences and visitors to town. in the future it needs a more realistic budget and someone/people dedicated to overseeing curation. There are exciting potential developments in terms of venues including a collaboration with the Abbot Hall Gallery if we can fi nd a suitable exhibition before Christmas.


Kendal – A Comic Art Town?

This was the ultimate challenge and, potentially, the defi ning factor in the festival being seen as a success, being distinctive from any other UK comic art event and achieving the goal of being a european-style festival. i think we pulled it off! whilst there are many more things we would have liked to have done (including murals which proved just too hard to progress in year one) the cumulative results of many toes in the water were strong and impressive. All feedback has acknowledged the en fete atmosphere (despite the constant drizzle) and the feeling that the town was taking comic art seriously and to its heart. in brief the elements included :-

Windows on Comic Art Trail – 28 windows were illuminated with original comic art displays and a special map was produced. The maps were taken up with alacrity (2000 produced in total) and few were left so this indicates a high take up both in the run up to the festival (the windows were installed 4 October) and over the weekend itself. Most of the businesses and groups have already said they would like to participate again next year. The work was diverse and much of it was of really high quality. Some groups cited the projects as being transformational for their groups such as Space2Create who are a group

of people with “mood problems” and mental or physical health issues who created their own comic as a spin-off telling very personal tales of the challenges they face individually and collectively. The groups ranged from a nursery group of 3 and 4 year olds to Kendal First Cubs to primary and secondary schools from across South Lakeland, Kendal and Furness Colleges and some emerging and established comic artists.

Toon Service – without any instigation from the festival a special (and irreverent) cartoon church service tookl place on Sunday 20 October and was packed.

Yarn-bombing – the local wool and knitting groups produced special comic art creations in the build up to the festival which were placed all around Kendal Library. Special TinTin knitting patterns were also shared with other enthusiasts!

Additional windows and dressing up– popped up at the last minute unexpectedly all over town with shops and businesses wanting to get in on the act. Several restaurants encouraged their staff to dress up, as did the reception and bar staff at the Premier inn.


The Lakes International Comic Art Festival

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Tannoys – in association with Kendal College we piloted a comic art festival “radio” which was broadcast from 6 locations across the Town to try to enhance the festival experience as well as being a useful way to make key announcements regarding the programme. This was led by two performing arts students from Queen Katherine School in Kendal who scripted and steered the whole project at just 2 days’ notice. There were a number of technical hitches as the technology we were using was quite new and we realised that we needed more locations to have an impact but this is defi nitely a project to develop in 2014.

Ruskins Bar turning itself into a comic art bar for the weekend focussing on viz and re-christened the Fnarr Bar

A local furniture company created a special festival Humptie (poufe!) for the occasion which formed part of the set in the theatre at the Brewery for the weekend

The piece de resistance - the Batman fl ag fl ying from the Town Hall fl agpole for which we got special, one-off dispensation in 2013. it made a big impression and we need to repeat it every year now to signal Kendal transformed into a comic art town for the weekend.


it was a huge amount of work to make this all happen and certainly the windows trail, which could expand signifi cantly, needs a “project manager” of some description to ensure it is of highest quality experience for the businesses and schools/colleges/artists and that it is delivered with effi ciency too.

A few general comments have been consistently made in feedback and these include better maps and orientation around town and more evident festival venues. Unusually no comments have yet been made about taxi drivers not being aware of the festival (quite the opposite) and cafes and restaurants not being effi cient and open late – progress!


Observations

Many schools got stuck in at short notice and developed their own in-school activities including special autumn comic art weeks. Many report it opening new doors for them and it has offered new ways of engaging and enthusing many of their students. There appears to be an overwhelming desire to build on this now with more planning time though we still need to move quickly to monopolise on this and give the schools (and colleges) their best chance to realise the potential.

Young People’s Comic Art Competition

This was a collaboration with Kendal College and supported by Game, Dark Horse Comics, Derwent Pencils and Lakeland radio. it was quite a basic challenge (creating a simple original piece of comic art with a minimum number of panels) with winners in 13 age categories 5-17 and with two overall winners. entrants had to be working or living in Cumbria or Lancashire. The judges were Bryan Talbot, Mary Talbot, Hannah Berry and Sean Phillips. we had more than 190 entries which was a very satisfactory start. we are confi dent if we run it again that we would attract many more entries and from right across Cumbria & Lancashire. Consideration needs to be given as to whether we make it national (or even international) and how this would best be managed. we are also considering a competition for older people too!


Additional activity

Beano Art Competition

A further collaboration was with DC Thomson with support in promotion from the CN Group and libraries across Cumbria. it is to design an original Beano character. The closing date was the 20 October and entries are now being compiled though we are confi dent we have more than 250! we deliberately encouraged people to submit their entries as hard copies as well as online and to deliver them to their local libraries wherever possible. The judging takes place in November with the winner chosen by the editor of the Beano. The winning character will appear in a one-off strip in the comic.

Schools screenings on Friday 18 October at the Brewery Arts Centre

The Brewery Arts Centre created some special fi lm screenings with introductions by one of our guests who lives in Lancaster, Andy Diggle. There had been a demand for activity on Friday by schools and this is something we would like to address next year funding permitting.

place in November with the winner chosen by the editor of the Beano. The winning character will appear in a one-off

“Thought the festival was great. Went to the Nobrow presentation on Sat morning and spent the rest of the day wandering. Spent lots of money in the clocktower, impressed by the number of independent publishers and illustrators there and the quality of their work. Fantastic that it’s happening next year too!

Thank you so much for making this happen. Because of this we now have a Year 9 Comic Art scheme of work in place and it’s proving really popular with the kids! Regards”Sue Leech, Dallam School


we made a call-out for volunteers in early Spring 2013 and had a large and immediate response. we held an initial briefi ng session at which point people were asked to confi rm their commitment and express their preferences in terms of roles. Subsequently we held a fuller briefi ng session in September plus a special evening for those working in the Comics Clock Tower which we perceived to be the most challenging area of the festival for volunteers in its fi rst year. A pre-festival manual was prepared by our volunteer co-ordinator who managed the volunteers throughout. each was supplied with a t-shirt and per diems, car parking where needed, some free tickets to events when not working and a lanyard with a range of benefi ts attached to it.


There were 68 volunteers in total including 6 from the organisation inspira (working with young people on creative projects across Cumbria) and 6 from Kendal College.

The volunteers comprised 35 male 33 female and their origins were :-

43 from Kendal20 from Cumbria (out of Kendal)1 from Preston1 from Scotland3 from Norfolk/down south somewhereThree of the volunteers had special needs with one being accompanied by his support worker throughout.

The feedback on the volunteers from guests and audiences has been effusive and the co-ordination was excellent. we have a growing number of new requests to become volunteers.

“The Red Shirt Brigade” our volunteers

“Our Comic Art Fest adventure is over. We have been taxi drivers, chaperones, meeters and greeters, packers, removers, ushers, fans, and entertainers. I have had more hugs from strangers than I can count (this, in itself, is a major thing as I am generally a no touchy person!). We have swapped email addresses with some of the best in industry! I have run out of known adjectives to describe the wonderful people I have met over this last week!!! You have given me a voice I thought was lost. You have given me self-belief when I thought I was unworthy. I cannot thank-you enough for having given me an opportunity I never believed possible, and a renewed sense of ‘somebody’. I now have a name!! I look

forward to working with you all next year!! X”

Angela-Lee Kennedy

"Tap" <[email protected]>Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

31 October 2013 15:24:30 GMT

<[email protected]>

We recently provided Clings and Skinz for an amazingnew Comic Art Festival launched this year in Kendal,Cumbria. The whole town was taken over by the festivalbut the space for signage and branding was at apremium. Clings were used in a variety of ways including:Speech Bubbles - Directional signs from the trainstationTin Tin, V for Vendetta and Wonder Womanmasks - placed on mirrors in local pubs and hotels.

Event Markers - local businesses hosted events withfamous artists and used Clings to signpost these.

General branding and decoration - Large formatposters made from Clear Skinz were placed in disusedshops. Including the PAU display above. More picturesare on our flickr set.

Press coverage...Some national press (BBC, Guardian) and a tweet fromWossy ensured that comic fans descended on theCumbrian town in mass. The response has been great since and the festival isset to return to Kendall next year.

SKINZ - Damage Free - Reuseable - No-adhesive - Repositionable This poster was producedin one piece 1188x841mm(A0). Skinz can print1250mm wide by howeverlong and is easy to installand reposition.

"They went down a storm particularly the large ones.The creators on whose work they were based were

blown away by them and blogs and feedback consistently

Clear V for VendettaClings were put onmirrors in local pubs andhotels.

News

EXHIBITIONAUSSTELLUNG!!! In June we exhibited atMailingtage inNuremberg then FESPAin London.

OldsCheck out some of ourprevious work... Boots -POS Xmas

Nokia -Guerrilla Marketing First Drinks Brands -Xmas Event

Marketing and Media

we had to move quickly from a standing start in January 2013, create a brand identity and get a website and social media platforms up-and-running. we achieved a great deal in a short space of time and of quality we feel and now have lots to build on. The response to the announcement about the festival both on the website and on social media was overwhelming and within a few weeks we already had around 600 followers.

• Design – this was undertaken as support in kind by Curious road Design one of the festival’s founder partners.

• Website – built and developed by Designworks in Kendal as support in kind. Direct link and parallel with Brewery Arts Centre

• Print – we produced a wide range of print material from postcards and A5 fl iers to a full printed programme and a wide range of posters of different sizes. we experimented as we travelled. Print appeared to be important locally (though it took a while to get the format, content and tone right) and also for distribution via comic art outlets across the country.

The Brewery Arts Centre also produced some event-specifi c fl iers and posters and route maps to help people choose events and were consistently generous and creative in the additional marketing activity they devised and contributed as the festival evolved.

Social media was absolutely key to generating awareness and audiences. we have comprehensive analyses of twitter activity available via Twitonomy.

Currently we have 2850 Twitter followers with a potential reach of 5,508,468. This does not include one tweet from Jonathan ross which had potential reach alone of 3.4million people. This happened approx 2 weeks before the festival and was an invaluable endorsement.

Our Facebook activity has been hugely successful. Currently we have 1428 likes with the reach each week on average around 4,000 at an early stage rising to 6,000 fi rst week of October, 9,500 in the week running up to festival and 30,000 over the weekend itself.

The social media was managed voluntarily but has proven to work and could continue in this vein. However the management over the festival weekend itself needs addressing as the two volunteers are fundamental to the festival delivery team and therefore cannot maintain this.


Event

Marketing and Media

Free Festival app – we piloted a free app which was created for a minimal charge by a young, local company called Hut8Media. it was pulled together with enthusiasm at short notice and, again, was about putting down a marker in year one. we’d very much like to develop it in year two taking on board lots of feedback. Just over 200 people downloaded it.

Media - Again from a standing start we generated some good media coverage in year one. However the lack of a dedicated person to work on this consistently meant we didn’t exploit all the opportunities we knew were available to us. Some collaborative work was done at a more local level with the Brewery Arts Centre team and strong relationships with the CN Group in Cumbria and Lakeland radio meant that coverage was being generated automatically by virtue of those partnerships. Some key activity :-

• The Bookseller featured the festival in a special graphic novel triple-page spread

• Good coverage on comic art blog sites

• Comprehensive coverage by CN Group, BBC radio Cumbria, Lakeland radio

• Articles in independent, Guardian and mention in Observer

• Good attendance by a range of bloggers and journalists at the festival

we are now on people’s radars and need to build on this next year.

Other PR activity included :-

• Special cling transfers of comic art on windows and mirrors in empty shops and cafes and bars

• Free comics with festival stickers via a few shops, the library and cafes

• A special festival beer named by one of our special guests who also designed the label artwork

• A special festival toon map created by festival patron Bryan Talbot

• Special festival posters designed by festival patrons Sean Phillips and Bryan Talbot

• Festival merchandise including a sketchbook for people to collect signatures and sketches and do their own drawings too

• A special Forbidden Planet festival limited edition with variant cover by Sean Phillips of ed Brubaker’s new comic velvet before its worldwide release


Marketing and Mediaobservations

All marketing and media activity needs to be put on a fi rmer footing. Certain elements need to remain, other areas need an overhaul and some need to go. we do need to pay for some expert input on both marketing and media fronts. Collaborations with partners, including publishers, can be strengthened and exploited further now that relationships and trust has been built. Lessons learned include :-

• integration of website with Brewery Arts Centre

• easy guides through maze of festival and much earlier

• event and concept specifi c publicity much earlier spelling out what the guests do and what the events entail

• Much simpler ticket options and explanation

• Building on work started with social media and dedicated media person needed

• Social media over weekend needs to be planned in advance and blogs and podcasts too

Documentation & Evaluation

we had no budget as such for this but worked as far as possible in partnership with a few collaborators to gather evidence and record the festival and its journey. This included :-

1. review cards – handed out at a wide range of events by the CN Group (North west evening Mail) to get instant feedback. Of 200 reviews 125 gave maximum rating for quality and enjoyment of 5 stars and 47 gave 4 stars

2. The Festival App – with option to feedback comments

3. A range of photographers and fi lm-makers including Kendal College students and a documentary fi lm crew from the North east who offered their services free of charge and will compile a short fi lm by end 2013

we intend to have a more carefully planned documentation process for 2014.


17-19 OctOber 2014 Kendal, Cumbria, UK

ArtwOrk by seAn PhiLLiPs • Design by curiOus rOAD


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Partnerships

The entire foundations of the festival have been built on partnership and the principle of generosity of partnership. This will prove to be its critical success factor. Maintaining the core partnerships and the balance of give and take, whilst developing new ones, is now the main focus (alongside raising funding and sponsorship).

The core partnerships with the Brewery Arts Centre and Kendal College have been remarkable. Both partners treated the festival as their own adding and enhancing many elements without any prompting and bringing real enthusiasm and energy to the project. The benefi ts for both partners are clear to them and the seize the day approach has been gold dust whilst lots of lessons being learned. The potential for the future is enormous in terms of development and spin-offs which make a signifi cant contribution to achieving their own goals.

There were some additional projects at the College which included an exclusive live draw for students as a test run the day before the festival with two of our key guests, a special readers’ group and an outdoor mural project. There was also a last minute but very successful project with Performing Arts and Film Production collaboration to create more of a spectacle around the special 2000AD event which took place at the main college site.

in summary our partners in 2013 were:-

Founder Partners (mostly in kind with some cash from SLDC)• Brewery Arts Centre• Kendal College• Osprey Communications• South Lakeland District Council (SLDC)• Curious road Design

Founder Supporters (mostly in kind with some cash from Kendal Town Council, Cumbria County Council and westmorland Shopping Centre)• Absolute Digital Print• Cumbria County Council• Designworks• Forbidden Planet• Jonathan Cape• Kendal Town Council• Kendal Library (Family Zone)• westmorland Shopping Centre (Family

Zone)

Also supported by (mostly small donations of prizes, giveaways, equipment and materials or help with guests or small amounts of cash)• 2000AD• Aha Marketing• Cinebook• Costa Coffee/Premier inn• Dark Horse• DC Thomson• Derwent Pencils• Diamond Distribution• elephant Yard Shopping• Game• Hut8Media• James Cropper plc• Knockabout

Working in partnership with • Comica• The Stan Lee excelsior Award• The Family Arts Festival

• Lakeland radio• LMeN• Myriad editions• Nobrow• Panini• Page45• redan (Family Zone)• Selfmadehero• Sequential• Soundsmith• Think Ambient• The Phoenix Comic (Family Zone)• waterstones


also supported by

Funding overview

The festival ran on a small budget of around £55,000 but had the scale of one which would normally require at least £100,000. This without remuneration to the core team. in kind support was an important factor and some of this will remain in place in year two. Creativity and ingenuity were additional factors and this should continue though only where it is effi cient and reasonable to deliver! Sometimes the time taken to be ingenious outweighed the benefi ts.

we need to move fast to capitalise on a very strong start. The main pieces of the funding jigsaw need to be in place in principle by end 2013 as does the outline programme.


“Hello ! I’ve just returned from the Town Hall exhibition via the Talbot show in Wildman Street. Last night we attended the Viz interview at The Brewery. I wanted to drop you a line to say what a fantastic, vibrant and eclectic festival you’ve put on for our town, I just can’t praise highly enough. The obvious hard work, attention to detail, quality and scale stand as a testament to your determination to bring to Kendal a great gathering of talent. I wouldn’t think there’s anything better than this in the country, I hope it turns into an annual event. Thank you !”

Kind regards, Ian Naylor

Created and presented by Lakes Arts Festivals, a not for profit company ltd by guarantee


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