The digital anthology of select entries to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival‘s Race Into Space Challenge is now available to read for free online. It includes the winning strip by Spacewarp artist James Newell, alongside entries from a variety of both established comic creators and newcomers to the world of comics.
Judged by comics editor John Freeman and publisher Andrew Mark Sewell of B7 Media, this digital anthology features strips by (in order of presentation) entries by James Newell, David Livens, Gavin Pollock, Martin Cater, Craig Fletcher, newcomer Naomi D’Silva, Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle, the publishers of Sentinel, Fred Eggs Comics publisher David Robertson, Eagle Award shortlisted creator John Maybury and 2015 Observer/ Cape/ Comica graphic short story prize winner Richard Woods.
A wide range of entries were received, mix of straight adventure, humour, surreal – no easy choice – from creators of different ages, from all over the world.
The announcement of the winner of the LICAF “Race into Space” Challenge was part of a segment of the recent free online LICAF Live Festival, with a “gob smacked and delighted” James Newell, one of the contributors to Pat Mills Spacewarp, winning the £500 prize provided by Lancaster-based gaming platform Videö.
The anthology includes only entries published with the express permission of their creators and features on the LICAF Tapas channel, where you can also read other LICAF-published works such as Edward Taylor’s Godzilla’s Lockdown Diary and more.
Backed by the Arts Council, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival supports a number of projects spotlighting comic creators work from the UK and beyond.
Coming soon, in partnership with Soaring Penguin Press, co-ordinated by Tim Pilcher, is the Breakthrough anthology due for release next, the result of an 18-month mentoring initiative aiming to give under-represented individuals a chance to express themselves through the medium of comics – and to hopefully open up a career pathway within the publishing industry.
• Read the Race Into Space anthology here for free on Tapas
• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival – back 15th to 17th October 2021 – is online at: www.comicartfestival.com
