Levenshulme Old Library hosts "Mulberry Tree" Exhibition

Levenshulme Old Library is the latest venue for "Enter The Mulberry Tree and Fly Free"  first seen at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2024, the first exhibition of comic art from Palestine of its kind to take place outside of the Middle East and North Africa region. 

The exhibition, offering a unique glimpse into the world of Palestinian comic art, features the works of twelve incredible artists who explore personal identity, geopolitics and the nuances of everyday life in Palestine.

Philip and Shelly Bond in the Spotlight in Between the Lines #5

The fifth issue of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival's Between the Lines online magazine, available now, edited by John McShane, includes an interview with comic creators Philip and Shelly Bond, guests at this year's Festival in September. Find out more about Geezer, a terrific new series about a rock star who hasn’t quite made it yet.

The Phoenix Comic brings Phoenix Fest 2025 to the Lakes

 The Phoenix comic and the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) are thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership that will see Phoenix Fest 2025 coming to the heart of the Lake District this autumn.

For the first time ever, Phoenix Fest – the UK’s best-loved children’s comics festival – will join LICAF for a weekend of storytelling, creativity, and comic fun in Bowness-on-Windermere, from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September 2025.

Philip Bond, Serge Bloch and more join 2025 Lakes lineup

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is delighted to announce its second tranche of guests for its annual weekend of comics celebration, taking place across Bowness-on-Windermere over Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September 2025.

Festival Passes are available now

Shubbak Festival free online event explores “Mulberry Tree” exhibition

Presented as part of Shubbak Festival, there’s a special online event coming up this Thursday, 29th May 2025, exploring Enter the Mulberry Tree and Fly Free, a striking exhibition which showcases the works of twelve Palestinian comic artists. 

Alison Sampson

Alison is an award winning, London-based artist and writer, drawing comics and illustrations in the fields of horror (WolverineBloodlineHellboy, EC Comics, Winnebago Graveyard, the 2023 Eisner-nominated Department of TruthWerewolf By Night), fantasy (Sleeping Beauties Volumes 1 & 2), science fiction (TITLE AND PUBLISHER REDACTED) and adventure (Hit-Girl: India), and more. 

Will Potter

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, William Potter played bass in Top 30 indie band CUD while writing and drawing “Nommo” for seminal UK music/comics anthology Deadline. On leaving the band, Will worked as a writer, editor and artist for numerous licensed-character magazines and partworks featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTransformersCaptain Scarlet and Spongebob Squarepants, plus the DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection and Marvel Fact Files

Serge Bloch

Born in 1945, Serge Bloch studied under Claude Lapointe in the the illustration workshop of the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts. For a time, he was the Artistic Director of Bayard Youth press, and he also drew for various daily newspapers, including The New York TimesThe Washington PostSuddeutshe Zeitung Magazine and Die Zeit

He's the illustrator of many children's books, including the Max and Lili series, and the creator of several albums such as the SamSam series.  

Lakes International Comic Art Festival announces first tranche of guests for 2025

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is delighted to announce its first tranche of guests for its annual weekend of comics celebration, taking place across Bowness-on-Windermere over Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September 2025.

Festival Passes are available now. The Early Bird Festival Pass Offer ends on Friday 16th May, so be quick if you want to take advantage of that!

Qusasat Comics & Digital Production Training Camp in Bethlehem

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is delighted to partner on the Qusasat Comics & Digital Production Training Camp, taking place in Bethlehem in July 2025. Representing the British comics community at the event for young Palestinians will be Mollie Ray, whose much-praised debut graphic novel, Giant, was published in June 2024, by Faber and Faber.