Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Owen Michael Johnson, a writer and illustrator who grew up near Penrith.

Twice nominated for the British Comic Award for Raygun Roads (2013) and Beast Wagon (2015), his semi-autobiographical debut graphic novel Reel Love is published by Unbound and launches at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2018.

There's another packed episode of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast on offer this week, as the team prepare for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2018 - not long to go now!

This episode Ian Loxam and Nikki Bates chat to comic creators Yomi Ayeni and Corey Brotherson about their Clockwork Watch event at this year's Festival.

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Seth, the cartoonist behind the comic book series Palookaville, which started in the stone age as a pamphlet and is now a semi-annual hardcover.

Cartoonist Mike Bryson has announced he a small exhibition of some of his "Country Characters" at the Signature Gallery in Kendal during the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Guy Delisle, a Canadian animator and comics artist.

In 1994, Guy made his first short, Trois petits chats, which piqued fellow filmmaker Michael Dudok de Wit’s interest. Dudok de Wit asked Delisle to collaborate on his film Le moine et le poisson, which won the César for best short film in 1995.

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Tokyo-born Satoshi Kitamura who, after dropping out of school to pursue art, decided not to attempt a 10-year apprenticeship as a potter and instead worked as a graphic artist. Find out more about him, and a special new work, The Bird of Passage, which will be available in limited numbers at the Festival...

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Yomi Ayeni, an award winning Transmedia creator, producer, filmmaker, and storyteller, who will be co-ordinating a very special steampunk project at LICAF this October - he's even roped in The Simpsons director David Silverman!

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Hunt Emerson, who has drawn cartoons and comic strips since the early 1970s.

Every year, in the countdown to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, we bring you a series of interviews with guests at the event. This “Festival Focus” for 2018 is Joe Kelly, a writer, producer, penciller and editor, and creator of the lauded Eisner-nominated graphic novel I Kill Giants.

HOW FAST CAN YOOU PLAY? During this year's Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Kendal CeX will be running a TIME TRIAL Competition in their store in Westmorland Shopping Centre.

Marvel's Spider-Man will be set up to play and the challenge will be to see who can get across New York the quickest! You'll only have a limited time to play!

CeX will be giving away ￡25 CeX gift voucher to the fastest player, with a couple of runner up CeX vouchers @ £10.