The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is delighted to announce that its online fundraising art auction raised £2500 toward future projects and events in 2017, including its weekend-long festival (13th – 15th October) which includes a rare UK appearance by MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragonés, who will be presenting the first ever NCS Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art.

An original artwork produced by Bryan Lee O’Malley – his first ever “Live Draw” work – raised £500, while a homage to anime film maker Hayao Miyazaki art by Emma Vieceli sold for £375 and a Hellboy watercolour by Duncan Fegredo went for £300.

Much of the art in the auction was created during this year’s Festival by a huge range of world-renowned artists, including Craig Thompson, Duncan Fegredo, Edmond Baudoin, Hunt Emerson, Ian McQue, Jonathan Edwards, Jordi Bernet, Mick McMahon, Petteri Tikkanen, Sean Phillips, Stuart Immonen – and VIZ team members Simon Thorp and Graham Dury.

Guests at this year’s Festival also included Finnish artist Hanneriina Moisseinen, who has just won Finland’s State Prize for Comic Art and whose work featured in a special exhibition in Kendal. Finnish guests will again play a part in the 2017 Festival, with a special tribute  Moomins creator Tove Jannson in the works.

"We'd like to thank all the creators who donated their work to this auction. We appreciate what people give as we are aware it is as much ‘just’ to support the festival as it is the individual pieces of work."

Festival Director Julie Tait

“We promise there’ll be some more highly sought after original work as a result of next year’s Festival weekend line-up,” she hints, “which we can’t wait to announce in New Year, but I can say features both well-established veterans of the comics business alongside some of the most influential and exciting rising stars from across the planet (and even, perhaps, beyond!)”

LICAF 2017

The fifth Lakes International Comic Art Festival will run from 13th-15th October 2017, celebrating great comic art from across the world. The first announced guest for 2017 is MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragonés, who will be presenting the first ever NCS Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art.

Hellboy by Duncan Fegredo for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival auction 2016