DARKMATTERS - The Mind Of Matt: Lakes International Comic Art Festival

Monday, September 29, 2025

Lakes International Comic Art Festival – A Day Of Highlights

Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

What a cracking start to this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival! From razor-sharp editing wisdom to riotous political cartooning, the first day had a bit of everything – and set the bar high for the weekend ahead.

The LICAF kicked off with an international rights fair – bringing together buyers of comics, the acquisition editors from foreign publishers, with publishers wishing to sell rights to comics, who discuss and negotiate possibilities and terms – leading to the buyer translating, publishing and distributing these comics in their own language/country or countries.

The Rights Market featured several buyers, drawn from across Europe who the Festival identified, with expert help, as ripe for buying British comics.

https://licaf-rights-market.com/

Shelly Bond: Ten True Editing Crimes & How to Avoid Them

Kicking things off in The Other Space marquee was none other than Shelly Bond – legendary editor and creative powerhouse. With three decades of experience and more red ink than a stationery cupboard, she pulled no punches in sharing the dos and don’ts of comic editing. This was more than just a “how-to” session; it was a witty, energising masterclass on the alchemy between words and pictures. Whether you’re polishing your own scripts or wrangling artists and writers, Shelly’s insights landed like gold dust.

You Couldn’t Make It Up!

As evening fell, the Old Laundry Theatre became a hotbed of satire, quick-fire creativity, and belly laughs. Tim Farron MP gave a great welcome, then hosted by Bill Morrison (yes, The Simpsons’ Bill Morrison!), this live-draw extravaganza pulled in a world-class line-up: Viz icons Graham Dury and Simon Thorp, Iceland’s wonderfully dark Dagsson, Morocco’s sharp and stylish Mehdi Annassi, Finland’s satirical maestro Pertti Jarla, and more. The speed, wit, and sheer daftness of it all reminded everyone why cartooning is such a vital – and hilarious – form of protest and play.

Then came the incomparable Martin Rowson with his brand-new show Trumped. Equal parts savage satire, radical analysis, and gleeful rant, Rowson drew on four decades of frontline cartooning to give us the surreal, food-splattered spectacle we didn’t know we needed. Expect the unexpected? Absolutely. And he delivered in spades.

The night rounded off with the LICAF Awards Ceremony, complete with the prestigious Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art – a fitting celebration of talent, imagination, and the global reach of comics.

Lorenzo Mattotti was announced as the winner of the Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art and presented with the award.

The Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art, named after the world-famous cartoonist, best known for his work on MAD and as co-creator of Groo, was established in 2017 by The National Cartoonists Society, the world’s largest and most prestigious organisation of professional cartoonists, in partnership with the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, and is presented annually to an exceptional comic artist, animator, or cartoonist.

Lorenzo Mattotti is an Italian-born, Paris-based cartoonist and illustrator. He has published numerous books, including Fires (1986), Caboto (1992), and Stigmate(1998). He illustrated The Raven by Lou Reed (2011).

His graphic novel version of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (with Jerry Kramsky) won an Eisner Award in 2003. He is also a prolific illustrator for publications such as The New Yorker, Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

What a day…

Day one of LICAF wasn’t just a warm-up: it was a statement of intent. Sharp, funny, inspiring, and gloriously unpredictable, it reminded us all why comics matter… they entertain, they challenge, and they bring people together. I was gutted not to be able to be there for the rest of the weekend but comic creating pals fed back that it was an absolute treat.

I was also incredibly impressed with LICAF’s “From Palestine” project, that saw the launch of three new comics by artists from Gaza, published by LICAF, following up on the previous publication of the highly acclaimed collection of cartoons, Safaa and the Tent, by Safaa Odah, translated by Nada Hodali.

All four titles were on sale at the Festival and all profits from the sale of these works went go to the creators.

Palestinian cartoonist and caricaturist Mohammad Sabaaneh, an active member in the Cartoon Movement, will be launching his book, 30 Seconds from Gaza, in English, at a special event over the weekend that will also see the launch of the Qusasat comics anthology, Strategies of Surviving by Abod Nasser and Waiting Rituals by Khaled Jarada.

Here's to 2026!! https://www.comicartfestival.com/