Comic Festival
Encyclopedia
Comic Festival was a British
comic book
convention which was held between 1999 and 2004.
annually. A second event was held in London
in 2003 and 2004.
Comic Festival was preceded by UKCAC
, run in London from 1985 - 1998, and succeeded by Comic Expo
, which began in 2005.
Comic Festival, which began under the name Comics 99, started at a time when the comic reading audience in the UK was in decline. The aim of the event was to reach non-comic readers, children and families, and to enable them to enter the event at the cheapest possible prices. Once in, the audience would then be exposed to the widest range of comic material, thus building the readership of the future.
Charity auctions were held every year for the benefit of ChildLine
. For Comics 99 Kev produced The World's Biggest Comic which featured the work of 100 of the world's leading comic artists, auctioned to raise money for Comic Relief
. Subsequent projects included the Charity Deck Of Cards which, in 2001, raised over £10,000 for ChildLine through the auctioning of the original art and sales of the limited edition decks.
The National Comics Awards
were a regular feature of the Comic Festival. The first, in 1997, took place as part of UKCAC and was presented by Jonathan Ross
and Paul Gambaccini
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
convention which was held between 1999 and 2004.
History
It was devised and produced by Kev F Sutherland with the help of Mike Allwood of Area 51 Comics and was held in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
annually. A second event was held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2003 and 2004.
Comic Festival was preceded by UKCAC
UKCAC
United Kingdom Comic Art Convention was a British comic book convention which was held between 1985 and 1998.-History:It was organised by Frank Plowright and Hassan Yussuf throughout via their company Rusty Staples starting in 1984. Many others contributed either for a few years or on the...
, run in London from 1985 - 1998, and succeeded by Comic Expo
Comic Expo
Comic Expo is the name given to the UK's largest comic book event. It is held twice a year: in Bristol in the spring and in Brighton in the autumn...
, which began in 2005.
Comic Festival, which began under the name Comics 99, started at a time when the comic reading audience in the UK was in decline. The aim of the event was to reach non-comic readers, children and families, and to enable them to enter the event at the cheapest possible prices. Once in, the audience would then be exposed to the widest range of comic material, thus building the readership of the future.
Charity auctions were held every year for the benefit of ChildLine
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...
. For Comics 99 Kev produced The World's Biggest Comic which featured the work of 100 of the world's leading comic artists, auctioned to raise money for Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
. Subsequent projects included the Charity Deck Of Cards which, in 2001, raised over £10,000 for ChildLine through the auctioning of the original art and sales of the limited edition decks.
The National Comics Awards
National Comics Awards
National Comics Awards are given out on an annual basis for comic book and related material published in the United Kingdom the previous year.-History:...
were a regular feature of the Comic Festival. The first, in 1997, took place as part of UKCAC and was presented by Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
and Paul Gambaccini
Paul Gambaccini
Paul Matthew Gambaccini is a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
.