Comic Festival (also known as Comics Festival UK) was a British
comic book convention
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...
which was held annually in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
between 1999 and 2004. It was devised and produced by
Kev F Sutherland with the help of
Mike Allwood of Area 51 Comics.
The presentation of the
National Comics Awards
The National Comics Awards was a series of awards for comic book titles and creators given out on an annual basis from 1997 to 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) for comics published in the United Kingdom the previous year. The votes wer ...
was a regular feature of Comic Festival from 1999 to 2003 (except for the year 2000, when the
Eagle Awards
The Eagle Awards were a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's ''Eagle'' comic, they were launched in 1977 for comics released in ...
were presented there). Charity auctions were held every year at the festival, first for
Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
and then for the benefit of
ChildLine.
History
Comic Festival was preceded as an annual British comic convention by the
United Kingdom Comic Art Convention, held annually (usually in London) from 1985 to 1998. By 1999, the comics audience in the UK was in decline; Comic Festival's aim was to reach non-comic readers, children, and families, and to enable them to enter the event at the cheapest possible prices. Once inside the convention, the audience would then be exposed to the widest range of comics material, thus building the readership of the future.
The festival began under the name Comics 99.
In addition to the annual Bristol-based Comic Festival, secondary events were held in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the fall of 2003 and 2004.
Comic Festival was succeeded as an annual convention by the Bristol-based
Comic Expo
The Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo, commonly known as Comic Expo or BCE, was an annual comic book convention held in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2013. The show was held once a year in Bristol in the spring. The organiser was ...
, which began in 2004 and lasted until 2014.
Charity auctions
For Comics 99, Sutherland produced ''The World's Biggest Comic'', which featured the work of 100 of the world's leading comic artists, auctioned to raise money for the British charity
Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
.
Subsequent projects, for the benefit of
ChildLine, included the Charity Deck of Cards which, in 2001, raised over £10,000 through the auctioning of the original art and sales of the limited edition decks. The
Just 1 Page
Just 1 Page (J1P) was charity comic linked to the United Kingdom's Comic Festival and Comic Expo comic book conventions in Bristol, SW England. Single-page contributions were donated by a range of professional and amateur artists and writers, ...
charity comic was produced at Comic Festival, beginning in 2001 (and then continuing on at
Comic Expo
The Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo, commonly known as Comic Expo or BCE, was an annual comic book convention held in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2013. The show was held once a year in Bristol in the spring. The organiser was ...
).
Locations and dates
London Comic Festival locations and dates
References
Footnotes
Sources consulted
*
*
External links
*
1999 establishments in England
2004 disestablishments in England
British fan conventions
Defunct comics conventions
Comics conventions
Recurring events established in 1999
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