Global illustrators light up Shrewsbury Comic Con

Hundreds attended the inaugural festival held at Shrewsbury's Quarry, which was spread over two days.

The weekend event saw some of the biggest names in the business hold talks and run workshops.

Howard Chaykin, famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material, who has drawn for DC and Marvel comics, was present along with John Wagner, who helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s and continues to be active in the comics industry, occasionally working in American comics.

He is best known as the co-creator, with artist Carlos Ezquerra, of the character Judge Dredd.

Dene Edwards, organiser of the festival, said: "We were really pleased with how the festival went.

"It was the first time such an event was staged in the Quarry.

"Most of the time these sort of festivals are held in large exhibition halls and that made a welcome change for those taking part.

"The festival went as well as can be expected.

"It was the first time for this sort of event in Shrewsbury and we had some really big artists attend from all around the world including Holland and America, as well as quite a few from the UK.

"It had great potential for the coming years and is definitely something we will stage again.

"Even though it was going to be part of the original Shrewsbury Fields Forever festival, it definitely held its own.

"Of course it would have been better if we had had some music going and it was definitely a different speed that what we are used to."

Mr Edwards said just under 1,000 people had turned up for Saturday and Sunday, along with around 100 guests and exhibitors.

"As it was a free event, people made their way over to us if they were in the Quarry but we also had quite a few who just came along because they knew the festival was on. It was a very mixed audience," he said.

"It was really interesting to see the types of people who were interested in the event.

"The biggest draws of the festival were Howard Chaykin and John Wagner. Chaykin is a massive name in the comic book industry, as is Wagner. It was fantastic to have them at our first festival.

"The comedy on Sunday night was also very well received. We had some big names in that too such as Gary Delaney, husband of comedian Sarah Millican, who has appeared on Mock The Week.

"They all went down really well and everyone seemed to have a great time.

"This is definitely something that will grow over the years. We are already planning to hold it again. Next time it will be bigger.

"It was a good first event and we just decided to hold a smaller one to start with. I can say that it will grow and become a permanent fixture in Shrewsbury."