Englishman In San Diego

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, the established annual celebration of prestige comic artists, creators and publishers, once again took over a picturesque town in the UK's Lake District... but this time they weren't setting up their stalls in Kendal. Instead, they had moved beside your actual lake - I know, how novel! - with LICAF holding court in Bowness-On-Windermere over the weekend of Friday 14th-Sunday 16th October. I wasn't able to make it to the rest of the weekend's festivities - missing, by all accounts, some amazing panels. signings and appearances by world-renowned comic superstars, a performance by Charlie Adlard and his band, karaoke that will only be saved in the memory of those there and some boozy nights! However, what I took in on the Sunday was more than enough to tell me that this iteration of The Lakes International Comic Art Festival continues in the trend of a very respectable and enjoyable comic celebration. During my day, I managed to attend a number of panels featuring some of the world's finest comic artists and writers, including this session with celebrated prose and comics writer Greg Rucka (BLACK MAGICK / STUMPTOWN / LAZURUS) who pulled no punches and barely drew breath as he dived deep into his meager family background, his introductions to and motivations for writing, and his forthright thoughts on the business of getting a certain style of story either published or on the big and small screens. It's quite the ride - but you'd expect nothing less from Greg Rucka. Enjoy this lively chat, hosted by Chris Thompson (@popculturehound)