KENDAL once again hosted a creative spectacular as the Lakes International Comic Art Festival returned for its fifth instalment.

Venues across the town, including the town hall, library, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal College and Kendal Museum were taken over for the three-day celebration of comic art.

Festival director Julie Tait said it had been a huge success attracting people from all over the world.

"We would like to thank all our visitors, guests and exhibitors for making our fifth festival such an amazing celebration of comic art," she said.

"We try every year to celebrate the diversity of the comic world and make sure we present something special for all tastes and ages. With comic artists joining us from the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Finland and from across Europe – we were able to showcase everything from the humorous, satirical and quirky through to comics tackling serious subjects such as nuclear contamination and near-death experiences.

"Comic art continues to evolve and change how we view the world and I'm delighted we could bring the very best to Kendal."

On Saturday morning, the Comixology Clock Tower at the town hall was buzzing with artists offering their creations for sale to the public. For many, the Kendal event is a flagship festival that artists always keep an eye out for.

"Everyone comes here, it's a stand-out event," said London-based comic writer Zoom Rockman.

Artist Tom Kindley, from Newcastle, added: "It's quite massive how it's advertised all up and down the high street. There seems to be a mixture of people coming in, it's in a prime location, and there's a lot of comic book fans."

At the Brewery Arts Centre, a number of film screenings, exhibitions and classes were held throughout the festival, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the work of some of the dozens of special guests in attendance. A Walking Dead exhibition captured the imagination of fans of the zombie TV series at the Factory Tap, while Kendal College's Wildman Street campus was transformed into a Finnish village.

Helping the festival run smoothly was an army of volunteers stationed around the different venues, while Kendal College students also provided technical support at different exhibitions.

At the festival's opening ceremony on on Friday, the inaugural winner of the Sergio Aragones International Award for Excellence in Comic Art was handed to Dave McKean.

Sergio Aragonés, one of the most famous and influential living cartoonists, made a rare UK appearance to announce the winner and present the award to Mr McKean.

The new award has been established by The National Cartoonists Society, in partnership with the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. This honour will be presented annually to an exceptional comic artist, animator or cartoonist.

At the start of the festival, Manchester artist Oliver East launched the world's first canal comic book, inspired by the Lancaster Canal. Commissioned by the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership (LCRP), the 40-page book ‘The Lanky’ captures people and places along a 27-mile route from Kendal to Lancaster.