Orchestrated by Avalon Arts with some arrangement from yours truly, the event is billed as a family fun day with FREE admission. There are exhibitions of comics art, workshops, comics launches, panels, talks, face painting, fancy dress, a cafe and a bar.

We’ve a few special guests from across the border: Darrin O’Toole (Writer, Tales from the Void), Eoin McAuley (Editor, Lightning Strike), Ciaran Marcantonio (Writer, ‘A Clockwork Universe’ for Lightning Strike), Daryl Cox (Artist, ‘Monkey of Oz’ for Lightning Strike) as well as Belfast’s very own Patrick Brown (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) Odds are good other home-town comics pros are making surprise guest appearances.

The market, which usually hosts local crafts, will push a surge of comics and geek ephemera such as tables recovered in comics strips, gamer badges and knitted trinkets.

The Stack comics store will be there with a range of graphic novels, and partaking in the re-launch of The Black Panel, an initiative to bring Northern and Southern Irish comics to the viewing public. I’ll be hosting The Magnificent One Day ComicBook Factory. There are also a series of short talks, and I’m pleased to announce that Eoin McAuley will be speaking on developing a small press comic from an idea to publication.