Perth’s FREE annual comic book festival is back over the last weekend of July with a packed market hall of independent creators, family friendly workshops, and a chance to make history by contributing to Australia’s longest scroll comic!

On Sunday the 30th, Perth Comic Arts Festival’s famous Market Hall Day will showcase over 80 creators, all under the big whale skeleton at WA Museum Boola Bardip’s heritage-listed Hackett Hall. The exhibitor list includes acclaimed publishers, international award winners, and fan favourites from near and far.

Free drop-in programming for Sunday visitors includes swashbuckling life drawing with sword-bearing models, comics-making workshops for all ages, and a creative battle royale where four artists will improvise drawings for the crowd.

PCAF also aims to create the world’s longest vertical scroll comic. Visitors are invited to join in the fun by drawing a panel or two on the giant roll of paper, adding their own touch to the epic collaborative story.

On Saturday the 29th, hosted at the State Library of Western Australia, PCAF will also run Academy Day featuring professional development for comic book creators of all skill levels. Local and visiting authors will present a diverse series of panels and talks on their industry and craft. Highlights include the “Culture in Comics” talk hosted by acclaimed Indigenous comic creators Brenton E. McKenna, Christopher Wood, and Scott Wilson, and the live comic reading event “PCAF Stories” that turns sequential narrative into performance.

Perth Comic Arts Festival has grown from a small studio at Edith Cowan University in 2019 to its new home in the Cultural Centre, filling the iconic hall with over 1000 comic creators and fans in 2022. The not-for-profit festival is volunteer run and supported by the City of Perth, WA Museum Boola Bardip, and the State Library of WA. Visit pcaf.carrd.co for more information.