This weekend, we're heading to Kendal for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF). With guests including Seth, Ian Rankin and Victoria Lomasko, this year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever.

We'll be laying out our wares in Kendal Town Hall alongside many other fine creators and publishers of comics and graphic novels. And joining us in the Comics Clock Tower will be two very special guests, David Hine and Mark Stafford, who'll be signing copies of their latest graphic novel: Lip Hook. This breathtaking "tale of rural unease" will be available for the first time at LICAF.

On Sunday, co-creators David Hine and Mark Stafford, who previously worked together on The Man Who Laughs, will discuss the process of collaboration alongside David Gaffney and Dan Berry (The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head). The panel, Comics and Collaboration, takes place at 15:15 in the Brewery Arts Centre.

Hine and Stafford's latest graphic novel is set in Lip Hook, a small British village that lies at the end of a neglected byway. For its inhabitants, Lip Hook is more than the end of the road – it’s the end of the world. Beyond it, there is nothing but mist-shrouded marshland.

One day, two fugitives emerge from the fog, seeking refuge at the Hanged Man Inn: a dangerously beautiful woman and a man with a gunshot wound and a suitcase full of treasure. As the disruptive outsiders’ influence grows, a false faith grips the community, returning its followers to ancient ways and resurrecting a secret history perhaps best forgotten...

Further reading: chronicler of comics John Freeman has profiled David Hine (here) and Mark Stafford (here) ahead of their appearance at LICAF.

"This is really the best way to enjoy Lovecraft." So said Boing Boing after reading I.N.J. Culbard's adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. It's true: Culbard's brilliantly pacy adaptations give terrifying form to H.P. Lovecraft's weird fiction.

At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Out of Time and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath have also been given the graphic novel treatment, and now all four adaptations are available in a single, seriously handsome hardbound volume: LOVECRAFT.

Whether you're looking for a Halloween treat or you'd just like to replace your dog-eared paperback versions, LOVECRAFT is the thing. And if you're quick, you could even have a signed and sketched copy delivered to your door courtesy of Nottingham's Page 45 - just go here.

Here's what to expect from this 520-page monster:

So, if the cold weather is getting you down, find solace in unspeakable horror. Buy LOVECRAFT.

This weekend, Matt Fitch and Chris Baker, co-writers of Apollo, will appear at the New York Comic Con.

You'll find them signing on the ABRAMS booth (#2228) at the following times:

Friday 5th October, 17:00-18:00
Saturday 6th October, 15:45-16:45
Sunday 7th October, 15:00-16:00

Plus, they'll be speaking on a panel, Graphic Novels That Make History, on Saturday 6th October at 14:30 (location: 1C03). Chaired by New York Magazine writer Abraham Riesman, it will also feature graphic novelists Peter Tomasi (The Bridge), Nathan Hale (Lafayette!) Ted Fox and James Otis Smith (Showtime at the Apollo) and Mikaël (Giant). They'll discuss what's current in the world of non-fiction graphic novels - and what might come next.

Fitch and Baker's own non-fiction graphic novel, illustrated by Mike Collins, tells the breathtaking story of the Apollo 11 mission. It does a brilliant job of capturing the moments of high drama and astonishing risk. But it is also a fascinating insight into the lives of three men who, in the most extraordinary of circumstances, are separated from their families and loved ones.

Scientific American praised Fitch, Baker and Collins for their retelling of the "suspense-filled" story: "They convey surprising depth and emotion, as well as rich historical details of the era. The book explores the political tension around the space program at the time, the nerve-wracking anxiety experienced by the families of the crew, and the heart-stopping moments of the mission that proved to be such a milestone."

As the Kaiser Chiefs once said, "everything is brilliant in Leeds". But Thought Bubble, the UK's biggest comic art festival, is especially great. The 2018 event takes place this weekend - and this year, we're going all out.

Signing on SelfMadeHero's stand (tables 195-197 in the comiXology Marquee) are seven - yes, seven - of the UK's finest graphic novelists: I.N.J Culbard (Lovecraft: Four Classic Horror Stories), John Harris Dunning (Tumult), Julian Hanshaw and Krent Able (I Feel Machine) and Matt Fitch, Chris Baker & Mike Collins (Apollo). They'll be signing at the following times:

Saturday 22nd September

I.N.J. Culbard: 10:00-13:00
John Harris Dunning: 14:00-17:00
Julian Hanshaw & Krent Able: 14:00-17:00
Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins: 10:00-11:30

Sunday 23rd September

I.N.J. Culbard: 14:00-17:00
John Harris Dunning: 10:00-13:00
Julian Hanshaw & Krent Able: 10:00-13:00
Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins: 14:00-17:00

But that's not all, folks. If you want an insight into the creative process, look no further than these two festival events:

Event #1 | Q&A: Krent Able & Julian Hanshaw

When: Saturday, 13:00-13:50
Where: Carriageworks Studio Theatre, LS2 3AD

In I Feel Machine, six award-winning comics artists, among them Shaun Tan, Tillie Walden and Box Brown, explore the strange interplay between humanity and technology. Co-editors Krent Able and Julian Hanshaw will discuss the anthology with Jimmy Aquino of Comic News Insider.

Event #2 | Q&A: Matt Fitch, Chris Baker & Mike Collins

When: Sunday, 13:00-13:50
Where: Carriageworks Studio Theatre, LS2 3AD

In Apollo, Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins tell the remarkable story of three men who flew through the void - just to know that we could.
The three creators will talk to Comic News Insider's Jimmy Aquino about reimagining one of the most well documented events in human history.

And if that weren't enough, how about this for a fringe event:

Beer Launch | Rocket Fuel

When OK Comics asked if we were happy for them to collaborate with Northern Monk on an Apollo-themed beer, the response was an emphatic yes. When Mike Collins suggested it be called Rocket Fuel, at least one member of the SelfMadeHero team thought he was joking.

He wasn't. And on Saturday night it launches. Join us at OK Comics, 19 Thornton’s Arcade, LS1 6LQ at 7pm for a can of the newest and most beautifully packaged pale ale on the market. It's as good as it looks, and better than it sounds.

The creators of Apollo will be signing both beer cans and books throughout the evening.

Quite a lot to look forward to, then. Now to pack up the van. See you in Leeds!

Our first release of the autumn, I Feel Machine, launches this Thursday, 13th September, at Gosh! Comics in Soho. Julian Hanshaw and Krent Able, the anthology's editors, will be signing from 7pm.

Kurt Vonnegut once said that to leave technology out of fiction is to misrepresent life. In I Feel Machine, six comics artists - among them, Shaun Tan (The Arrival), Tillie Walden (Spinning) and Box Brown (Tetris) - confront the subject of technology head on, exploring its impact on human relationships and human character. The six stories are:

"UPLOADING" by Box Brown
'STHLMTRANSFER' by Erik Svetoft
'Here I Am' by Tillie Walden
'Be Little With Me' by Julian Hanshaw
'Bloody Kids' by Krent Able

By turns touching and disturbing, these visionary short fictions oscillate between hope and despair. What will be the long-term effects of today's rapid technological change? The answer, it seems, is complicated - but worth finding out.

Join us at Soho's finest book shop on Thursday for an evening of fine conversation and palatable booze.