Comic creators from across the Prairies gathered at the Millennium Library for the first-ever Prairie Comics Festival.

The event bills itself as Winnipeg’s first “annual festival dedicated to the art and literature of comic book creation.”

Organizer Hope Nicholson attended similar events in Toronto and Vancouver, and where she said local comic creators get far greater attention than here in Winnipeg.

“It really inspired me, the amount of people wanted to come out and meet original creators,” she said. “And I thought maybe there was an avenue to do this in Winnipeg. So I got a bunch of creators together, and we’ve put on a show.”

The event brought together more than 30 comic book, zine, web comic, comic anthology, and graphic novel creators from across the Prairie provinces.

The event was free for all, with Nicholson paying all costs out of pocket. To make sure the show included a high degree of talent, a jury assigned tables rather than giving them out first come, first served.

Nicholson said she’s pleased with the outcome.

“The panels have been packed, the exhibitor hall has been packed, and even the gallery entry way, where we have creators from all across Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, have been looking and learning all sorts about artwork and history.”

Most of the featured artists come from Winnipeg, which has a strong, but insular comic scene.

“It’s one of those things that you have to know people who know people in order to get into the gallery shows, in order to get into the special events. So having events like this that are just one place where people can all gather around and talk to each other is rare and I think every so often, really necessary.”

The event included panels covering various aspects of the comic industry, from tips on how to make comics, to navigating the business side of comic-making.

The festival only ran for one day this year, but Nicholson hopes to expand the event to more days next year in order to attract an even wider array of creators.