ILYA (Ed Hillyer), Rob Davis, Carol Swain, Paul Rainey, Andy Oliver

Not all comics are corporate global franchises spun off into endless merchandise and movies. Some of the very best comics are cult comics, defined as "honest, heartfelt, homemade" by Ilya, editor of 'The Mammoth Book of Cult Comics', launching tonight.

Ilya is a committed comics creator himself, whose latest graphic novel is 'Room For Love' from SelfMadeHero. Ilya is joined in this Comica Conversation by Rob Davis, co-editor of the acclaimed UK anthology 'Nelson' (Blank Slate Press) and creator of a brilliantly bizarre solo debut, 'The Motherless Oven' (SelfMadeHero).

Also taking part is Carol Swain, one of the most distinctive and lyrical voices in British comics, whose latest book 'Gast' (Fantagraphics) traces a teenage girl's investigations into the death of a Welsh cross-dressing farmer.

And another debut graphic novelist, Paul Rainey, will discuss 'There's No Time Like The Present', a mind-expanding speculation about how the future evolution of the internet could radically disrupt our lives. His self-published, seven-year serial is now revised and collected in hardcover by Escape Books.

Hosting the discussion will be expert and critic Andy Oliver, whose 'Small Pressganged' columns on the Broken Frontier website 'shine a spotlight on the often overlooked world of small press, self-published and altcomics.'

The panelists will be signing their books afterwards.