A QUIRKY festival celebrating independent comics is to be held in East Oxford this weekend for the 19th time.

Established in 1992, the Caption Festival, which takes place at East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street, is the longest running independent comic festival in the UK.

Although only 100 or so people attend, it offers comic fans and creators the chance to get together, share ideas and take part in workshops.

Peter Clack, who is the author of absurd humour comic Trouser Madness, is one of the organisers.

He said: “I’ve been to some of the big Manga comic conventions and this is a much more low-scale affair, but it is also a chance to catch up with people and chat about comics.

“We have some fairly high- profile people coming and also people who are just literally doing it in their bedroom, photocopying or printing it themselves.

“It’s quite a mix but it is all very friendly and really nice – and people do come from all over the country to take part.”

Guests last year included Doctor Who TV writer Paul Cornell.

This year’s line-up includes Doctor Who comic book illustrators Al Davison and Paul Grist, and award-winning web comic artist Paul Duffield, whose comic FreakAngels is one of the most successful on the internet.

Mr Clack said the event was open to everyone who had any interest in independent comics.

He said: “It’s a really relaxed couple of days in East Oxford.”

The event has an austerity theme, with a number of panels and workshops examining how people can produce comics on a budget and cut costs. There will also be an auction of original art from various publications, the proceeds of which help run next year’s festival.

Jenni Scott, from East Oxford, has been involved in the festival since it began. She said: “In the past there weren’t many opportunities for people in the comic world to meet up and discuss ideas. To begin with, Caption was creative workshops where you would get people collaborating, each doing a panel of a comic story then passing it on.

“Now people do have more opportunities to communicate and socialise but Caption still has a friendly, informal feel where people just enjoy getting together and creating.”

Tickets cost £5 per day and the event starts at 10am on Saturday and Sunday.