From Batman to The Joker, heroes and villains are preparing to descend on Paisley for a week of comic book fun.

Enthusiasts will ‘Marvel’ at the sight of their favourite characters in the second edition of the town’s Comic Con, taking place from April 7 to 14.

Comic conventions have been around for half a century but it’s only in recent years that people in the UK have really started to grab a piece of the action.

The festivals have now gone beyond comic books and become about all types of popular culture.

But the team behind Paisley’s version are determined to stick to tradition and make the festival all about celebrating comics.

Thom Wall, organiser, told The Gazette: “In some of the major cities it’s now a whole mish-mash of costumes you see from video games, television and movies.

“We want Paisley’s festival to be different. I’ve been going to conventions for the last 10 years and they seem to be becoming a bit diluted now.

“We’ve decided to take it back to tradition and we want it to be purely a celebration of comics.

“We had around 2,000 people involved last year and we would at least like to see a repeat of that.”

Events will be taking place across the town – at Paisley Town Hall, Burger and Keg, St Matthew’s Church, the Comicrazy Cafe and Abbey Books.

Dozens of traders will be selling comic books, toys and collectibles in the market hall and, alongside it, the Creators Hub will feature more than 30 artists, writers and publishers who will be sharing their work.

Activities include a Drink and Draw night at Burger and Keg on Monday, April 9, starting at 7pm, where people can meet and bash out some fun comic ideas.

There will be a comic-inspired quiz night at the same venue on Tuesday, April 10, at 8.30pm.

At Abbey Books on Wednesday, April 11, there will be a drop-in writers’ club for ages eight to 16, from noon until 4pm.

St Matthew’s Church will be showing comic book movie classics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Hellboy on a big screen on Friday, April 13, at 5pm and 8pm respectively.

The event will be introduced by writer John Lees, who includes in his credits Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe for IDW Comics.

The church will also host a retro gaming afternoon on Thursday, April 12, from noon, with vintage video games and classic consoles.

On Saturday, April 14, the festival will finish in the town hall, where there will be a showcase of comic creations from 11am to 5pm.

To find out more about the festival, visit www.paisleycomiccon.com.