Metropolis or Gotham City it may not be.

But just like the fictional haunts of superheroes and their evil foes, Brighton and Hove has been transformed into a comic strip.

Although Batman and Superman are nowhere to be seen, the pages of Ace Comics are filled with characters inspired by the city's streets.

Instead of Wayne Manor and Arkham Asylum or Lexcorp Tower and The Daily Planet, there are notable city features such as the Royal Pavilion and the West Pier. The comic book has been created by students from City College in Pelham Street, Brighton, who took free-running through city rooftops, spooky-looking figurines and pigeons as inspiration for their first edition.

The students teamed up with comics veteran Dez Skinn - who is most famous for producing the first Dr Who, House of Hammer and Hulk comics - to create a top-quality free promotional comic to advertise next month's Comic Expo festival.

Dez asked students to take inspiration from the city around them.

Dez's company Quality Communications has published 20,000 copies of ACE Comics and will distribute them to cafs, bars, clubs and salons across the city next week to work up an interest in the art form and the forthcoming festival.

Dez said: "A lot of people only take from their profession but it's nice to put something back.

"I gave the students the opportunity to have their work in print but only if it was of a certain standard.

"I'm very relieved with the way it has turned out. There are lots of different styles of drawing and mediums from pen and ink to water colour so visually it's very varied.

"I'm very impressed with the students. Teenagers often come up with some of the best ideas, for example Men In Black and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, and this lets me try a kind of experiment to see whether young artists can attract a new generation of readers."

He said surprisingly only one male student completed a strip for the comic, dispelling the myth that the industry is dominated by men. He said the project had gone so well, he hoped to make it an annual event.

Erin Flanagan, 19, of North Way in Lewes, was one of the final 11 students whose work was included in the comic. She is now studying illustration at the University of Brighton.

Her comic strip shows a man plagued by a giant, spooky ant figurine which appears to follow him around. She said: "I noticed this strange metal ant statue when I was looking around Brighton. When I looked more closely I realised it was really quite creepy and it just went from there.

"Dez gave us lots of guidance on how to improve the flow and shorten stories. He made it all much more professional. It will be really weird seeing my work in comics shops but brilliant at the same time."

Teacher Trisha Rafferty said: "For students to have their art work published pre-university will give them a lot of kudos and for the college to back a project like this is very encouraging for young artists in Brighton."

The Comic Expo 2005 will be Brighton's first major comics festival and will take place at Brighton's Hilton Metropole on November 19-20.

Visitors can talk to the author of the last Dr Who series and meet traders who will display some of their new comics.

For details, visit www.comicexpo.biz