Bubbling over with comic inspiration

Pause for thought Comic art-driven convention Thought Bubble is now in its ninth year. We see how it’s grown in size and ambition

Thought Bubble was established in 2007 as a one-day UK event – a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting comics, graphic novels and animation. Its humble beginnings are long behind it, because the convention is now a weeklong tribute to the medium.

“We try to make each Thought Bubble bigger and better than the last, and we’re constantly striving to bring comics to a wider audience,” says assistant director Clark Burscough. He says that every year the event attracts more amazing creators that even the team weren’t aware of. “It’s rewarding seeing so many new faces, and we get to meet people from all over the world,” he reveals. “It’s a great way of keeping abreast of the developments within the medium.”

This year Clark’s particularly excited to welcome Joan Cornellà to the festival, whose dark, humourous cartoons you may have seen shared on Facebook; and Montreal-based publisher Drawn and Quarterly. “We’re also really excited to be welcoming Rick Remender to Thought Bubble this year. His Deadly Class and Black Science series are two of the best monthly comics on the stands at the moment, and are well worth picking up the collections if you haven’t read them already,” says Clark.

As well as many major comic creators to meet and greet, and some talented indie folks, Thought Bubble is home to the British Comic Awards, founded by Adam Cadwell. “We’re always thinking of new ways to keep the Thought Bubble vibe going all year round,” Clark says. And if you can’t make the UK’s biggest comic event, you can still pick up a little of their bubbly vibe: “Every year we publish a charity anthology, which is distributed worldwide thanks to Image Comics.” This year’s anthology will be on sale 4 November in all good comic shops.

Thought Bubble is on from 9 to 15 November in Leeds, England, and you can find out more about the convention and buy tickets at www.thoughtbubblefestival.com.

Andrew Wildman is perhaps best known for his work on Transformers. His self-penned series, HORIZON, will be on show at Thought Bubble. Fiona Stephenson’s pin-up art appeared on the first issue of Vertigo’s Bodies. Declan Shalvey is a guest at this...

Clark says he wants people to be able to come to the show and discover their new favourite creator or comic.

The Wicked + The Divine creators Kate Brown and Kieron Gillen will both be at Thought Bubble.