James Bacon headed to Harrogate for the Thought Bubble convention, one of this year’s major comic events… and came back with plenty of enjoyable memories, and new comic recommendations…
King’s Cross station is quiet and cold. It’s dark, it’s five something stupid in the morning, but there’s no rush, no crowds. It’s positively eerie. Ahead of me is a day at Thought Bubble, in distant Harrogate; I’m aiming for the 0615 Edinburgh train, which will wind its way northward at 125mph, stopping at York where I will change.
Here in London, I’m taking the contra flow route. Fans will soon be arriving in the city for London Film and Comic Con, heading to Olympia, noticeable in their colourful regalia and cosplay. (Although not the tsunami of creative bright brilliance cosplay that MCM Comic Con attracted three weeks ago, which enriches train termini across the capital, which is always remarkable). But right now, here it’s just quiet. Perhaps other fans heading north by the train later this morning, or maybe most had sense and went out in Harrogate for a good evening last night for the strong social scene.
The sun is up as the local stopper crosses Yorkshire. It’s turned into a clear, crisp morning, and as our train arrives on this Saturday morning in November to disgorge people for their day in Harrogate, it’s now I can see many fans are alighting. The indicators make me smile: the styles, colourful clothes, the laughter, excitement, icons on bags of holding, arrays of badges, lanyards emblazoned with loyalties and the general enthusiasm… the excitement is palpable.
There is a decent train load here, all heading now to the convention queue and as I join it, I’m with people who are pleasant, excited, chatty. I meet Cass, from Dead Universe Comics in Aylesbury, himself and his pal, who exude the essence of Thought Bubble, displaying a relaxed confidence and sophistication in their appreciation of comics, and a good sense of fun. Fans who are enthusiastic but also intelligent in their observations.
Since its beginnings in 2007 Thought Bubble – both wider Festival and its weekend-long convention has grown considerably. The Yorkshire-spanning project is huge now, and the weekend convention is vast , sprawling across across four halls of tables. One of the last at Leeds Armouries had some 286 tables. Now it has 581, plus four booths, an exhibition, workshop space… it’s incredible.
There are dozens of artists and writers who I recognise, but also hundreds of others who I can get to know, whose work I can find and whose tables are full of new stories and fabulous art. While there are many comics that are “not for me”, this is an incredibly positive aspect. The more comics that are not for me, the more that are for others, welcoming new readers, new fans, so this is absolutely a great thing, and, actually, the appreciation of comics is so subjective, you can drill into any passion for a given aspect. Daredevil say, and opinions on era’s writers, artists and individual stories will be divided. This not a bad thing.
Wrist bands are issued while in the queue, and there is a calm order. No one seems to run, or fight forward, the opposite in fact. Fans stop to greet professionals and fellow fans alike as doors open and those outside head on in.
Mostly, it’s all comics here, although not back issues. We’re talking about comics from the small press, independents. Home grown operations are widely represented: there are prints and posters on offer aplenty, although the popularity for these seems to have waned a bit. The passion for comics is incredible, and it is hard work to gain attention. Here writers and artists engage with fans, or sometimes it is friends and family who do the talking, because trying to engage, on top of drawing and writing beautiful stories, isn’t easy.
I join the queue for Chip Zdarsky, whose current run on Batman is really very good, and one I am enjoying. Admittedly, it could be eclipsed by Absolute Batman, which is also very enjoyable, if different, but has somehow captured the imagination of fans: and then the return of Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb next year. But then I see someone with a stack of impressive omnibus editions, maybe a foot, eighteen inches of impressive work, and, of course, this confirms sort of enthusiasm helps cement Zdasrky as one of the 21st century comic writers, who transcends Marvel, DC and writes his own independent stories, for Image and others, and one cannot go wrong. Daredevil, Peter Parker, Stillwater, Sex Criminals – there seems no end to his brilliance.
The queue is chatty, and I talk to June and Steve from Darl Knight Comics, in Darlington, where one can spend hours browsing back issues, and another fan, who turns the discussion to 2000AD. There is, I note, a shared sadness that “Proteus Vex” has come to an end, it was a really impressive story.
The queue gets shorter, and it becomes apparent that Chip is also doing sketches. What an unexpected delight, and so I am happy to pay for a Batman sketch on a blank Batman comic, and it is apparent I am not the only one. Chip’s art is clean, simple and nice, and an incredible and individual piece of art. He himself is so pleasant and engaging. What a start to the day!
I head over to Elsa Charatier, creator of November and Love Everlasting, who is busy sketching, and has a nice queue going, but I look at my watch, and make a mistake. I’ll come back later, I think, and walk across walk the hall and say hello to Pye Parr and Rob Williams, who are in fine form.
I am disappointed to find a few artists I had hoped to see have had issues arise, and haven’t made it this year. (Nothing serious I understand, and real life is important). But I am sure I will see them again, and there are plenty here who I can catch up with instead.
I join the James Tynion IV queue, which is lively and there is much chat. James is happy to share how his name is pronounced with one of his fans. He says it as “Tie-nan”, and then says that he has much Irish heritage, and there is a lovely bit of chat. The queue moves along and the chat is nice and quick. Something is Killing the Children and Department of Truth are huge here, and well represented with a selection of artists on hand.
(Perhaps of interest to readers is that Tynan is the anglicised version of “O Teimhneain”, or “Ó Teimhneáin”, which in itself may be derived from Teimh and teimhe, meaning dark. The internet also notes that it is derived of shadowy, shadowed depths and mysterious allure. I called on Comic Scholar Pádraig Ó Mealóid, who confirmed that while one needs to be cautious online explanations to Irish names, the Dictionary of repute, Dineen’s Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla, has the following (adjective) – dark also dusk, gloom, darkness, obscurity, death and Teimheal báis- the shadow of death. Dineen does seem to imply that there is a synchronicity between James Tynion IV name in Irish and his occupation as a comic writer who has written some very dark stories, but as a writer with a great sense of humour, Pádraig noted that “It is not for nothing that Flann O’Brien mocked Dineen’s exhaustive lists of meanings”).
I chatted to Martin Simmonds, who’s been working on Dracula with James Tynion IV, which I really enjoyed. Chatting about the project with him, I note Martin has a lovely selection of incredible art available, some wonderful double page fully painted spreads – but also he has some really nice entry level pages, which are really affordable.
I did not realise the Dracula fandom was so widespread, and indeed later chat to both Brendan Fletcher and Becky Cloonan about Dracula as I have co-edited some issues of the fanzine Journey Planet, focused on Dracula, and Mina. Enlightenment is bliss: I did not realise that back in 2012, Becky had illustrated an edition of Dracula for Harper Collins, with more than 50 original illustrations, panels, illustrations and borders and, before that also drawn an adaption, a graphic novel, for Puffin Graphics, which was great to learn.
Kieron Gillen is busy signing, but he always makes lots of time for his fans. He’s sitting next to Casper Wijngard, and I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying their Power Fantasy series from Image. There is a beautiful fluidity to the storytelling that has captured my imagination, and it is impressive how Kieron traverses the industry. I watched fans asking some really quite interesting, if intense, questions about Star Wars ahead of me. Two of my favourites of his works are Die and Once and Future, leading one to speculate if he is the best British comics writer of the 21st Century. Casper, likewise, was busy. I enjoyed his Star Wars tenth anniversary covers of the Rebels characters, which I still find amazing, and love that in Ahsoka, we have a version of Season 5 of Rebels.
Another comic that Casper has worked on is All against All with Alex Paknadel, who was sitting next along. His work on All against All, Giga and his stories on the recent Detective Comics have been really good. The Batman back up stories have complemented the well liked Nocturne tale very well, and been really quite excellent, and I do love the shorter, sharper aspect of these back up stories.
DaNi is another artist who has been working on Detective Comics. Her work is stunning, again as a back up to the main story. She captures a dark essence in her line work that is very striking, but also conveys action character ever so well and I was delighted to be able to speak to her about that work, as well as the Arkham City: The Order of the World, which I enjoyed.
Next to DaNi was Declan Shalvey, whose art and writing seems to be across the new comic shelves at the moment, Thundercats and Terminator really proving very popular. He had original art from Mystique on display and, of course, Old Dog Operations, which just came out, and was also getting many signatures, the anthology one shot offering a great entry point, in my view, to the wonderful series; another creative of this century who really is talented in so many ways, both writing and drawing exceptional work.
Then, nearby, another artist who I think has an incredible line, is Zoe Thorogood, I had Hack/Slash Back to School with me to get signed, as well as the Harley Quinn story in Harley Quinn – Black White and Redder #4, which I loved, where we see Harley setting out to recruit a sidekick, involving seven girls who all have potential, but there is a great sense of fun and thoughtfulness to the story, with stunning art.
The day was flying by, and there was so much to do. All the time fans are enjoying the experience, I met some friends, and one passed me Here Comes the Dragon by Markus Pattern. I had already read his 13 Shots of Whiskey, so this was delightful.
I also saw Tom Oldham, whose passion for comics, with Douglas Noble, manifests through their Dark & Golden publications, incredibly nicely produced publications. They had Early Gigs – Underground Comics 1970-1973 by Dave Gibbons and A Little Book of Comic Shop Stickers, for sale, the latter a zine of UK comic shop price stickers, gathering the working ephemera, the “most historic and most attractive of the price stickers that UK comic shops have used over the last 50 years”. Tom and Douglas’ work is really very nice, and it is great to see harder to find as well as unusual in print. (More on their work here)
I was delighted to see Nick Roche, whose art and writing I really enjoy, and I especially liked his series, Scarenthood, from IDW with Chris O’Halloran – and this was the first opportunity I have had to compliment him, and just catch up. Next to Nick, unexpectedly, was Ben Hennesy, which was great, as I really enjoyed his amazing series, written by Christopher Sebela, Godfell, and spent some time congratulating and complimenting him. While I have loved Ben’s work, it was an incredible pleasure to see his name on this comic, delivering such a well drawn and executed story.
Another surprise was Babs Tarr, who was also really very lovely, and who was enjoying the convention, but also happy to engage and chat and that was brilliant.
Oh, and speaking of brilliance, Anthea West‘s table was amazing!
I got the chance to speak with Cian Tormey for the first time, someone I have not spoken with, but whose artwork I really enjoy, and was again pleased to see he had pages available and on display. He knows part of Dublin that I know well, and that is always very nice, while seeing original black and white artwork up close is really so nice, and seeing the work that went into it. Cian’s next work is The Question: All Along The Watchtower #1, which is just out this week, written by Alex Segura. The story sees Renee Montoya facing quite an interesting and unusual start to a new role, and investigation, and is a very interesting read. Renee’s recruitment was a lovely piece of comic work, utterly brilliant. I also saw Ruairi Coleman, whose run on Captain Marvel, written by Alyssa Wong, is really quite excellent. I am enjoying this current series a lot, and was pleased to get some comics signed and am looking forward to Infinity Watch, which he is working on with Derek Landy.
I had a chance to speak to Paul Carroll and Gareth Luby, from Limit Break Comics, and am looking forward to their successful Kickstarter, Wish Upon a Star: A Far-Future Fairy Tale Anthology, which is a collection of 22 four-page comics reimagining fairy tales through the lens of science fiction, edited by Paul and Gary Maloney. Paul is also conducting a survey on the State of Comics Anthologies Survey in 2024, and given it feels like we have many anthologies to choose from, and how many were at Thought Bubble, I look forward to hearing the results.
I also spoke to Tanya Dillon at the impressive Steve Dillon exhibition, which is always is something to see and enjoy. The pace and breath of venues that has seen Steve’s artwork is incredibly impressive, and it was a delight to look at pages of work which I had not seen before.
Too soon, it was time to head off. I had eight hours at Thought Bubble, four hundred and eight minutes, so if I wanted to spend time at every table, I would have less than a minute at each one, but I had a terrific day.
As I left the building at 1750 walking strongly for the 1807 departure from Harrogate, I realised that I had failed to see Elsa Charatier, Nathan Stockman, or Céilí Braidwood. I wanted to speak to Ellie Wright and Alan Hurley, too, all of whom were marked on my home printed map, written by hand. At times, I realised belatedly, I was probably only a few feet away from some of them. But time marched on, and of course, there are actually two days of Thought Bubble, but I was in work on Sunday, so needed to get away, and back to reality.
The human flow of comic fans was more noticeable heading to Harrogate station, and the enthusiasm and positivity and excitement at a successful day didn’t want to end, and I met a fantastic group of students, who were so engaging and there was a general sensation of fans and creators enjoying the event together, which I was very pleased to imbibe.
The art available including entry level pieces is brilliant, and the advent of the blank comic cover has presented a fabulous opportunity to fans to ask and pay for a sketch, and end up owning a piece of original art; a favourite character on an actual comic by a favourite artist and one could see, just how much that meant.
It was really nice to see so many fans getting comics signed. It is a moment of thanks, of genuine appreciation, offering a chance to chat, or not, as sometimes it can be too much. (I saw one artist manage that so deftly, asking “shall I sign your comic?” said with a smile, getting just a nervous nod in reply). Fans making a statement of loyalty, fealty, connection and hoping that their love of the comic is understood, and the signature a special moment and memory.
It is clear to see that the passion for comics is strong when one walks around Thought Bubble, the convention is so large and also dense with comics, and has developed and is so uniquely different to other conventions, there were some stunning big names here, that is important as it strikes the balance and draws in fans, who then get to see comics and art they never anticipated and come to enjoy.
James Bacon
Thought Bubble returns in 2025. Head to thoughtbubblefestival.com for the latest news
Thought Bubble is the Yorkshire Comic Art Festival! A week long celebration of comics, illustration and more spread across the whole of Yorkshire, finishing in a huge two day comic convention in Harrogate. The team use our festival week to promote the power of comics! They believe they can inspire, educate and bring people together like no other medium, so whether you’re a longtime fan of comic art or have never picked up a graphic novel before, you’ll find something for you.
• Paul Carroll’s State of Comics Anthologies Survey 2024 Survey is here
• Who won the 2000AD talent search at Thought Bubble 2024?
- About the Author
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James Bacon (he/him) is an Irish fan, a train driver living in London. A Hugo Award-winning editor of the fanzine “Journey Planet”, he is a comic fan and enjoys comic art, war Comics, Star Wars, Irish aspects to comics and railways in comics or otherwise. He has been writing about comics for over thirty years.
Categories: British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Features, Reviews, US Comics
I was reading the Kieron Gillen section thinking hang on a minute…I was directly behind you in the line and so also heard the whole Star Wars exchange. How funny!