THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2024! 10 YEARS OF THE BF SIX TO WATCH! There can surely be no comics anthology to get review space here at Broken Frontier that has a more niche premise than today’s subject. Secrets of the Majestic. You can read more about its genesis in our recent interview with editor Chris Mole here at BF earlier in our Thought Bubble Month 2024 coverage but for those new to the project it centres on the spacious and extravagant environs of the toilets at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate; a locale that has become something of a celebrated curiosity for those attending the Thought Bubble convention weekend.
Cover by Laura Helsby, Dearbhla Kelly and Chris Mole
This is one of those books that comes from a sense of community. It’s a wonderfully daft concept that is approached with relish by a mix of creative voices who range from big names working in US serial comics to some of the most exciting faces in the small press scene. In just under twenty comics shorts we are treated to stories that take a luxury restroom as a starting point and give an already eccentric idea the most idiosyncratic of spins.
Kieron Gillen acts as DC/EC/Warren-style horror host in a bookending framing sequence illustrated by Benjamin AE Filby that sets the scene with a suitably over-the-top melodramatic flourish. That sense of the irreverent is very much in evidence throughout the collection. Rob Jones and Sam Chase give us a druidic origin for the toilets in ‘Hael’Toon’, for example, which ends on a wittily slapstick punchline of epic proportions. Chris Mole and Chris Wildgoose reframe the toilets as hell’s waiting room in ‘Please Wash Your Hands’ (above), seeing their protagonist off with richly poetic justice. And Rob Luckett and James Lawrence get self-referential in ‘Wee Fellas’ (below) as a parallel goblin festival leeches off artistic talent with a scatological twist. Lawrence’s cartooning is delightfully gross is this offering with a toilet roll as comic strip sequence being particularly memorable.
Fraser Campbell and Craig Munro give their entry an extra topicality with their story of a disillusioned Thought Bubble exhibitor looking for inspiration after a poor first day’s sales in ‘Needing the Toilet’ (below). Munro’s knowing visual characterisation bringing to life a feeling of despondency that anyone who has ever tabled at any comics event will have felt at least once. One of the absolute highlights of the anthology is Rik Worth, Jordan Collver and Owen Watts’ ‘Sightseeing’ with its alien tourists taking a trip to a post-apocalyptic Earth. The premise is hardly original but it’s so well executed here that it really stands out as one of the most fun strips in Secrets of the Majestic.
This is a near 90-page anthology so, as always, any review will touch on just a number of stories but a couple of necessary final mentions for Cecil Castellucci, Lauren Knight and Dearbhla Kelly’s ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ which injects some social commentary into its thoughts on the “porcelain patriarchy” and, finally, BF ‘Six to Watch’ creator Sammy Ward and Asa Wheatley’s ‘A Desperate Attempt’ (below) which imbues the toilets with a status so legendary that it becomes a quest to view their interiors.
Flush with the best of UK indie talent Secrets of the Majestic is not just an eerie collection of brilliantly bizarre comics but also a testament to the supportive power of comics community.
Kieron Gillen, Tula Lotay, Chris Wildgoose, Benjamin Æ Filby, Laura Jones, Dee Cunniffe, Jodie Troutman, Rik Worth, Jordan Collver, Owen Watts, Cecil Castelluci, Lauren Knight, Dearbhla Kelly, Dave Cook, Laura Helsby, JP Jordan, Rob Luckett, James Lawrence, Ria Grix, Sofie Dodgson, Fraser Campbell, Craig Munro, Aaron Thompson , Dan Bell, Gary Moloney, Colin Craker, Paul Carroll, Lane Lloyd, Rob Burton, Sarah Peploe, George Joy, Umar Ditta, Paul Tonner, Mark Granger, Liam ‘Pais’ Hill, Matt Hardy, Jonathan Scott, Rob Jones, Sam Chase, Aaron Eamer, David Cousens, Doug Lee, Adlai McCook, Gavin Mitchell, Asa Wheatley, Sammy Ward, Matt Simmons, Erika Price, Gareth Luby, Liana Kangas (W/A)
Secrets of the Majestic will also be available from Chris Mole’s online store after Thought Bubble.
Find out about the Secrets of the Majestic exhibition here.
Thought Bubble 2024 runs from November 11th-17th with the convention weekend taking place on the 16th-17th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2024 coverage so far in one place here.
Art by Rocío Arreola Mendoza
