THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2024! I’ve been to several zine/comic festivals this year, all of which have been incredibly well-curated and well-attended. However, I have never been to a comic art festival on the same scale as the Thought Bubble Convention. Size-wise, the sheer magnitude of Thought Bubble is overwhelmingly exciting – with hundreds of creators exhibiting, giving seminars and signing. The amount of talent on show, both well-established and completely new to the comic scene, is unbelievable to see. Thought Bubble’s mantra is that comics are a way to inspire, educate and bring people together, and this is absolutely a mission that we support and promote at Broken Frontier. So, when Andy Oliver and I were offered Press Passes for this year’s convention, I leapt at the chance.
Lydia arrives at Thought Bubble
First of all, I have to say a huge thank you to the organisers and volunteers for their tireless work in putting the convention together and allowing people like me, with a passion for writing comic reviews and championing small press creators, to experience such a unique and diverse range of voices all in one place. I felt incredibly welcomed upon entering, and immediately took it upon myself to start looking around the four huge halls of exhibitors. I’m not sure which was the most difficult decision – where to start, or what to buy?!
C A Strike
I started in Redshirt Hall, where rows upon rows upon rows of exhibitors stood before me. After flustering about for a while and getting a tad overexcited and overwhelmed, I was very eager to meet creator C A Strike, whose graphic novels Meryl and Customer Service Eternity I reviewed earlier this year. Obviously, I had to pick up the physical copies, as well as some other goodies on offer! From a press point of view, it’s incredibly rewarding to meet creators whose comics you’ve reviewed – I’m always so wowed to hear how much the reviews and coverage meant to them, when I’m the one who’s in awe of their talent and incredible work! It’s just a lovely reminder as to why we do what we do at Broken Frontier.
Zak Kinsella
Just to give you some scope on how well-attended the festival was, exhibitor AC McDonald had completely sold out of his graphic novel Twisted Tales within the first hour and a half of the two-day convention! Disappointing for me, who absolutely wanted to nab a copy, but brilliant for him to have sold so many copies to new readers. Continuing my waltz around the stalls was spellbinding. Of course, not every single comic will be to everyone’s taste, but there was such an array of different genres and styles, that almost every stall required a closer look and a flick through of the stunning comics or artwork on display.
Snake Starr and Jade Doran
I never tire of browsing the goods at Sarah Graley’s stall, no matter how many times I encounter her. In this instance, she had copies of her Garfield comics, cat plushies and pins, and copies of her popular Super Cute Adventure Stories. I was so thrilled that she was willing to sign my years old copy of her out-of-print work Pizza Witch, and to learn (spoilers!) that the Pizza Witch saga will soon be continuing!
Beastly Worlds, aka Beatrijs Brouwer
My stand-out creator interaction has to be with the wonderful Beastly Worlds, aka Beatrijs Brouwer. I’ve been a long-time fan of Bea’s whimsical comics and paintings, and was privileged to review her comic Fox Flight Market Night last year, and interview her for Thought Bubble this year! It was a dream come true to meet her in person and get to grab her brand-new zine about her character the Tiny Gardener, Japonica Transformed (yes, I’ve already read it, yes it’s incredible), as well as some of her beautiful concertina-type Christmas cards. I connected with Bea’s work so much that it really felt like meeting an old friend in person, and Bea’s warmth and care shined through every single item on her stall.
R.E. Burke
As always with this kind of convention, there were a lot of names I recognised, many that looked familiar, but I had yet to meet in person, and many that I’d never heard of at all. And that’s just how it should be! Conventions like these are all about getting excited to meet creators whose work you’ve always admired, but at the same time, getting to meet new creators and browse their work. And boy, was there a heck of amount of talent on display! I have a huge soft spot for Avery Hill, and particularly B Mure’s Ismyre series, so it was wonderful to see those familiar faces, and flick through Mure’s latest zines. The always incredible Laura Hole was exhibiting with her brand-new zine, Catgrass – something which is tonally very different from her previous offerings, but just as endearing to read. R. E. Burke, SpookDoodles, Pigeon aka Kamila Krol and Timothy Winchester were all exhibitors whose work I admire, and whose stalls I was delighted to see so popular at the convention.
Lydia with Broken Frontier’s Andy Oliver
For those I’d heard of, but not met, Silver Sprocket was absolutely top of the list for a dream meet! Having reviewed many of their graphic novels over the last year like Everything Sucks, Lucky Cap Scouts and When to Pick a Pomegranate, seeing them in person was incredible, and you bet I grabbed a bunch of what they had on offer. Having reviewed Ellie Durkin’s Seed Part 1 earlier this year, I was excited to pick up more offerings from the world of the Squashed Forest. Unfortunately, I missed Ellie herself (exhibitors have to eat too!), but her partner was very lovely and helpful in her absence, and I came away with some zines, a choose your own adventure book, pins and stickers.
Joe Stone and Matthew Dooley
From my colossal haul, let me tell you about a few standouts:
- Japonica Transformed from Beastly Worlds. A short, beautifully crafted zine about disaster threatening the Small Gardener’s (a cat-shaped plant guardian) beautiful plant patch.
- The Witch Loaf Club by Katherine Hemmings. An adorable zine about a loaf of bread that is also a cat (aptly named Loafie).
- Raccolta Pokémon by Ariel Vittori. A stunning collection of Pokémon artwork.
- Tales of Grandmother Rabbit from Anna Bowles. A Brambly Hedge-esque peek into the lives of sweet bunnies living with their grandmother.
- The Language of God by Maria Stoian. Part of a series on the subject of Inch Keith, an island in Scotland, this stunningly illustrated, A3 zine dives into a heartbreaking experiment and its repercussions.
Harl Jones
There are so many more that I could mention! That being said, Thought Bubble isn’t just about zines and comics – there were an array of plushies, prints, bookmarks, pins and figurines to browse too. I managed to snag some gorgeous Over the Garden Wall artwork from creators Ngyin Shian and Grace Maggie Williams, as well as a few pins, and a lot of postcards. With exhibitions, workshops, art galleries, cosplay parades, a lounge to relax in when you get overwhelmed, the Graphic Novel Reading Room, and a mid-con party, there was more than enough to fill two full days at Thought Bubble. Something I particularly enjoyed was participating in the unofficial Thought Bubble Sticker Club – for £2, anyone could purchase a sticker book, and enjoy trying to find the exhibitors involved who would reward you with a free sticker to align with an image in the book.
Coming back from Thought Bubble, I was exhausted. The day was jam-packed, so busy, and my shoulders and feet were aching from walking around with my haul all day! But, there’s no doubt in my mind, that it was so worth it. If this is a festival you’re considering attending, my advice would be to go for it. You won’t find any other comic convention on this scale, with this many creators and so much to do. With that said, to all at Thought Bubble, thank you so much for allowing me to spend my day living the dream and being super nerdy. Till next year!
Article by Lydia Turner
