THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2024! It’s the great UK comics end-of-year party and this year, for the first time since 2019, Cinderella did finally get to go to the ball. The pandemic had robbed me of five years of memory-making in Harrogate so on my return to Thought Bubble this past weekend I was determined to make the most of the opportunity to reconnect in person with folk I hadn’t seen since the world changed forever, and also those I had never met outside of a Zoom call in the intervening years.
I’m baaaaaack, Harrogate!
Thought Bubble 2024 was often an overload for the senses. It was sometimes overwhelmingly emotional. But it was always a glorious celebration of comics creators, comics practice and, perhaps most significantly, comics community.
Tinglin Liu, over from China for Thought Bubble
As I said when I looked back at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) a few weeks ago my experiences (and thus my commentary) are inevitably shaped to a great degree by my absence from the big events for so many years. So take that into consideration. Firstly, though, thank you to everyone who showed an interest in being featured in our Thought Bubble Month 2024 coverage. We had over 130 review/interview requests. We got 50 pieces up which frankly I think is an absolutely outstanding effort from our small team. At the end of the day, though, that’s little consolation to the 80 of you who missed out this time. Please be assured it is no reflection on your work and simply a matter of logistics. Keep submitting and we will keep doing our best to cover as many of you as we can!
Mereida Fajardo who gave us one of BF’s ‘Comics of the Festival’
With no fewer than 26 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ creators tabling (plus the secret two who already have slots for 2025!) I could have spent the weekend entirely at their tables. But Thought Bubble is also about the joy of discovery; the thrill of the hunt as you look to track down those super-talented emerging voices so far unknown to you. Of course that’s one of the many things Thought Bubble does so well. It’s meticulously curated, showcasing comics at their broadest and most diverse besst; providing something for everyone, from the DIY culture, alt and experimental comics scenes to the bold, brash bastions of ultra-commercial IPs. There are new creators on my radar after the weekend for sure, and a frankly ridiculous number of graphic novels and comics acquired to be read through.
Peony Gent, who gave us the second BF ‘Comic of the Festival’
My frame of reference for the new halls layout is extremely limited and prone to the fallibility of memory but, for a near-sellout event, the four-hall structure certainly felt less rammed than my previous trip to TB in Harrogate. It was impossible, of course, to see everyone I wanted to and if I didn’t catch you then apologies. A mix of people’s tables being busy, not being able to track down guests who were not tabling, wanting to come over but being at one of those frequent moments when my emotional batteries needed a recharging (you were all too lovely!), and in a couple of cases just plain forgetting.
Never mind. We can pick it up in a year. When I’ll probably miss or forget you all over again.
Sammy Ward with some spooky magnificence
Outside of the halls the programming was a feast of riches too, with the standout panels for me being those on building your profile in comics with Jenny Robins, Sabba Khan, Alex Norris, Karrie Fransman and Candice Purwin, and the one looking at Muslim representation in comics with Meher Shiblee, Shazleen Khan, Sabba Khan, Ahmed Raafat and Ny Ali. The more compact set-up of Harrogate (in contrast to Leeds) also means it feels easier to slot in the satellite events, like the Adrifted on a Painted Sea and Secrets of the Majestic exhibitions at the Mercer Gallery.
Tom Philipson and offspring
This is the comic con that’s actually about comics. About creativity over consumerism. Imagination over commodification. Accessibility over exploitation. It’s joyful and vibrant rather than grasping and gouging. A salute to an artistic community that strives to be welcoming and supportive of each other. Indeed, Thought Bubble feels as much like visiting loved family as it does a comics convention. And, ultimately, perhaps that’s as much the draw of our yearly pilgrimage to Harrogate as anything else.
Article by Andy Oliver
Mollie Ray with the critically acclaimed ‘Giant’
Manon Wright discovering exciting new comics in the halls of Thought Bubble
The opening night of the Adrift on a Painted Sea exhibition
The excellent Muslim Representation in Comics panel
