Thought Bubble Comic Convention 2024 is coming up soon, with the festival taking place the week leading up to the 16th and 17th of November 2024. After a killer line-up of guests last year, Thought Bubble has impressed even further, with a positively ludicrous amount of incredibly talented writers, artists, and comics professionals ranging from all across the United Kingdom and countries all over the world. Here’s a preview of some of the events happening over the Thought Bubble Festival week.
One such highlight of the two-day programme includes a talk from up-and-coming comics publisher DSTLRY titled ‘The Art of the Cover‘ in which various international superstar artists Emma Rios, Sweeney Boo, Becky Cloonan, Dani and Tula Lotay come together to discuss the art of condensing complex plotlines into memorable singular images. That is far from the only exciting talk being held at the convention. Others include renowned comic writer Tini Howard and Sweeney Boo in conversation with comics journalist Alex Fitch, while Chip Zdarsky will take the audience and host Kofi Smiles on a crash course through his memorably ridiculous career encompassing cult titles like Howard the Duck, award-winning series Sex Criminals and a shelf-load of accolades and awards.
Elsewhere at the convention, Thought Bubble will be hosting an exhibition of original works by the late, great Steve Dillon with over 50 pieces curated by his family including early work from 1978 and covering legendary titles such as 2000AD, Judge Dredd, Hellblazer and Preacher. This is a part of the event I am personally incredibly excited for, as Dillon’s unique and incredible artwork was a source of comfort to me in my angsty teenage years.
Another announced event is The Joy of Children’s Comics, which will see Children and Young Adult People’s Librarian Matthew Stoppard in conversation with artists and writers such as Laura Howell, Neill Cameron, Bernard Mensah and Sam Davies about their reasons for creating exciting stories for young minds. A pair of workshops will also be held in which kids can learn about comic making with Neill Cameron as well as Drawing Magical Creatures with Sam Davies. Comics aimed at young adults and children hold an important role in our industry, and it brings me joy to see Thought Bubble highlight important voices in that side of our industry.
Leading up to the convention, Thought Bubble hosts a week of films, workshops, talks, which will take place in Leeds and across Yorkshire. This year’s festival features the debut exhibition of Secrets of the Majestic, a new anthology of short comics from indie creators celebrating the infamous Harrogate Majestic hotel toilets and the return of the Vice Press x Thought Bubble collaboration which celebrates the 40th anniversary of James Cameron’s The Terminator with a new, officially licenced film poster by Florey.
Other exciting events include a talk with James Tynion IV at Leeds Arts University, who will also be doing a talk during the convention with Christian Ward hosted by Jazzlyn Stone.
As part of this year’s festival and in partnership with The Lakes International Comic Art Festival and the British Council, Thought Bubble is honoured to host ‘Enter the Mulberry Tree and Fly Free’, an exhibition of work by 12 Palestinian comic creators. The first of its kind outside the Middle East and North Africa, the exhibition is curated by Lebanon-based writer, journalist and leading expert on Arab comics, George Khoury and will explore identity, geopolitics and deeply personal perspectives on Palestine.
Taking place on 16th and 17th November, the last two days of the festival, Thought Bubble Comics Convention tickets are available now with options for families and students, while under 12s, carers and over 65s remain totally free. Tickets give access to all events within the comic convention weekend: Ranging from panels and workshops to guest signings, as well as four huge halls of exhibitors.
To quote festival director Chloë Green:
We’ve been working on the comic convention programme for months and months, some bits a whole year! Finally sharing it with everyone is very nerve wracking, but also very exciting. It’s a fun thing to be able to put out into the world. Hope you like it! See you all really, really, REALLY soon!
Tickets, as well as the full festival programme, can be found here. It’s shaping up to be a weekend you can’t miss, full of some of the best and brightest in the UK Comics scene as well as a plethora of immensely talented overseas guests. After achieving their best-ever attendance in 2023, the Thought Bubble team encourage fans to get their tickets before they sell out for this year. I’ve already got my ticket, so scoop up yours quick!
