Thought Bubble 2009

THOUGHT BUBBLE 2009

The Perfect Cure For The Winter Blues

The weather threatened to put off even the most ardent comic book fan but still they came. Thousands of fans braved the wind and the rain to travel to Leeds for the annual Thought Bubble Festival. Three days of comic related events to keep comic book fans of all walks of life happy.

On Saturday 21st the festival held a giant expo of retailers, writers, artists, publishers and fan clubs at Saviles Hall & the Alea Casino. The doors opened at 10am and I was running late, when I exited the car park the precinct leading to the convention was strangely quiet, a few people wandered through the rain or mooched in the few shops situated close to the Royal Armouries Museum.

Then I turned the corner and there was a massive throng of people, they were dressed in almost every conceivable costume and most of them seemed happy to be waiting in the inclement weather. Those in costumes which wouldn’t have survived the rain took shelter close to the building but the queue was still impressive.

Once everyone had made it inside the main room was spacious and well lit, over the last couple of years British conventions have stepped up their profiles and become some of the best in the world, in terms of both professionalism and spirit. Last year the show took a little bit of time to get going but this year the hall was busy within about 15minutes, with Cosplayers mixing happily with comic fans, role players and professionals. The event staff were both helpful and patient; a big bonus has been that organisers of all the conventions in the UK have learned that fans attending do not want to spend their time walking great distance to get to panels and events in other buildings.
The Alea Casino was literally just round the corner, easy to find and comfortable.

There was a great selection of professionals from right across the world, Alex Maleev and Adi Granov were as popular as always, industry legends like Staz Johnson, Charlie Adlard, Sean Phillips and Paul Cornell and Bryan Talbot filled the signing areas. The list of guests was phenomenal and helped establish Thought Bubble as one of the major events in the comic convention calendar. As one creator put it ‘[Thought Bubble] has a guest list that some of the big American conventions can only envy.’

In addition to impressive guests there was a Cosplay competition, quizzes, discussion panels and portfolio reviews. My first panel of the day was the ‘Seriously Into Comics’ panel. Host Paul Gravett and scholars from across the UK discussed their work, their influences and what they have planned for the future. The academics included Simon Greenan, Sarah Lightman, Shima Shamsavani, Maggie Gray and Aaron Meskin. The line-up was concluded by Dr Mel Gibson who by far one of the most entertaining and endearing speakers, her warmth and sense of humour demonstrated why she is so popular. I would have probably studied harder if she had been my tutor back in the day because she makes academia fun.

It wasn’t all academic discussions in the panels, Charlie Adlard, Ben Templesmith, Anthony Johnston and Sean Phillips join panel host Martin Grund to discuss horror and its appeal in comics. The catchy title ‘Do Zombies Read Comic Books’ gave a hint as to the light hearted look the panel took on the genre and it was a lot of fun.

There were also panels for aspiring artists, ‘The Changing Face of Comics’ and ‘Computer Games & Sequential Art’ both promised to give an insight into the industry and give advice on how to survive and make it in the industry.

Anybody who thought comics are just for men and boys should take a long hard look at the people attending, I worked out there was roughly a 50/50 mix of male and female audience members. Whilst the professionals boasted the likes of Yishan Li, Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli. The face of comics is changing, east is mixing well with western styles, more women are taking their rightful place alongside their male counterparts and comic artwork and graphic novels are becoming accepted more and more in the UK as a legitimate art form and branch of the media. The rest of the world already knows the power of the industry on every level, mainstream UK audiences are now catching up and the snobbery of the academic and cultural worlds appear to be begrudgingly accepting the role comics play in society.

What was interesting this year was the lack of attendance by the big players in the industry, although the creators were out in force, Marvel, DC or even Rebellion were not and it did leave you wondering what effect the recession is having on the industry, was is it economics or bad judgement that kept them away. Thought Bubble feels like a convention for the people, small publishers and creators. Publishers like Accent, Blank Slate, Time Bomb, Insomnia, Fetishman, Fallen Angel et al shone in this environment and gave the day a really great feel to it. Many of the smaller companies are gathering an impressive catalogue of titles to their name and customers got a chance to pick up bargains, meet up and coming writers/artists in addition to seeing some of the exciting books they have in production.

Once again the organisers managed to pull off a hedonistic mix of anime and western culture. I was still surprised at the number of Cosplayers that were crossing over and buying western titles, and vice-versa. Thought Bubble is really shaking things up in the way that conventions are presented and hopefully they will be around for a long time to come.

Rumour has it that the one day convention will be extended to two, I am not sure if that is a good idea. I like the one day event but hopefully if they do stretch it to two it will retain the same magic?

Do yourself a favour and put the Thought Bubble Festival in your diary for next year, it is the perfect antidote to the winter blues.

EXTRA PICTURES AND COVERAGE



THOUGHT BUBBLE 2009 The Perfect Cure For The Winter Blues

The weather threatened to put off even the most ardent comic book fan but still they came. Thousands of fans braved the wind and the rain to travel to Leeds for the annual Thought Bubble Festival. Three days of comic related events to keep comic book fans of all walks of life happy.
On Saturday 21st the festival held a giant expo of retailers, writers, artists, publishers and fan clubs at Saviles Hall & the Alea Casino. The doors opened at 10am and I was running late, when I exited the car park the precinct leading to the convention was strangely quiet, a few people wandered through the rain or mooched in the few shops situated close to the Royal Armouries Museum. Then I turned the corner and there was a massive throng of people, they were dressed in almost every conceivable costume and most of them seemed happy to be waiting in the inclement weather. Those in costumes which wouldn’t have survived the rain took shelter close to the building but the queue was still impressive.
Once everyone had made it inside the main room was spacious and well lit, over the last couple of years British conventions have stepped up their profiles and become some of the best in the world, in terms of both professionalism and spirit. Last year the show took a little bit of time to get going but this year the hall was busy within about 15minutes, with Cosplayers mixing happily with comic fans, role players and professionals. The event staff were both helpful and patient; a big bonus has been that organisers of all the conventions in the UK have learned that fans attending do not want to spend their time walking great distance to get to panels and events in other buildings. The Alea Casino was literally just round the corner, easy to find and comfortable.
		There was a great selection of professionals from right across the world, Alex Maleev and Adi Granov were as popular as always, industry legends like Staz Johnson, Charlie Adlard, Sean Phillips and Paul Cornell and Bryan Talbot filled the signing areas. The list of guests was phenomenal and helped establish Thought Bubble as one of the major events in the comic convention calendar. As one creator put it ‘[Thought Bubble] has a guest list that some of the big American conventions can only envy.’
In addition to impressive guests there was a Cosplay competition, quizzes, discussion panels and portfolio reviews. My first panel of the day was the ‘Seriously Into Comics’ panel. Host Paul Gravett and scholars from across the UK discussed their work, their influences and what they have planned for the future. The academics included Simon Greenan, Sarah Lightman, Shima Shamsavani, Maggie Gray and Aaron Meskin. The line-up was concluded by Dr Mel Gibson who by far one of the most entertaining and endearing speakers, her warmth and sense of humour demonstrated why she is so popular. I would have probably studied harder if she had been my tutor back in the day because she makes academia fun.
		It wasn’t all academic discussions in the panels, Charlie Adlard, Ben Templesmith, Anthony Johnston and Sean Phillips join panel host Martin Grund to discuss horror and its appeal in comics. The catchy title ‘Do Zombies Read Comic Books’ gave a hint as to the light hearted look the panel took on the genre and it was a lot of fun. There were also panels for aspiring artists, ‘The Changing Face of Comics’ and ‘Computer Games & Sequential Art’ both promised to give an insight into the industry and give advice on how to survive and make it in the industry.
Anybody who thought comics are just for men and boys should take a long hard look at the people attending, I worked out there was roughly a 50/50 mix of male and female audience members. Whilst the professionals boasted the likes of Yishan Li, Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli. The face of comics is changing, east is mixing well with western styles, more women are taking their rightful place alongside their male counterparts and comic artwork and graphic novels are becoming accepted more and more in the UK as a legitimate art form and branch of the media. The rest of the world already knows the power of the industry on every level, mainstream UK audiences are now catching up and the snobbery of the academic and cultural worlds appear to be begrudgingly accepting the role comics play in society.
		What was interesting this year was the lack of attendance by the big players in the industry, although the creators were out in force, Marvel, DC or even Rebellion were not and it did leave you wondering what effect the recession is having on the industry, was is it economics or bad judgement that kept them away. Thought Bubble feels like a convention for the people, small publishers and creators. Publishers like Accent, Blank Slate, Time Bomb, Insomnia, Fetishman, Fallen Angel et al shone in this environment and gave the day a really great feel to it. Many of the smaller companies are gathering an impressive catalogue of titles to their name and customers got a chance to pick up bargains, meet up and coming writers/artists in addition to seeing some of the exciting books they have in production.
Once again the organisers managed to pull off a hedonistic mix of anime and western culture. I was still surprised at the number of Cosplayers that were crossing over and buying western titles, and vice-versa. Thought Bubble is really shaking things up in the way that conventions are presented and hopefully they will be around for a long time to come. Rumour has it that the one day convention will be extended to two, I am not sure if that is a good idea. I like the one day event but hopefully if they do stretch it to two it will retain the same magic? Do yourself a favour and put the Thought Bubble Festival in your diary for next year, it is the perfect antidote to the winter blues.
EXTRA PICTURES AND COVERAGE