The convention is fantastic, four days of continuous activities, all night video showings, real film projectors, at times over twenty activities to choose from. And they have programmed a number of stage performances, and this is what brings me to write.

The Teseracte Players of Boston performed a piece of ‘shadow theatre’ – essentially, actors, or players, perform on stage simultaneously as a film is on screen, so the songs and words are the original recordings. This is something that the group have been doing for seventeen years, and are well known for their Doctor Horrible, Buffy, Once More With Feeling and Rocky Horror Picture show performances.

(pics by James, click to see the larger version on Flickr)

It is no mean feat to shadow perform a film on stage. It is even harder when the movie selected is as popular and stylistic as Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.  I was unsure what to expect – unsure how a group of performers would be able to portray in live action one of the most iconic pieces of animation film of the last twenty years, and one that is so popular in fan circles.

I was utterly taken by surprise. The performance exceeded my expectations. From the start the relaxed and natural emceeing of Glenn fed into what was a very imaginative set of costumes and incredibly accurate portrayals, in perfect unison with the playing of the film. I was transported to Halloweentown immediately.

(The Mayor of Halloweentwon canvasses James for his vote)

Biff, as the Mayor, was perfect, his gait and movement setting a standard. He caught the facial transition with ease which made me laugh immediately and continuously. The choreography of the players and miming was unnervingly good, so good in fact that I soon had forgotten the off stage screen. It was joyous entertainment and terrifically great fun, it gave me a sense of ‘something special’ as I viewed this new version of a well known movie, and how accurately the players brought the stage to life.

The simplicity and cleverness of the set, the lighting, and the movement of players through the audience gave the performance an intimate and polished feel.

I loved Dr. Finklestein’s position. A wheelchair was situated on a stand on one side of the stage, imitating his tower, while Lock, Shock and Barrel were ably played by Tori, Mimi and Ashley, who multi-tasked as the band, and were so much fun. AJ as Oogie Boogie no doubt benefited from the amazing costume which made him visually fantastic, yet like all the players, it was his exquisite performance made the character and brought it to full life on the stage.

Sara and Muppet as Jack and Sally were picture perfect, and played their parts beautifully. The makeup and costumes were superlative, the players really finding their pace and places perfectly and again the lighting ensured that their performance was picked out brilliantly. Both exuded confidence and professionalism while embodying the electric element required for this show.

The spirit and fun fell off the stage in waves and assaulted me, I felt these performers were enjoying what they were doing, and it showed, not only in the flow of the performance or the easy progression of the story, but also in how caught I found myself, filling me with excitement.

Of course, Zero as played by Anna, a young girl, who was a gem.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and subsequently stayed for the next two performances, but am really very surprised, and I am sure locals will nod in a knowing way, aware of this local brilliance at how well Amy the director, brought the troupe together, and how exhilarated the players made me feel, but itv was truly surprising at how enjoyable it was. Bravo Teseracte!

Yep, Dan Berry, of the recently enjoyed After We Shot The Grizzly, is taking himself off to the Angoulême Comics Festival this week, to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the build up to next week’s festival. Lucky so and so.

Angoulême is of course, the biggest and most important of the European Comics Festivals, where the entire town of Angoulême becomes comic town, celebrating all that is good and great with the 9th art. One day, one day I shall go. If only it wasn’t in school time. (Although Olivier Cadic of Cinebook did suggest to me recently that organising a school trip to Angoulême would be a fantastic thing to do – if only schools had money for that sort of epic trip).

However, we can join in and track his progress on a Tumblr he’s set up for the occasion: angouleme2012.tumblr

And I did like this Art Spiegelman poster for this year’s festival:

(Highlands superhero Nessie, along with Tank Girl, Dredd and Dennis the Menace, art by Tanya Roberts, TG (c) Martin & Hewlett, Dredd (c) Rebellion and Dennis is (c) DC Thomson)

Richmond Clements and Vicky Stonebridge drop us a line to update us to the latest details for the return of the Hi-Ex comics con in the capital of the Scottish Highlands, Inverness, this coming March 31st and April 1st, again in the usual home of the splendid riverside Eden Court and Tanya Roberts has created the fab new poster art (above) for the 2012 gig.  More details will follow in the next few weeks but among guests confirmed already are Tanya (who also has a great track record in animation as well as art, working on Toy Story, Strawberry Shortcake and the Clone Wars among others) paying a return visit, Gary Erskine will be back once more, I am pleased to see and so will Al Ewing, Michael Carroll and making his Hi-Ex debut comics and fine artist (indeed he won second prize in the BP National Portrait Awards, notes Vicky) Simon Davis.

(scene from the 2010 Hi-Ex, pic from my Flickr)

David Barras and Scott MacKay were there at the 2009 Hi-Ex raising awareness and finance for their micro budget film project Electric Man, a film revolving around a pair of loveable losers working in an Edinburgh comic store who fall into a plot involving the world’s rarest comic. Well the guys are back and, as regular readers will know, they raised the finance and made the film, which they will be bringing to Eden Court’s cinema for the convention. I was lucky enough to be in the first audience for the film in Edinburgh’s Filmhouse back in August and highly recommend it as a cracking wee Scots Indy movie with great characters and very inventive in employing its limited funding to create a great movie (you can read my review here). More guests and other details will follow soon, so make sure you have bookmarked the Hi-Ex site bookmarked.

(Colin MacNeil and Cam Kennedy at the first Hi-Ex in 2008)

And on a personal note I’d like to add that I have loved my trips to Hi-Ex – it started very well with the first event and has grown nicely but remained a very open, welcoming event, very family friendly (loads of very contented kids present), it is well worth your support – likewise for comics biz folks who may be put off by the distance (hey, how do you think we feel having to go all the way to Bristol from Scotland?!) I’d say consider heading up, it’s a great and growing event on the Brit comics scene. And the scenery on the way up takes you through some of the most beautiful landscapes in these islands. (my 2010 Hi-Ex report is here, pics from the 2010 show here,and the first 2008 show here.)

So, I headed to Canny Comic Con; as the Forbidden Planet man said to me, it’s the first time there has been a Comic Con in Newcastle in years and years, and it was well worth the journey.

Although Newcastle itself was wet and grey, the short walk from the station to City Library was colourful, with markets and German sausage and reindeer and all things Christmasy leading to the modern and airy structure that is Newcastle Library, five floors of free entertainment and learning.

And today a free comic convention.

At Berwick Hall in the library, a space for such things as this event, I waited a moment, as the amount of people was incredible. A talk was changing over, and so with the ebb and flow of the crowd, I took my time to take in what was going on.

(Stacey welcoming readers to the Canny Comic Con)

At the front of the hall a number of tables were together, and a continuous all-day comic art workshop and competition was going on, with cleverly produced entry forms, so that a grasp of what goes into a comic book character could be gained by children.

Around the hall were a mix of well-known retailers, and I was pleased to see that Paul Scott had Omnivistascope 7 available. This diverse collection of interesting comics written by Paul is of course for me a continuation of sorts of his previous publication, Solar Wind.

Bryan and Mary Talbot were present. Bryan was showing some amazing artwork, and had just given a talk about Grandville and the anthropomorphic tradition, and I was pleased to see much interest in ‘Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes’ , Mary Talbot’s interesting biography of her young self, intertwined with the early life of Lucia Joyce, daughter of the more famous James, with the art by Bryan. Lucia Joyce is a tragic character, who was institutionalised at the age of 28 and spent nearly half her life in St Andrews Hospital, Northampton, dying at 75. I could talk about Lucia more, about how mental instability was dealt with in the 1930s and what it must have been to be the daughter of someone as chaotic and revered as Joyce, but the book charts her and Mary’s coming of age, linked in many inexplicable ways.

As I move along, children push by, delighted to be getting a sticker, as they are taking part in the ‘awesome sticker quest’ where child-friendly stalls give out stickers and the kids’ section upstairs also gives them a sticker, and so this visual treasure hunt gets them a prize.

(pics by James, click for the larger images on the FPI Flickr stream)

There were a lot of children here, which I didn’t see at all as a bad thing; I do think that children need to reclaim comics, or maybe find ones they like, but it was good to see Roger Langridge comics available for 50p, and an ominously huge Judge Dredd was handing out pristine copies of 2000 AD from 1986, a good vintage I felt.

Other professionals included Doug Braithwaite, Al Ewing, Suzy Varty and Gary Erskine.

(Suzy Varty treats us to a huge smile)

A comic that caught my eye was Those of No Class by N, a twenty-one-year old student studying illustration at Falmouth. She had a comic and a lovely concept and gallery book for sale. The comic is a stunning, fully painted affair and possesses a production quality that is rare amongst small presses. Apparently ‘Those of No Class’ is a comic about segregation and prejudice set on a not-so-distant planet. It ‘follows a human protagonist discovering and coming to terms with a world that doesn’t want him’ and I was well impressed by it. The artwork is fully painted with real style, and there is much to the story and I liked both Fay and Khern as they came together. The first Chapter and part of the second are available free online.

My goodness. Is this one of the comics of the year for me?

Onwards and I came across Crumpet Time Comics or more to the point Jack Fallows.  I spoke to him about his anthology comic, Costume Party, he explained that ‘it’s kinda about identity. Some people liked it, others said find a story. Every strip and illustration is about identification, some semi-autobiographical but generally a melancholy feel.’ I like the look of this one, and also spoke to him about his ongoing series Big Bang. The comic ‘is about a mysterious disaster that strikes a city and we follow small groups of characters as they deal, or choose not to deal, with what’s going on.’ The setting is a nondescript Western city and it’s on its third issue, the second issue having a very interesting foldout sub piece about a character called Albert, and the third issue being a digest size story of the life of a bus driver called Dennis.

(Jack Fallows with some of his work)

There was a huge table of small press offerings, a number of other artists, and overall I was well impressed with the Con. I caught up with Stacey who was helping Alex to run the con, and she said she was extremely happy, not just with the con, but the huge support that the library gave them, and also the amount of young people who had come and I could see why.

(some of the small press contingent at Canny Comic Con)

It was definitely worth the jaunt.

Malta Comic con 2011 was my third trip to Malta, and I think it was the best con so far.

This year I was travelling on the back of a long run of conventions and events. The previous weekend had been Leeds Thought Bubble.

I had five new comics from the previous year which shows me how busy I’ve been. The journey was a relaxed one, I met Kate Brown, Emma Vieceli and Sonja Leong in the Heathrow departure lounge, which was a lovely start to the journey.

What I like about away trips is the steady accumulations of friends old and new throughout the visit. We were collected by Chris Muscat and taken to the hotel. A quick check in and then we were whisked of to the venue to show new folk were they would be exhibiting. This turned into a table setting up session, and a general meet and greet. Micheal Quinton made a little speech welcoming us all and introducing the Malta crew and other exhibitors. It was quite nice actually, really set up the weekend, and reinforced the feeling that everyone was welcome and there to take part.

This was followed by food and then I bailed out early with Steve Tanner and Suzanne .

Snoozy snooze led to the next day and I had breakfast with Tim Perkins, one of the originals from the first trip and then it was time to go. In reception I met Gary Erskine and Thomas Gosselin from France, also Chris, Poppy and Marios from Cyprus. Others include David Lloyd, Michael Golden, Renee Witterstaetter (on a related note, Renee has posted an interview with Michael from the Malta con on her blog here) and John Haward.

(photos by and (c) Sean Azzopardi, borrowed from his Flickr)

We arrived at the venue and one of the big changes from previous years was opening up two floors. Also there was separate rooms for shops and gaming. I really like this venue, it would great to have it in London -  plenty of different spaces to exhibit and also rooms for the panels and the always excellent cafe.

Anyway the day started slowly, but I was confident that it was going to be a good sales day and slowly the stock started to move. By the end of the day I had sold most of my stuff. In fact I sold out completely by about 2.30 on the Sunday afternoon. This year had a lot more comics on display from local artists. This included Pilot, an impressive anthology of Maltese comics creators.

Back to Saturday – I was interviewed by Chris on general convention themes. I also took part in a panel on comics and the inter web, this was hosted by The Orbital crew, Taylor and Chris. It was a fun panel. Not sure if I had anything of interest to offer, but the audience seemed to enjoy it. Later I was interviewed at my table by the same dynamic duo.

Saturday night was party time in the hotel roof bar and I hung out with Urban Artists, the cool mural folks, until 3am. Sunday was a more sedate day, and once I had sold out of stock I went and hung out with the people upstairs. I looked at the murals and did a bit of table sitting. I then sat outside overlooking Valletta harbour and watching the sun set while finishing a sketch commission. I know, difficult life …

We wound up on the Sunday said goodbye to people and went back the hotel. A bunch of us went for a meal which was nice, and I finished the night in the Bar with the Orbital gang and Thomas. The next day was glorious weather and it was a tour round the war museum and the Inquisitor’s palace. This was followed by the farewell meal lots of cheery/ sad goodbyes.

My final day was spent with my new friends Thomas, Chris and Marios, then Emma and Kate and Tim and John, then it was time for London.

Touchdown.

Many thanks to the organisers for inviting me and being excellent hosts  – thank you to Joseph Bugeja, Chris Le Galle, Mark Ellul, Fabio Agius, Samantha Abela, Chris Muscat and Tamara Fenech.

In conclusion this was the best of the three events I’ve been to in Malta; the organisation was good and the audience had grown on the previous years, I’m pleased to report. The exciting part was to see the growth of the artists from previous years. Having an annual convention has given an impetus to being creative and it’s showing in the enthusiasm and development of the comics. I would urge anyone thinking of attending this friendly convention next year to do so. The next stage is for more audience to travel abroad to attend and support it. It’s comics in winter with sunshine.

Do it – you’ll have a great time.

Many thanks to Sean for taking the time to share his thoughts on the Malta trip; you can follow Sean via his site here and there are more pics from his Malta trip to enjoy on his Flickr stream with pics from the con here and some nice images of Malta itself here.

(Supergirl, Snow White and Zatanna in cosplay fun at Thought Bubble – all pics by James, click for the larger images on Flickr)

This is a festival in the truest sense; there have been a plethora of events all week, including an exhibition, as well as talks and outreaching workshops – but the culmination of this festival is the massed activities at Saville Hall where a two-day comic book convention will take place.

I stand outside and consider the lengthening queues. Although predominantly male, white, and thirty-somethings, the age range does still vary, and groups of girls dressed as a wide variety of gaming and manga and anime characters are obvious in their clusters of vibrant colours.

Judge Dredd is pacing around, day stick tapping in hand, while a pretty impressive Batman towers over both an Imperial Stormtrooper and speeder biker trooper who look too short in comparison (perhaps they really were a little short for a Stormtrooper).

There is a definite movement by those who dress in nylony spandex away from the beer barrel and towards the six pack; the guy dressed as ‘Deadpool’ is tidy and buff and potentially swift, not an easy geeky target. There is the occasional costume fail and some take their gaudy garb perhaps too seriously, but I appreciate their fashion faux pas as it’s a fun element that they bring as the lines calmly wait.

Although not everyone is dressed up, and unless you are wearing roller skates, red hair seems vogue amongst many of the girls who are queuing here, while hoody tops, jeans and trainers are de riguer amongst the boys.

People are turning up with big bags loaded with homemade self-produced comics, the mini industry a vital component now for many fans, who receive appreciation and monetary reward for their valiant efforts.

The convention has expanded considerably this year. The main hall, Saville, contains 196 tables, a staggering amount. The expansion of an extra 99 tables in the armouries hall is exceptionally good and the talks have been moved too, so there is considerably more space. I would say it’s close to doubled really, what with the talks moved to the Armouries, Bury Theatre, and Alea Cinema Room.

But 300 tables all about comics. This is huge and varied. There is no ghetto here; homemade comics sit next to 2000 AD, where illustrious luminaries such as Pete Doherty and Colin MacNeil sketch, and there is no sense that all the top artists are in one hall, with queues in both, for some of the best names in the industry at the moment in both halls, there is a sense of ‘everyone together’.

With two halls, there are two roller derby teams greeting fans, and also ensuring everyone has the right wristband, and who would mess with these fantastically fit women, who regularly kick ass on the circuit. Hot Wheels (www.hotwheelrollerderby.com ) and the Bruising Banditas are the teams, and they are fun and enjoying both the attention and spirit of the event. Delightfully violent sports women at a comic con – such a paradox in many ways – who would have expected it?

As much as I enjoy chatting to these girls, and bumping into other team players, I am after all here for the comics, and first on my mission list is to hopefully join Barry Kitson’s queue for a sketch. Now sketching is a mixed bag; I treasure a Steve Dillon Dredd that took about three minutes with a Biro, and adore a Jim Lee Batman that took even less, and some sketches are charged for and very good and time consuming, but Barry Kitson takes the biscuit. I am early enough that I will be able to get a ‘quick sketch’ in between some ‘long ones’. Barry is a consummate professional and decided some time ago, that he would enjoy his work, and also reward fans for queuing, and so he lays out a wide variety of pens and pencils, markers, brushes, inks, paints and mixing pallets, and so sets to work.

That’s right, with Barry, your sketch, if it’s long, will take about an hour, and it is a fully painted water colour affair, pencilled, penned, inked and then fully coloured, a treasured item. His shorter pieces are usually pencil and ink, but luckily for me, he did a quick colouring. It’s the ultimate in comic book experiences, to watch a master at work, and best of all he is engaging and delightful to talk to, and the time flies by, as his queue soon becomes comrades but soon I bid Aisha, Louisa and Liz farewell as they wait in line for long pieces.

Later I am stunned by both the penmanship of Colin MacNeil and the pencils of Mick McMahon. It is so nice to see McMahon, his Dredd unique and distinctive.

As well as sketches, I have a small amount of money for self published comics. This is a cottage industry on an incredible scale, and I am spoilt for choice and limited by funds, so I consider carefully the comics that I do buy. The first stand that really strikes me is a 3D display and bright imagery for Afroella. Described by the pleasant Gemma Bedeau as a ‘blaxploitation Barberella’ she explained that herself and artist Lee Fenton-Wilkinson had been working on it a year, and I can see the fruits of their labour. Straight away the strong colours and strikingly clear artwork in a realistic but cartoon style are captivating, but it is the added cleverness of the characters and the rollicking science fiction story that makes it a real winner.

Nearby I was surprised then to find that Blaxplotation was so vogue this November, when I saw a poster for Gav Heryng‘s ‘No Shit Sherlock’ with a Black handlebar-moustachioed Sherlock Holmes. Gav explained that it was a concept and that he ‘started it as a webcomic a couple of years back when I wasn’t getting any work in, but it got put on the back-burner after the first episode when the paying gigs started again. I intend to restart it as part of an anthology in the new year. ‘ I was impressed by the bold imagery and the poster was striking. I would have bought the comic there and then, but then this is part of the pleasure of being at Thought Bubble, the ideas and process are tantalisingly close.

Likewise was Andrew Tunney’s Girl & Boy which wasn’t for sale, but which had very nice promotional material and also the man himself happily handing his iPad with the comic on it to passersby. He had completed the comic that week, and obviously has grand plans for it, and from what I saw it did indeed look good. The first seven pages are online.

The activities of the aristocracy in the seventeen hundreds may seem like an unusual subject to cover in comics, but Robin Hoelzemann has created a comic set in the time of pre-Revolutionary France and her work is incredible. Robin was selling Curia Regis on a table, but there was also a host of other items available. The first two chapters of her book were available, and her black and white artwork, printed on most shiny paper, stood out fiercely. You can find about twenty pages available on her webpage and it’s wonderfully drawn. She has quite a clear style and I found both the architecture and characters really well done, and the story engaging. She was wearing a stunning frock and although I didn’t spend enough time chatting, I was taken with her enthusiasm.

I had to pick up Meet the Beast from Hayena Studios. This one-shot contains two wordless sample stories, a showcase for a range of forthcoming and established characters. The first is set in the 1920s adventure verse and this world follows Captain Freeman of the Armed Services, Sexton Blake, Mata Hair, Bulldog Drummond and Caeradoc. The other is Pneumatic New Worlds, set in an alternative Victorian time with a steampunk theme, staring Young Sherlock Holmes, Penny Black, Tom Swift, Host and my favourite, the inventor and rebel Ace. Victoria lives thanks to the unknown interventions of a Rasputin, the head of the Investigatory Science Police. It looks like cracking good stuff and although the comic is brief and teasing, it gives a sufficient taste of what is to come. Young Sherlock Holmes is a personal favourite of mine, and I love Huw-J and JL Straw’s stylised cartoonish artwork, but it’s the inventiveness and clever use of character that makes this so interesting. With a Sexton Blake The Baker Street Detective, Penny Black and a Freeman comic all due next year, it looks like Hayena will be busy.

I cannot mention Sherlock Holmes without of course thinking of Leah Moore and John Reppion, who have another Sherlock Holmes story entitled The Liverpool Demon coming out. I was pleased to wear a number of Thrill Electric Badges which they were handing out in between signing a host of comics and promoting the web comic (see here for a Director’s Commentary on the series by Leah and John).

I was surprised that I got into such a good conversation with Nicola Streeten, who has recently had her  ‘Billy, Me & You‘, a memoir of grief and recovery, published to much acclaim (see here for Richard’s recent review), and even more publicity, with the BBC and Guardian being among the mainstream media to make much of it. This is a hard story of how it was to deal with the loss of her son sixteen years ago. Much of our conversation was driven by my honest appraisal, explaining pleasantly that I wasn’t sure if the comic would be up my street, and I think that Nicola was pleasantly surprised to be able to engage with a comic reader who wasn’t her target audience. Yet the comic itself is worthy of a good look and is perhaps one of the hardest creations of the year to read.

This is the joy of a comic festival such as Thought Bubble; there are no boundaries or barriers to what you can sell. I picked up promotional material that weighed me down, and I must say that the Phoenix comic looks good, as does Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park When You Are 29 and Unemployed, with a blue-horned creature on the cover.

Yet it is the ever expanding range of products that still surprises me; for instance, the amazing range of jewellery by Lynn of the Tuckshop, with comic images incorporated into the design, was just captivating. The wide variety of Keep Calm and Carry On pastiches were hilarious, although I think I could improve on one with ‘Keep Calm, That’s No Moon’, but the Zelda posters, stickers, items made from knitting, fabric, gaming images pixellated and Judge Dredd’s helmets.

I must say the staff are really a very decent bunch, helpful, avoiding the officiousness that sometimes comes with the job, and really into the spirit of thing. It made me smile to hear one volunteer with a loud brogue voice cheerfully trying to get folks into the right queue, his accent or perhaps enthusiasm confusing the locals at such a time, indicative of the mixed nature of the help from many quarters with nice attitudes.

I left with bag of comics, I came to buy a selection of Battle and Action Annuals from the late seventies and early eighties for £2 each, found a load of bargain graphic novels, was thrilled to chat with costumed fans and enjoyed the relaxed craziness in the bar. I didn’t get to the panels I wanted to but Maura McHugh did, and reports on the Women in Comics panel here.

Overall, it was a great day out and I am already looking forward to next year.

part one:

part two:

part three:

part four:

Last weekend was the now annual Thought Bubble Comic Convention, taking place at the end of a week of comic activities and events in the Comic Art Festival.

Molly and I headed across to Leeds for the Saturday, thinking we might only do one day, but, as you’ll find out, Molly decided very early on that she was having far too much fun and we made both days. It was the best Thought Bubble I’ve been to yet. And seeing as Thought Bubble consistently comes out as the best convention in the country, that’s a pretty high accolade.

So, what can I possible use to sum up the experience of Thought Bubble 2011, to fully describe a great weekend of a comic convention?

Well you might think this is a little trivial, but they managed to get the temperature just right. It’s the first convention I’ve ever been to where I’ve not been really sweaty hot and bloody uncomfortable most of the time, fumbling around with burdensome bag and jacket all day long. Of course, that may have something to do with simply having the show on a mid-November weekend and actually keeping the doors open.

But no matter, that small thing, being able to comfortably walk around, without need of a change of clothes halfway through the day is such a gift. And when they get the little things right, it’s a sure indicator that the organisers behind the show will do a fine, fine job on the really important things. And from my experiences, and the feedback I heard during Thought Bubble, coupled with the reports I’ve heard so far, they most definitely got the really important things right.

I can’t say it’s the best comic show in the country. Simply because I haven’t been to all of them. But it’s got to be one of the best, one of the most enjoyable, one of the best organised. Thought Bubble 2011 was, quite simply, rather a triumph.

And purely based on the numbers of people queueing early Saturday morning outside Savilles Hall, a huge success….

(Saturday morning outside Savilles Hall, Thought Bubble 2011)

(The cosplayers were out in force, as usual, supplying colour and comment all weekend.)

The whole show was bigger this year, set across two halls, the usual larger Savilles Hall and the smaller Armouries Hall, and stretching to a two-day convention. Nearly 300 stalls holding something over 200 different exhibitors and artists. It was huge.

Which meant that when the organisers announced it as a two-day, two-hall show, I have to admit to a little worry – would making it bigger and longer ruin the fun of the single day? Could they really make it bigger and still keep the wonderfully relaxed, welcoming, enjoyable feel of the show?

Well, yes and no…. purely from a visitors point of view it was wonderful. The crowded aisles and difficult navigations of 2010 were gone, the positioning of the halls across the plaza meant it felt connected, yet fresh air was never too far away. Savilles Hall was huge, airy, not as dark as I remember, full of stalls, but never really too crowded to move around comfortably. The smaller Armouries Hall was lighter and airier, and the positioning of the signing stalls in there, along with the wonderful activities/childrens areas was a real plus. More on that later.

(Savilles Hall – early Saturday – very busy, but rarely feeling uncomfortable – the perfect happy medium.)

(Armouries Hall – smaller, lighter, perfectly suited for the exhibitors inside)

But from an exhibitors point of view…. hmmm. The Sunday was obviously quieter in numbers. Much quieter at times. And anecdotal evidence from various exhibitors said it was quieter money wise as well.

Which presents a small problem for Lisa, Clark and the rest of the really talented and ever helpful team behind Thought Bubble. There’s no way they can go back to a single hall now – there are simply too many exhibitors to do that – they’ve simply outgrown that. And if you brought it back to a single day, there would simply be too much to do in one day.

But two days didn’t quite work this time. This time.

Personally I think it’s merely the first try and next year hopefully we’ll see both days buzzing as more people will get used to the idea that this is a two-day con, that more people will spread their visit out across the weekend.

Overall, I think Thought Bubble presents a really diverse and interesting spread of artists and comic folks, with everything from the big, big stars; Adam Hughes, Jeff Lemire, Sean Phillips, Tony Harris, Gail Simone, David Aja, Andy Diggle, Olly Moss through to the smallest of the small press. And everything in between. Likewise the mix of people is really pleasing. Lots of children around everywhere, especially over in the Armouries Hall with the extra attractions there. Lots of those wonderful cosplayers as well, and the roller derby girls acting as announcers and general “what the hell was that”-ness worked really well.

Molly and I met, chatted, browsed and perused for all we were worth all through Saturday. By the end of the day, I’d managed to cover just about half of the bigger Savilles Hall and merely done a quick runaround of The Armouries Hall. Busy day indeed, and so much fun.

Here’s just a few of the photos from Saturday….

First stop for me, conveniently located just inside the door at the Savilles Hall was the Blank Slate stand, both to say hello to Blank Slate publisher Kenny Penman and have a good look at Nelson…. the undoubted book of the weekend (more on that next time)

(possibly the coolest man there; Uli Oesterle, with a copy of his new, first time in English, work of brilliance – Hector Umbra)

(Signing at the Blank Slate stand – Kate Brown, Uli Oesterle and Mawil – absolutely rocking the pink sweater. Nelson was the book of the weekend – more on that later)

(More at the Blank Slate stand – a healthy backlist from one of the new breed of quality UK publishers – and it was lovely to see SelfMadeHero, Nobrow, Cinebook and Knockabout all exhibiting and showing just how strong the UK scene is right now)

(And jumping around a little chronolgically, it was lovely to finally meet Padraig and his lovely wife Deidre on Sunday – Padraig was over for an Alan Moore panel. Also a rare photo of Blank Slate publisher Kenny Penman – notoriously photo averse. Special thanks here go to Molly, for capturing me in a terrible, terrible photo. Cheers darling.)

From there it was out into the wilds of Savilles Hall, packed with people, yet never overly crowded, a really ideal situation.

(Adam Cadwell, Kayla Marie Hillier)

(Marc Ellerby)

(Howard Hardiman, Sarah Gordon, Julia Scheele – collaborators on the new Peckham House For Invalids)

(Lovely to see Gary Spencer Millidge there, whom I last saw 16 years ago!)

(Roger Langridge)

(Krytina Baczynski – Kristyna was this years TB artist in residence, working with Matt Sheret of Paper Science all week to create a new story for next years TB comic – info at the TB Blog)

(Top Shelf’s Chris Staros over from the US for the weekend, ably assisted by Anna Peterson, who Molly thought was extremely cool for selling her the Korgi book at a special (knowing wink) price!)

(Philippa Rice with her usual, painstakingly accurate diorama, and if you look very, very closely… a mysterious Lego figure… more on that shortly)

(Terry Wiley shows off his latest, always excellent Verity Fair)

(Graham Pearce of Sgt Mike Battle – with a special knitted Mike Battle that Molly was most taken with… and would have taken if she could have managed it!)

Special mention has to go to that Adam Cadwell fella, for creating a special Thought Bubble Lego Hunt, which proved very popular with children and adults alike, and had Molly scanning stalls all over the hall looking to track down the specially designed Lego comic creator figures:

(The Cadwell immortalised in Lego – the staring point for the Thought Bubble Lego Hunt 2011)

(Molly did get them all, but as the evidence here shows, she managed to get a little inside information from those in the know…. including Matt Sheret, the Paper Science crew and Filmish’s Edward Ross.)

And that was it for Saturday…. so much done, yet so much remaining to do. We’ll split the report into two, just like Thought Bubble itself. Next time, mostly about Sunday, and mostly in the Armouries Hall.

Saturday night entertainment was provided by the usual suspects, with Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Anthony Johnson, Jamie McKelvie all dropping tunes (as I believe the hip crowd call it) at the TB party. For more on that go and read Gillen’s blog piece. One day I shall make the party, because frankly, anyone who ends a set with a live version of A-Ha’s Take On Me is doing something right, but by that time Molly and I were on the train home, relaxing and reading the goodies we’d picked up during the day.

So I shall make this quick – in addition to the many, many great comic people this weekend, in addition to the many, many great panels, signings and events, there’s this from Adam Cadwell…..

Enjoy.

Nelson

By (deep breath)……

Paul Grist, Rob Davis, Woodrow Phoenix, Ellen Lindner, Jamie Smart, Gary Northfield, Sarah McIntyre, Suzy Varty, Sean Longcroft, Warwick Johnson–Cadwell, Luke Pearson, Paul Harrison–Davies, Katie Green, Paul Peart–Smith, Glyn Dillon, I.N.J.Culbard, John Allison, Philip Bond, D’Israeli, Simone Lia, Darryl Cunningham, Jonathan Edwards, Ade Salmon, Kate Charlesworth, Warren Pleece, Kristyna Baczynski, HarveyJames, Rian Hughes, Sean Phillips & Pete Doree, Kate Brown, Simon Gane, Jon McNaught, Adam Cadwell, Faz Choudhury, JAKe, Jeremy Day, Dan McDaid, Roger Langridge, Will Morris, Dave Shelton, Carol Swain, Hunt Emerson, Duncan Fegredo, Philippa Rice, Josceline Fenton, Garen Ewing, Tom Humberstone , Dan Berry,Alice Duke, Posy Simmonds, Laura Howell, Andi Watson, and Dave Taylor (whew).

Blank Slate Books

Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague

By Steve Tanner and Graeme Howard

Timebomb Comics

West – Confederate Dead

By Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable

Frontier – The Weird Wild West: Dealing With Demons

By Jason Cobley and Andrew Wildman

Print Media

Dracula – Classical Comics

By Jason Cobley and Staz Johnson

Classical Comics

Chloe Noonan Monster Hunter Colour Special

By Marc Ellerby

Depressed Cat: Nine Miserable Lives

By Lizz Lunney

Back Again To Break Your Heart

By Douglas Noble