Press Release
This year’s Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds is now only three weeks away! From 17th – 24th November, in association with Leeds International Film Festival, Allied London, and Arts Council England, the largest celebration of comics and animation in the UK will take over Yorkshire – a celebration of sequential art in all its forms, including everything from superhero comics to independent and small-press artists and writers.
Special guests attending this year’s festival programme will include Matt Fraction & David Aja (Hawkeye), Kelly Sue Deconnick & Emma Rios (Pretty Deadly), and Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon (Daytripper) with a full line-up of over 100 top-name comics creators, and hundreds of independent exhibitors and retailers!
As a special build-up to the festival, Wednesday 6th November will see the publication of a brand new Thought Bubble Anthology from Image Comics, featuring a spectacular roster of creative talent, and with all profits going to the Barnardo’s Charity. Featuring a variety of original tales by incredible industry talent from around the world, plus some shining new stars of the UK comics community, our anthologies are curated with the ultimate aim of showcasing the very best that sequential art has to offer.
This collection will print the winners of 2012’s Northern Sequential Art Competition, as well as new and original works by Brandon Graham, Cameron Stewart, Ming Doyle, Richard Starkings, Boo Cook, Carlos Ezquerra, Jeffrey Brown, Nicholas Gurewitch (Perry Bible Fellowship), Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Ramon Perez, with a cover by Alice Duke. The anthology’s full pricing, Diamond ordering, and format details can be found here, along with a trailer featuring previews of the strips contained within.
The wider festival programme for this year’s Thought Bubble will feature free art and writing based workshops for young people and adults, a two day academic conference, talks and masterclasses led by industry professionals, and a programme of sequential art related film screenings, all building up to a special two-day convention on 23rd & 24th November. The Thought Bubble convention includes an incredible line-up of leading artists and writers, and over 300 tables showcasing the best sequential art has to offer. The weekend will also feature portfolio viewings and competitions, as well as a huge cosplay parade.
Tickets for the convention can be bought online by clicking here, with special discounts for cosplayers, and under-12s entering the venue for free with an accompanying ticket holding parent/guardian.
A number of events at this year’s festival have a limited capacity, and spaces on these fantastic workshops, talks, and live performances are filling up fast, so book soon to avoid disappointment!
For more information on the festival, please visit the website, and for live updates as they happen, please follow TB on twitter, or like TB on facebook!
