THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2025! If this year’s Thought Bubble coverage has a human interest story then the origins of debuting anthology Beyond the Black Void is surely it. A titanic team-up of finalists from last year’s 2000 AD Talent Search at Thought Bubble it features a top line-up of emerging indie creators who didn’t win the competition last year. We chatted with BTBV showrunner Jason Measures to talk about what to expect from the project, the daunting nature of talking about your work in public, and what the future holds for this collaborative comics experiment…
Art by Jason Measures
ANDY OLIVER: Tell us about the premise of Beyond the Black Void, the specific circumstances behind its origin, and what you’re hoping to achieve with the project?
JASON MEASURES: Beyond the Black Void is a title that I came up with several years ago. Many times I have seen that written down in my sketchbook and had a feeling that it might fit in somewhere one day. I liked the uncertain nature of it… the feeling of dread and the unknown.
I’ve always loved the short, punchy stories of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Tales of the Unexpected and (of course) Future Shocks so felt this could be an anthology of weird and horrifying stories in a similar vein.
Fast forward to Thought Bubble November 2024. I have loved 2000 AD since I first saw it as a nipper in the 80s (and I would argue that Tharg taught me to read). As a result, when I realised that TB24 was holding an artists competition, I spent some time crafting the x5 pages to submit to the editors.
Art by Jason Measures
Luckily I was asked to be part of the final and had some really positive feedback on my work. This time around I didn’t win but what did happen was that I was thrust into a network of like-minded creatives that had similar goals to me.
We quickly bonded and the word ‘anthology’ kept popping up. Suddenly our path was clear: Us ‘waifs and strays’ would pair off as writers/artists, create several short stories between us and publish this as a collection of work we could return with to Thought Bubble 2025. A way to gain more experience through working as a team and also promote ourselves. Enter Beyond the Black Void: Stage left.
Much like Gizmo’s snack times, we quickly fixed on a handful of rules:
Number One:
Nothing is off the table. The story can be about whatever the writer/artists deem worthy and can included a twist in the tail if wanted but not necessary.
Number Two:
Nyxx (The Herald of Shadows) would be our story teller. She lives at the edge of the void and introduces each chapter.
Number Three:
Brian would be her eyes and ears. An ever-watchful sparrow whose unblinking eyes have witnessed the ends of worlds and the births of terrors unspeakable. Brian is to appear in some form or another as a thru-line within each story.
From ‘Your Precious Organic Identity’ by Joshua Spiller and Yaya To
AO: What kind of stories can readers expect to find within its pages?
MEASURES: The stories range from science fiction to comedy to the macabre. They can be tales of dread or a warped reality or a solar system far away. As a collective of creators, the ideas come from everywhere from distant pasts to twisted futures.
AO: Where may readers have seen some of the creators involved in it before?
MEASURES: As individual creators, we have been involved with many projects over the years. Some published and some self-published. Our team is 16 people strong (Kenneth B. Beardsley, Cameron S. Gaskins, Barrie D. Hardwick, Leo Healy, Rob Jones , James McGrath, Jason Measures, Bram Meehan, Carla Norfolk, James Patricks, Theo Pickering, Dan Pollard, Rhstewart, Joshua Spiller, Yaya To and Ryan Twyford).
Between us we have worked on recognised brands such as Danger Mouse, Shrieek, Black Mirror and Zarjaz. We also have a whole list of self-initiated projects with titles like The Knight Shift, Pugs in Space, Weird Stories and Metal Hurlant among many others.
AO: How daunting a prospect is it to be involved with something like the 2000 AD Talent Search given the public nature of the process?
MEASURES: When you are standing in front of a massive crowd of people with the likes of Jock, DaNi and Alison Sampson giving you feedback on your work then the word ‘daunting’ doesn’t quite describe it :). Words like terrifying and scary spring to mind but also exhilarating. Personally: I have drawn and read comics for as long as I can remember but this was really the first time that I have had the chance to show my work to professionals I respect working in the industry.
From ‘The Beast We Feed’ by James Patricks and Theo Pickering
I’ve been a Graphic Designer by trade for the last 25 years so presenting work to clients and hearing their feedback is something I am fairly used to. I didn’t think that much could faze me as you do develop a thick skin over time. That said: Standing in front of a judging panel of my peers talking about my drawing style is something else entirely– a whole new level of pressure that I was thrilled to be under. The feedback I received was really helpful and I have tried to implement that in my work over the last year.
Yaya To (who contributed some great work to our anthology) was also in the 2000 AD art final and presented some outstanding work. Yaya is a young and talented artist who isn’t as grizzled and weathered as me 🙂 so to see her proudly show her work and stand out there in front of everyone was really inspiring. She really is the one to watch this year and if she isn’t in the 2000 AD final again at TB25 I will eat my left shoe.
And that is what makes this particular competition so good. You can be any age, any gender and have any artistic quirks and yet still be embraced as an artist in your own right. Not many events offer the chance to showcase your work like that… and in that way: Thought Bubble’s relationship with 2000 AD is unique. If you are thinking of entering then don’t wait: we need to see more creatives embrace this opportunity and shake things up.
Art by Jason Measures
AO: Tell us a little about the panel you have for the anthology at Thought Bubble and what people can expect from it?
MEASURES: I realise that this is all starting to sound like a love letter to Thought Bubble but I can’t emphasise how much the last year of my creative life has been impacted by the 2024 event. Our gaggle of writer/artists loved the idea of returning to TB25 with an anthology of stories and when I mentioned this to the organisers they agreed and asked to hear our ideas about appearing on a live panel.
It quickly became apparent that we were the happy-go-lucky leftovers… wandering the streets of a noir comic panel with our portfolios and typewriters: All connected to the industry but still knocking on the door for those bigger opportunities.
Individually: We are all trying to accomplish the same goal– to get our work out there and hopefully get to do more of it. Collectively: We have become a formidable force and at some point that door is going to burst into splinters… it’s just a matter of time. Our panel focusses on those kinds of themes: Work ethics, diligence, good experiences, bad experiences, hopes, dreams and how to keep going in the face of adversity.
Our panel will be called ‘Waifs and Strays’ and takes place on the Dead Northern Stage at 11am on Sunday 16th. There will be six of us on the panel (Leo Healy, James McGrath, James Patricks, Dan Pollard, Ryan Twyford and myself) and it will be the first ever panel we have been on (and maybe the last!).
And as we all know… If there’s something the world needs more of, it is a load of pasty-faced white guys sharing their opinions, but in this case I think it might be worth a look (And we have a few surprises planned not to mention the legendary Sarah Miles as our moderator). There is some real talent here and I’m just happy to be a small cog in this giant machine we are building.
Art by Jason Measures
AO: Anthologies are a great platform for newer creative voices, providing both a supportive network and a chance to reach wider audiences. Can we expect more Beyond the Black Void in the future?
MEASURES: I would love to do another one. Our hopes for this first anthology is that it gives us a chance to connect with other like-minded creatives and also to give us a platform to expand our art. If we get to meet our heroes along the way then all the better. Amazingly, we have had support from the likes of GOSH Comics, Cosmic Comics and even Waterstones have agreed to have our book on their shelves. Not a bad foundation to springboard another publication off of in the future.
The problem with having such a blast on the first volume is that it’s easy to keep going and going and going. The hard part is actually stepping back for a moment and really focusing on how to push the concept further with each iteration. I wouldn’t want us to just repeat the same project. It needs to keep moving and evolving and each publication should be creatively demanding for all of those involved.
Being in artistic control of everything from start to finish means we might want to change the format… maybe it’s landscape next time or on large newsprint or a giant, fold-out poster. Maybe all the illustrations will be black ink and drawn with a sparrow’s tail feather. The sky really is the limit and that is exciting.
To develop another book with the same team would be amazing and for us– It’s not only about breaking into the commercial landscape– we also have to feed the Void-Beast that lives inside all of us. The one that craves to create and wants to shout and challenge everything while hopefully finding some success along the way.
Buy Beyond the Black Void online here
Interview by Andy Oliver
Jason Measures will be at Table C4 in the 2000 AD Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2025 runs from November 1oth-16th with the convention weekend taking place on the 15th-16th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2025 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster by Ng Yin Shian
