THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2026! Rachael Smith has two big new projects right now that deserve some spotlight time at BF. So what better time to chat to her than just before Thought Bubble where she will, as ever, be in attendance. We caught up over the weekend to speak about the latest Nap Comix collection currently funding on Kickstarter, recently launched webcomic Mugshot, and the sequel to a much loved recent graphic novel…
ANDY OLIVER: The new Nap Comix collection First Steps is currently funding on Kickstarter. How has the emphasis of the strips changed as Henry has got older?
RACHAEL SMITH: I first started the strips just to document Henry’s day-to-day life as a new baby. I wanted to remember the small details that I knew I would forget. The project just grew from there and now there are almost 500 strips. I was going through them the other day because I was putting together a slide show to do a live comics reading (if you’re near Travelling Man York please do come see it on the 20th November at 2pm!) and I realised that, in the very early strips I seem so scared and so anxious. I’m so nervous about getting things wrong or people judging me.
As I went through the strips I could see that change – I relax a little bit, I become more playful. Anxiety is often overtaken by me allowing myself to simply delight in this human I’ve made! Basically, when I’m saying is, the strips started as a way to document Henry, but I accidentally documented my journey into motherhood, and how that helped our relationship get stronger, and a lot more fun.
AO: What unique material can readers expect to see if they back the project?
SMITH: The brand new graphic novel, Nap Comix: First Steps will have around 40 pages of comics exclusive to the book, including an introduction and epilogue, advice I would give myself if I could go back in time, comics from the current day as Henry turns four, and other stuff too!
AO: Your autobiographical comics have been a large and acclaimed staple of your output over the years but as a title I imagine Nap Comix has a finite lifespan. Have you had any thoughts on how much longer the strip may run or if it might morph into something else?
SMITH: I’m going to stop relatively soon, at least, it’ll become less of a project and something I make comics about very rarely. I know people really love this project and this might be a disappointment to them, but I think my reasons for stopping are pretty solid! Firstly, Henry turns four next month and will start school next year. He will start to remember things more clearly and become more of his own person.
I dearly want him to read these comics just to see how cherished and loved and funny he was, but I also want him to remember his childhood through his own eyes, and I feel like my comics might get in the way of that if I keep making them for too long. Please rest assured that I will always make comics though! Hopefully folks will like my different projects too.
AO: You launched a new webcomic Mugshot this year. Can you tell us about the premise of that series and its cast of characters?
SMITH: Mugshot is about Marnie, a relentlessly positive young woman who has started a job at ‘Mugshot’, a run-down coffee shop staffed by run-down women. But there’s a little more to it than meets the eye. Marnie only seems to recover her memories when she dreams. And when she mops up at the end of the day giant paw prints keep appearing. I kinda don’t want to say more than that because I really want folk to read it and draw their own conclusions to what’s actually going on! Mugshot updates every Saturday on Webtoon and I’m almost done with the first chapter.
AO: You’ve described Mugshot as “the most bonkers thing I’ve ever written”. Was that a conscious move to take on something more fanciful after the more grounded Nap Comix output of the last year or two?
SMITH: Mugshot has been in my brain for about 6 years and I’m thrilled to be finally getting it down on paper. I don’t know why it ended up so bonkers…perhaps I did want to work on something completely different from my autobiographical stuff. I wanted to really push myself as a writer too. Hopefully people like it as much as I’m enjoying making it.
AO: And, finally what’s next for Rachael Smith? Are there any other projects on the horizon for 2027 we should know about?
SMITH: Paul Cornell and I are working on a sequel to Who Killed Nessie? which is just so much fun. It’s even dafter and more unexpected than Nessie, which is saying something.
There’s also a bunch of things that, annoyingly I’m not able to talk about yet, but rest assured I’m working very hard on new comics which you’ll hopefully all get to see very soon!
Back the Nap Comix: First Steps Kickstarter here!
Interview by Andy Oliver
Rachael Smith is at table C31 in the Redshirt Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2026 runs from November 9th-15th with the convention weekend taking place on the 14th-15th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2026 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster art by Núria Tamarit
