Mention the term “comic convention” to your average man or woman on the street and certain stock images will instantly spring to mind. Many of these will have been gleaned from the less than glamorous portrayal of cons in the popular media, and some may be downright fabrications, but there is a certain stigma attached to these events by the public. Were these the bad old days of terrible events simply designed to prise cash from the hands of hardcore fans you could forgive this lack of acceptance, however, the modern iteration of the humble convention is, at its best, an entirely different animal. A quick glance across the pond to established titans, such as Toronto’s Comic Arts Festival and the New York Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s Festival, demonstrates that quality events attracting a diverse audience are not mere flights of fancy.
Since its expansion in 2008, Thought Bubble has referred to itself as a “sequential arts festival”, an admittedly verbose term, but an accurate one nonetheless. As an organisation we are dedicated to promoting comics, animation, and other types of illustrated storytelling as an important cultural art-form, aiming to cater to both long-time fans and those who are completely new to the medium. Part of this involves putting on free workshops and other such events to try and engage with young people who may be interested in comics, but don’t know where to start; and the other is bringing a variety of events to the general public to showcase as many of the different faces of sequential art as we possibly can. This year we’ve expanded the festival to run for a week in November (14th – 20th), devising a programme which will include workshops, exhibitions, book give-aways, screenings, academic talks, and a “traditional” comic convention – all for the cause of promoting funny books as a legitimate art-form.
Comics Forum 