Thought Bubble 2022 – Review
Thought Bubble has a reputation amongst comics creators for being the best convention in the UK, and with good reason. Spread across four rooms in the Harrogate Convention Centre, there was a full two days of tabling, programming and fun to be had. Now that it is all over bar the exhaustion, it’s time to take a look back at the events of last weekend.
The light side
Thought Bubble brings together a heady mix of upcoming and established creators, focusing on the comics side of comic con, rather than having TV or film guests. This gives it a special feeling that a lot of the bigger conventions, especially those in London, tend to miss. It also means that smaller press publishers such as Cast Iron Books and Avery Press can release their titles here and not risk being drowned out by the bigger hitters. It gives indie creators the chance to table next to established names, and leads to some amazing conversations that often spark new, exciting projects.
Lets take a look at the layout – as with previous years there were three main rooms of tables and booths, with a mix of international, UK and indie creators spread throughout them. The first room – Redshirts Hall – feels biggest, as it has super wide aisles and multiple rows of tables, featuring everything from the Vice Press official movie poster booth, to indie creators selling their own books and prints.
I managed to catch up with some of the great and good of the indie scene, such as the Maestro himself Gustaffo Vargas, but others were not available when I passed, such as the super talented Russell Mark Olsen. There was also a rogues gallery of big name talent, with the likes of Zack Kaplan and Al Ewing drawing queues all weekend. It can take at least a whole morning just to see this one room!
Next up was the Comixology Hall, which featured Jock in the same spot as last year (with plenty of much needed queuing space), a whole maps worth of LGBTQIA+ creators, famous Brits such as Rachael Smith and Paul Cornell, and a couple of back issue sellers, who were pretty slim on the ground this year due to the sheer weight of talent that had tables!
Across the way was the Bubbleboy Hall, where a number of the BIG names were camping out this weekend, including the likes of Gail Simone, James Tynion IV, Kieron Gillen and (occasionally) Scott Snyder. This is also where one of the panel rooms was, behind a series of booths, but more on them later. There was also a children’s section and some activities to keep younger visitors happy, as well as the Travelling Man stand, the official comics retailer of the weekend.
Finally there was the Fourth Hall, which I feel like they need to workshop the name of, where timed and signing and panels took place. The less said on that the better, I’ll be honest. Which brings me to…
The dark side
There’s always a flip side to the fun though, and there were some changes made that didn’t really work – for me at least. Shifting the panels and programming from dedicated rooms upstairs meant that they were inside the Bubbleboy and fourth halls. Panellists still got to sit up front and talk into microphones, although there were few stages or ways to make seeing them easier. Audience members had to wear headphones to listen to their comments, and the noise from neighbouring panels and the convention itself often spilled over. I was due to attend a number of panels over the weekend but only ended up going to see the X-Men panel in full, as the claustrophobic feeling that the headphones gave me – and the fact that I don’t know how clean they were! – meant I just couldn’t enjoy the others.
The mid-con party also returned this year, at a new setting of ‘official con hotel’ The Majestic. A stunning setting, but not one that worked for me. The dancing was in a ballroom that easily held the number of attendees shaking what they had, but the ‘chill and chat’ room didn’t lend itself to either of those activities, and was down a series of random corridors on the opposite side of the hotel. Several people I know never managed to find it! Most people seemed to end up hanging out in the regular lobby bar, which was as overcrowded and under-staffed as usual. For me personally the Friday night had a much better vibe, and lent itself better to the usual random bar-con introductions and conversations.
Party time
Whilst the mid-con party this year might not have been my vibe, the Friday night was absolutely banging, with the Majestic bar filled with friends new and old, and a general air of relief that this years convention was happening again, and with less overall stress than the previous year. There was plenty of time to catch up with friends over the course of the weekend, even though the list of people I didn’t get a chance to see is almost as long as the list of those I did! There is always an air of jubilation around Thought Bubble, as it signifies the end of con-season for many visitors, and there is always something special about the atmosphere.
One of my favourite parts of the whole weekend is making one final tour of the floor, when all the books and art are bought, the hugs have been shared, and the crowd is thinning out. Despite how tired I feel at that point, and how exhausted many of the creators looks, there is always a feeling of victory, of knowing that we have survived another massive weekend in Harrogate. It’s the feeling of cleaning up after a new years eve party, but better.
Overall
Overall Thought Bubble 2022 was a success by any measure that I can think of, with happy creators posting on social media afterwards about feeling inspired, happy visitors showing of their hauls of books and artwork (we don’t talk about how much I brought home!), and the team behind the event taking well deserved day off before starting work on next years event!
The always lovely Rachael Stott – who was there as a visitor not a guest this time out – put it better than I ever could:
Thoughtbubble is just being in a big room with 200 really close friends and you're all nerds
— Rachael Stott (@RachaelAtWork) November 13, 2022
So – same again next year then folks?!
