Thought Bubble Comic Con takes place in Leeds this coming weekend and we’re really looking forward to it.

We’ve got ourselves a table in Saville’s Hall (number 37) where we’ll be signing and handing out Thrill Electric goodies. We’ll also, hopefully, have some books to sell too… we’ll keep you posted on that Yes we’ll have copies of The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, The Complete Alice in Wonderland, Raise the Dead and The Complete Dracula on sale Sat & Sun.

On Sunday we’ll also be taking part in this panel:

COMICS 2.0 – THE FUTURE OF COMICS

If you can get to Leeds for any or all of the con then you should definitley do so; Thought Bubble is always awesome.

This month we’re doing something a little more special than usual, the MCC and Sandbar will be hosting the first BIG Drink n’ Draw on the very first day of the Not Part Of Fringe Festival!

As always the Drink ‘n’ Draw will be FREE to attend, and we’ll have the usual drawing games, FREE snacks AND pizzas, FREE comics at the Comic Swap table, materials provided and 10% off at the bar! But that’s not all…

As part of the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw we’ll have a LITTLE Comic Fair! We will have tables set aside for selling YOUR comics! We’ll have a few of table for creators with lots to sell and one communal table for anyone’s comics, minis or zines! Tables are FREE but limited, so please leave a comment to show your interest and I’ll be in touch! If you can’t make it but would like to sell your comics, please drop them off at Sandbar with a note saying “For the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw”.

As if that wasn’t enough Matt Badham will be hosting an informal chat and Q&A with Andy Diggle, writer of The Losers, Daredevil and former editor of 2000AD! This will start about 6pm and last about an hour.

Our second talk of the day will be with acclaimed writing duo Moore & Reppion about The Thrill Electric and their many other projects. This will start at 5pm and be followed by a Q&A.

AND the BIG Drink ‘n’ Draw will be continuing late into the night. There’s a comedy event starting at 8pm and after that a short film night running through the evening, but all the while the DnD will continue in a reserved area of Sandbar with a BIG Comic Jam on a Wall!

It’s going to be a brilliant, creative and social day and I hope to see as many people there as possible!

RSVP on the Facebook Event page and see who else is attending! Join the Drink ‘n’ Draw Facebook Group while you’re there too, for updates of all future events.

Venue:

Sandbar
120 Grosvenor Street
Manchester
M1 7HL
0161 273 1552
(Map)

I was really taken aback by it, I haven’t been to a con that big in years. We had not anticipated the full awesomeness of it all.

We had to wade through a torrent of obscure characters hugging and taking pictures of each other to even get to the vast Aztec temple of the Expo itself. We staggered up the  steps  dodging scythes, massive swords, spiny wings, body armour, large guns and “free hugs” signs all the while. When we actually made it onto the convention floor it was in the company of several thousand really young people in amazing outfits. I have not felt so short, so old or so under-dressed in a long time. Next time: stilts, complex prosthetics and possibly some pyrotechnics too, just to make myself feel better.

We struggled through the twin cities of Japan Expo and Games Expo and emerged blinking in the comics village.

Anna immediately scored an awesome Corporate Skull sketch from Jamie Smart, sending her way into the lead before we’d even got going, and I was sorely tempted to retaliate by buying one of Leigh Gallagher‘s amazing prints, but I like the zombie baby one best and he gave us a copy when Edward was born (tasteful bastard that he is) so I couldn’t.

We were all hugely tempted by Lizz Lunney’s table of treats, but were so spoilt for choice we foolishly failed to make any purchases. Did we think we’d have extra hours to shop later? Were we high? Whatever the reason, it wont happen again.

I managed to buy a copy of Blood Blokes#1 from Adam Cadwell, which is fantastic. A great first issue, it does him the great disservice of making me wish he’d bloody hurry up and do the next one. Its a double edged sword isn’t it? If you haven’t ever read any of Adam’s stuff, then get The Everyday too. He has one of the very finest lines I’ve seen.

Adam was minding shop for Marc Ellerby whose “Ellerbisms” I read online until it ended, and then I missed. I haven’t been shopping at a con in ages (blast that baby of mine!) and so have failed utterly to buy any of Marc’s new series Chloe Noonan Monster Hunter. I rectified this by getting the first three issues, which are great. Life is hard enough without monsters and sucky bandmates, but Chloe has to deal with it all. I love the expressions best. And the hair.

We scored free Elephantmen comics at Richard Starkings table, while I said hello to Richard for the first time in over twenty years (I have been informed that he met me way back when I was small with thick glasses… hang on… smaller with different thick glasses). Since then he has beaten me at scrabble a lot on Facebook, and was kind enough to letter our Doctor Who story a while back. He’s a true gent.

We were almost overburdened with treasures at this stage, so could only manage a quick hello to Emma Vieceli but this was okay as  I knew I was going to be sat on stage with her in only an hour or so, sqee-ing with delight at the coolness of our beloved project. She was wearing a tiara. That’s just how she rolls.

We almost collided with the Windflower girls, who I hugged a lot, and who still seem not to know how truly awesome they are. They are drawing all of the Thrill Electric, even the really hard bits. they rock.

I then ran to the press office, apparently to be interviewed by SFX . The Press office was small, and almost filled by The Thrill Electric team, which is a formidable army of production hotness.

Our Channel4education commissioner was cosplaying a 1920′s nymphette, which helped us blend in as we were led briskly across the convention floor up in a lift, and along a corridor that would give Kubrick the willies. SFX were not in the Green room, or the Interview room, but Loaded were, so we got interviewed by them instead. I wasn’t sure if I should maybe have got Emma or Windflower to knock up a few Jennifer Ellison style sketches of the key Thrill characters in thongs and push-up bras, but hopefully they’ll let us know if they need some.

Press completed we hovered nervously wondering if our panel was going to attract many con goers. This was not helped by the fact that we were following Future-bloody-rama on the huge main stage. Shit.

We managed to do the panel despite a sound system which felt like we were shouting in a spherical bathroom, every whisper amplified and bounced around so many times it obliterated every word which followed. Luckily we were able to guess at each others questions and answers and expertly respond to them in a seamless fashion(!). Hopefully we avoided too many bellowed non-sequiturs, but I did worry we might have seemed like a gang of addled nono-genarians in bathchairs with hearing trumpets.

We saw the teaser film for the first time, but only from the side, and it was still amazing. Everyone did a cheer too, which was nice. I wish more things in life ended in a big cheer.

Me and Windflower then signed the lovely flyers, handed out by our flapper-girl commissioner who lured a succession of people over with her loveliness and amazing shoes. They were happy, we were happy, we went to the pub.

I got drunk fast (I haven’t drunk much since Ed was born, and now  a sniff of the barmaids apron and I’m all over the shop) then went back the hotel, sobered up, then went back to the pub and got drunk fast again. This could have continued all week and I would have been perfectly happy, but I dont think my liver could have taken it.

And that was it! Over before we knew it.

Thanks to David Montieth for making us laugh so much, and I wish his wife an easy labour!

Thanks to Warren Ellis for not being my dad, but for being bearded and genial enough to make me feel right at home. You are a top bloke, sir.

Thanks to Anna and Pauline for making it an amazing Expo, even if we didn’t manage a single pillowfight! xx

Now at home with John and the baby again, and feeling like it was all a crazy dream, but I’d certainly go again if they’d have me!