Starting to get excited about Thought Bubble

The last Con of the year, and every year, is Thought Bubble.

It's grown massively over the years and I think Colin and I were there, as AccentUK, at the first one.

Since then I've been with AccentUK and TimeBomb Comics and this year I'll be under my own little 4D Comics company.

I'll be in

 

Travelling Man Hall C10
Table name: 4D Comics

See you there.

A Banner Advert for the Thought Bubble event

As I seem to change my company name every other year I decided to have an advert for this year's Thought Bubble Convention.

To let people know that they an still get their latest WesterNoir at the event, and to look for us as 4D Comics.

Andy Bloor pulled it together and I think it does the job very nicely.

Thought Bubble 2026 and Bury Con

My application to the 2026 Thought Bubble, under my new 4D Comics company, has been accepted which is great news.

I've been at these events since they started in Leeds Town Hall many many years ago, as part of either AccentUK or TimeBomb Comics. It'll be strange doing this as 4D Comics but I'll have the usual support from Jemma and Gary so all is good.

Also, we've been accepted at the Bury event on the 28th June.

It's getting nice and busy.

Thought Bubble 2025

Wow.

Thought Bubble 2025 was a fabulous way to end 2025's convention circuit.

It's a long way to Harrogate, and I pick up Gary Crutchley on the way, which adds an extra hour(ish). He's good company in the car though and we talk about WesterNoir most of the way before moving on to setting the world to rights.

Our location in the 2000AD Hall was always a worry.

We were at the far end on the rows of tables, on the corner effectively, and I worried that most people wouldn't even see us.

This turned out to be a valid concern but we did manage to interest most of those who did come past our table, and gained quite a few new readers of our books, as well as meet a number of our existing readers again.

This year we had two new comics

1. WesterNoir Tales and 
2. WesterNoir - Dead End.

Both were very well received.

We also had a new WesterNoir mini poster, coloured by Matt Soffe, and a load of new figures (gator men). 

It was a busy table that's for sure.

I gave out a few Contributor copies of WesterNoir Tales and also got to give one to John Reppion and thank him for his Introduction in the book. It's something I'm almost reluctant to ask people for as it puts them in a spot really. As a friend it'll be difficult for them to say 'No', without feeling that they are letting us down. We really do appreciate it and I wanted to make sure John knew that.

Gustaffo Vargas was pleased to receive his copy. It features his first ever professional (in so far as we paid him for his work) gig in the UK. He was ok with my colouring attempt as well, or was too polite to say otherwise 😀.

Ian Ashcroft also attended the Con, talking to 77 Publishers about his new book with Pat Mills (you can check it Hellbreaker which is still active over on Kickstarter). Ian also picked up his copy of WesterNoir Tales and we had a good chat about Kia Wordsmith over a coffee. All very positive and I'll be working on the script over Xmas, Ian has already has10 pages of script to complete so that should work nicely.

Jemma and I talked to the very talented Norm Konyu about illustrating a 10, or so, Cassidy McRae story for WesterNoir Tales 2, and he was more than happy to get involved, which is fabulous.

We are extremely fortunate to be able to have so many talented people involved in our works.

Added to this we now have WesterNoir books on sales in Harrogate's very own Destination Venus comic shop.

A great weekend.

I just need to recover now 😆 

Thought Bubble next weekend.

Well, it's that time of the year again when many comic creators and readers head up North to Harrogate for the annual Thought Bubble.

If you love comics and haven't been then you really are missing out.

It's the UK's version of San Diego, back when it was all about comic books.

We're in the 2000AD hall this year, only on the single table (we felt greedy getting two the last couple of years and so decided to downsize) so it'll be a very tight squeeze. Find us at B28.

Please do pop by and see us if you're at the event.

It's a great end to the year. 

Dead End has arrived...

 ..in plenty of time for Thought Bubble.

It's a great little book. 

Self contained story. 

An extra 10 pages.

Same cover price (because I forgot to ask Andy Bloor (who did his usual wonderful job pulling it all together) to update it) 😆

Getting stuff ready for Thought Bubble.

Thought Bubble in the biggest Comic Convention in the UK.

Many tables full of wonderful comics, posters and prints.

It doesn't have the footfall or an MCM but the difference is that all of the people who come to Thought Bubble are looking for comic books and not a signature from some Dr Who actor or someone who was behind the voice of a cartoon character.

It's all about comics.

So, if you're going to bring out something new then this is the Con to do it at.

Along with WesterNoir Tales we are also hoping to launch out second Cassidy McRae collection, Dead End with art from the very talented Gareth Sleightholme. 

Here's the thumbnail of the cover that Gareth sent for approval before proceeding.

It really is great.

WesterNoir stock ready for Thought Bubble

It's great that the number of WesterNoir titles and extras are growing, but it does mean a lot of stuff to sort out for Conventions.

Everything WesterNoir is ready for Thought Bubble now...

Thought Bubble - last Con of the year

As is traditional these days, we ended another year of comics with what is probably the best comic convention in the UK, Thought Bubble.

Having moved from Leeds, the event now takes place in Harrogate and the venue is ideal, as is the town itself really.

Two days of meeting up with fellow comic creators and readers.

I picked up a lot of great books, congratulated people whose books I'd bought earlier in the year and met a lot of people who read Time Bomb comics. 

Steve even talked me into trying to emulate the now famous pose that he does before every Con.

As you can see, I'm no natural.

I really enjoyed this Con, and I know I always say that but this time I enjoyed it more than I have for a number of years.

I really did manage to mix my love of buying comic books as well as making and selling them.

I even managed to buy some original comic book art pages from Dean Ormston and Jeff Lemire, having had them sign my collected Black Hammer.

A greats way to the the Con year.

Last Con of the year.

Next weekend is Thought Bubble, always a great social event as much as one to meet customers, new and old.

Thought Bubble has come a long way since the fist we attended in a room in Leeds. It has improved year on year and is now pretty established and stable, and based in Harrogate. 

A lot of wonderful publications to be found and creators to chat with, well worth a visit if you're able.

WesterNoir Volume 2 and Scar are both back from the printers...

 ...and they look great.

really happy with how they turned out

just need to get Kia Wordsmith Issue 3 and we're all set for Thought Bubble launches.

Two more conventions

I've just been notified that I've been accepted into both the Nottingham Comic Con and Thought Bubble events that take place later this year. Check the side bar t the right for dates.

I love both of these events, and it's great that they are taking place again this year, real comic shows.

Thought Bubble 2021

In a word...Wow.

It was my first time in Harrogate, we'd missed the previous Thought Bubble due to other commitments, and I was intrigued to see the new venue and how it fit into the local area. I'd heard that Harrogate was a bit of a pain to get to if you haven't got a car, and wondered if there was further hassle once you actually arrived in the city.

Picking up Gary Crutchley on the way meant that I had company for at least half of the drive up from the South, and it was a long drive. It's been a while (due to Covid) that I'd driven so far, so we had a couple of stops for food and caffeine, but it all went pretty smoothly really.

We decide to find the venue and offload stock before going to the hotel, and unlike most Cons, where it's a bit of challenge finding where everything is the first time you attend, this was very easy. You couldn't miss it, it was just on the edge of town and well sign-posted.

You really couldn't miss it.

Saturday arrived and it was great to see that queues were forming...

and impressively long ones at that.

Inside the hall we'd set up in the RedShirt Hall, there were three halls in all. All of the halls had wall to wall quality stalls selling posters, comics, graphic novels and everything else you'd expect in a comic con.

As you can see from the image above, there was plenty of space between the rows of tables to minimise risk of Covid infection. Everyone was asked to wear masks when in the hall, which although a little uncomfortable for 2 days, was a small price to pay. Everyone also had to prove they had a Covid pass on entry. The organisers had done as much as they could.

Two days of great sales, meeting our creative friends and really enjoying being back out there.

A great Con, good number of attendees, good sales.

What more can you ask for?

Well, how about 'When's the next one?'.

Thought Bubble.

 Accent UK will be in the Redshirt Hall, stalls 44-45, at this weekend's #thoughtbubble2021 comic festival. 

Kia Wordsmith artist Ian Ashcroft and V2A Wasteland Chronicles co-writer Drone will be with us on the Saturday. Sunday it be WesterNoir co-creator and artist Gary Crutchley and I, proving the old boys have the stamina to do both days')

Please do pop over to the stall and 'Hello' if you're passing, it's been too long since the last one.

Thought Bubble 2021

Yes, we have a table at Thought Bubble and as we've been busy during Lockdown Year the table will look quite different to the one at the last Convention I made it to, which was True Believers back in Feb last year.

This year we may also be joined by some of the V2A guys, as we'll have issue 1 of V2A Wasteland Chronicles available.

Can't wait.

Thought Bubble 2020

We've managed to get ourselves accepted into this year's Thought Bubble Comic Con in November.
Check out their website for more details.
We missed last year due to booking on a Con that clashed, before the Thought Bible dates were announced. It'll be great to be back.

16th of 16 in 16.

Thought Bubble was our 16th and final convention of the year (I've got Jeremy Briggs to thank for the title of this posting).
As the biggest and best pure Comic Convention in the UK it is always a great end to the Convention year.
With four members of the Accent UK team at this year's event we were raring to go and as is always the case, completely blown away by the other comic books on display in the three venues.
With Thought Bubble we find that we have more returning customer's, looking for the latest issue of WesterNoir or Stephenson's Robot.

It was great catching up with our readers, most of them I recognize now, and amazing that some of them have framed our prints and Tarot Cards or have a shelf in their houses dedicated to Accent UK books. Very humbling.
I managed to get a couple of books signed by Mike Mignola and missed out on a Sketchbook by Kim Jung Gi but managed to catch him working some of his magic...

 ...amazing.
It was great catching up with a whole host of people, old friends and new.
Yep, Thought Bubble has a real comic buzz about it that I feel at no other Convention. All credit to Nabil and the gang for keeping it the success it has become. We were at the very first event some 10 years ago and to 15 or so tables have become... well... a lot more.

Thought Bubble 2015 - Last Convention of the Year.

It's always great to end the year on a high, and last year Thought Bubble was certainly that, with our best TB show ever from the perspective of sales made.
We are always a little nervous before a show, and looking around at the quality of comics on display on the many stalls around the New Dock Hall we were more nervous than normal. The quality of the whole independent comic book 'industry' just seems to get better and better. The concern is always one of, 'With so much to choose from, would customers actually have any cash left by the time they got to our stall ?'
Saturday the doors opened on a cold Yorkshire day and people quickly filled the hall. New Dock Hall being one of three, I wondered if the other halls were similarly busy and a quick dash around them later in the day actually proved this to be the case. The Convention has grown year on year and this year I actually felt that the number of halls and stalls were justified by the number of people looking to buy comics.

This year we were sandwiched between the very impressive Improper Books, who have a whole range of very nicely printed books of great quality, and Do Gooder Comics, with their great little Dungeon Fun comic.
For the first time I brought some of my own sketches to produce some limited Stephenson's Robot sketch and Tarot card packs and the sketches worked a treat, encouraging people to buy the first two issues. This works so well for WesterNoir I thought it worth trying.

During a busy day I managed to spend a few minutes catching up with Andy Bloor at his stall, selling copies of Midnight Man and his new 'Andy Thology', which includes along with some of his Accent UK anthology contributions, sketches and a couple of new Midnight Man pages. It's great to see Andy at his table enjoying the Cons.
Saturday ended with us looking at a very productive day, and we celebrated with what is becoming a traditional pub meal with Lucky Target Comic's Sumyra and whoever happens to helping at her stall. No Chris Dingsdale this year though, I hear he was out of the country on a Yak drive or some such, but we were joined by long time friend Tony Hitchman. A late night talking comics lead nicely into Sunday.

Scott and Colin acting out a scene
from Scanners....

Sunday is always more relaxed, giving me time to spend longer looking around, and spend some money. This year however my purchases were limited to The Wrenchies (which I queued to get signed (and a sketch)) from Farel Dalrymple (I've been a fan of his since Popgun War), 2 Sisters (which I got signed by Matt Kindt along with my copy of Pistolwhip) and the first three issues of Dean Beattie's great Random Trials. I have to limit spending at these events, which is really difficult, as I need to save as much as I can for the next WesterNoir and Stephenson's Robot print bills.
Sunday, whilst not as successful sales wise as Saturday, was a pretty good day. We got to meet a few great new artists who we may well work with us on some future books and I also got to chat to Dave Hitchcock and show him the colour effect I'd added to his pages for a future Stephenson's Robot back story, which he was very happy with.
I disappeared from the table for more than an hour and caught up with an old boss from my day job. Rosemary lives in Leeds and yet I've never mentioned the fact that I go there every year for TB. That is until this year. It was really great catching up and hard to believe that 15 years had passed.
Looking back over the two days it was great to have so many people buy the WesterNoir sketch packs but there is nothing more rewarding than have customers go straight to issues 5 and 6 (which weren't available at last year's event). People are really getting into the story.
So, another great Thought Bubble end to the comic con calendar on what has been by far our most successful year yet.
Thanks go out to everyone who has come to our stall over the year and talk comics and maybe try some of our books. Hope to see you all again next year.

Getting ready for Thought Bubble.

Next weekend Accent UK will have a table at Thought Bubble, our last convention of the year.
I've been busy doing some Stephenson's Robot sketches for a limited number of sketch packs and painting some of Gary's great WesterNoir sketches and as is the always the way, time is fast running out so there won't be a whole lot of either...

Where does the time go ?

The last Convention of the year.

You may have got a sense of it from reading Convention reports on this blog, 2014 has been the best year yet for Accent UK.
We've made record sales at Conventions and our on going series WesterNoir has really begun to gather more and more readers with each Con we do, as well as bring existing readers to the table to pick up the latest instalment.
Before WesterNoir however Stephenson's Robot was going to be our first on going series, well a 7 issue mini-series, and it's a very ambitious project for us which meant it has taken longer to get to print. But it did. And Thought Bubble saw it on the Accent UK table in all its splendour.

It's a very different book to WesterNoir and there's always the slight concern that readers of one wouldn't naturally be interested in the other.
So, with two new books and one of them, Tales Of WesterNoir, extending an existing series, we felt well placed to do well at this Convention too.
Driving over and setting up the morning of the first day of the Con is nothing new to us and we made it in plenty of time for 'doors opening'.
We were joined once again by WesterNoir co-creator Gary Crutchley (and you can read his report over on his blog) and Scott (Colin's son), so we had enough cover to allow us all to take time out from behind the table and wander around.

It was great to bump into Bridgeen Gillespie again after so many years and I of course picked up her great little collection of short stories, Flash Fiction.
This year we had Andy Bloor on his own table sat next to us, selling his own self published book Midnight Man. It's a very different book to Wolfmen, being written by Mo Ali and is a frantic fast pace actioner from beginning to end. It looks great with Andy's moody style jumping at you from every panel.

The organisers of Thought Bubble had changed things once again, this time adding a large Marquee to the square sat between the Main Dock hall and the Armouries. And it worked really well. This then was where most of the professional guests were sat and this is where the fan boys queued for signings and sketches. I was one of them for a while and spent a nice half hour chatting with Brian Hurtt as he drew a great sketch in my collected The Sixth Gun. We handed him a copy of the WesterNoirs as a thank you.

A typical slow start soon turned into a busy day, with repeat customers, Facebook friends, new customers and interested folk coming in waves.
WesterNoir being very well established now got the most interest but Stephenson's Robot had more than its fair share of sales as people were drawn to INDIO's wonderfully crazy artwork. It really is a gem of a comic.
So, by the end of the day we realised this was our best Thought Bubble ever, and that we'd already sold more books than we had over both days last year.
A nice evening spent talking comics over a burger and beer, and it was the perfect end to a great day.

Sunday started slower than Saturday. it always does, but unlike previous years, rather than sell half as many books over the day we actually sold nearly as many as we had on Saturday.
This was turning into one of our best ever Cons.
All books sold well but newer books sold better than the others, which is to be expected.
The Tarot Card edition of Stephenson's Robot went down well, as hoped, and we'll certainly continue producing a new card with each issue.

Andy Bloor, next to us, also had a good con with plenty of sales.
So, all in all it was a great two days and certainly just what we needed to keep us energised over XMas to continue working on the next issues of WesterNoir, Tales Of WesterNoir and Stephenson's Robot, as well as a number of other projects.