Thought Bubble 2026: First Wave Of Guests Announced For Its 20th Edition
by Olly MacNamee
Yorkshire comic art festival and convention Thought Bubble has released the first wave of comic convention guests and speakers for its milestone 20th Edition, becoming one of the longest-running comic events in the UK. The Festival takes place between 9th and 15th November 2026, with the comic convention landing on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of November at the Harrogate Convention Centre.
The guests and speakers announced in this first wave are as follows:
- Award-winning Canadian cartoonist, author and storyteller Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands)
- Artist and publisher Lee Garbett (Daredevil, Uncanny Spider-Man, Batgirl)
- British comic, prose and TV writer Simon ‘Si’ Spurrier (X-Men, Flash, Hellblazer)
- South Korean-born cartoonist Yudori (Pandora’s Choice, Raging Clouds Lovers of The Empire)
- Cartoonist, creator and publisher Mahdi Khene (Zuperhero Comics)
- British cartoonist and illustrator Michael D. Kennedy (Milk White Steed, The New Yorker),
- Award winning Canadian cartoonist Adam de Souza (Blind Alley, The Gulf)
- California-based illustrator Jessica Fong (DC Comic’s Poison Ivy, The Liminal Cafe, Magic: The Gathering, Marvel Snap)
- British artist Boo Cook (2000AD’s Judge Dredd, Anderson PSI, Void Runners)
- Moscow-based independent artist Nina Vakueva (Lilith’s Word, DC Comics, Marvel, Riot).
The main festival itself will take place all across Yorkshire, featuring an impressively extensive programme of academic conferences, art exhibitions, artist and industry Q&As, social events, LGBTQ+ book clubs as well as thousands of free comics donated by the comics industry and given away to young readers by Leeds Libraries.
Thought Bubble was first founded in 2007 by renowned comic artist Tula Lotay (aka Lisa Wood), who was working in Travelling Man, a comic book shop in Leeds, at the time. Encouraged by Travelling Man’s Director and fellow Thought Bubble co-founder, Nabil Homsi, Lisa organised and ran the first Thought Bubble Convention; a one-day event in the basement of Leeds Town Hall that celebrated the comics and the creators with the fans.
“Nineteen conventions later, Thought Bubble is still proudly independent and still delivered by a small team of dedicated comic lovers, having steadily become a cornerstone of the international comics community.”
Tickets for Thought Bubble Comic Convention 2026 are on sale now.
