The Sunday Spotlight: The ‘I Understand The Wap Game To Be A Hawsh Mistwess’ Edition

Oh, Sunday, here you are again. And whilst most of the UK’s comics folks are out experiencing the delights of Thought Bubble, I’m full of cold and dedicating myself to finding you a few snippets of news for your enjoyment — oh yes, it’s The Sunday Spotlight…

Broken Frontier leads the way (as always) with its Thought Bubble footage…

Every year, Andy Oliver and his great team at Broken Frontier, all of them dedicated to comics, Brit comics, particularly those self-published, micro-published, and from smaller publishers, go above and beyond to cover all things Thought Bubble in the run up to the Festival and Comic Con happening this very weekend. (If ever you get the chance to go, do!)

This year is no exception, with so many excellent reviews of comics debuting, interviews with creators, and much more. You can find it all collected here at the tag Thought Bubble Month 2026.

A few must-reads for you… Why not start with their Comics of the Festival piece if you want a great idea of the absolute breadth of comics coming out of Britain right now. Going by past experience, Andy et al have a great hit rate on picking some great books. This year they’ve gone for My Beloved Other: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Optimism in a Time of Denial by Nick Abadzis and Angela Watson, Skrawl #3 by the SkrawlLordz, and Katzine: The Catch-Up Issue.

Then there’s the interview with one of my favourites, Rachael Smith, all about her new webcomic, Mugshot, (which I must get around to telling you all about soon), the new Nap Comix Kickstarter, and a lot more. There’s 20 years of Thought Bubble reflections here. SubCulture: On In-Crowds & Outliers, the new anthology put together by Shelly Bond is covered here. And they declare Please by Chrissy Williams and Lucy Sullivan a must-buy here.

There’s so much more to read; I’d just say go and investigate it all. But we’ll end with the Broken Frontier Six To Watch For (the annual BF picks of six up-and-coming creators) who’ve got together with an anti-AI sticker hunt. You can read all about that here.

And speaking of Rachael Smith… head to Travelling Man York on 20 November for a Nap Comix signing…

Surely you all know of my love of Rachael Smith‘s comics by now? Have loved them ever since I first got my hands on them, more than a decade ago now. Her work’s been absolutely everything — funny, for sure, but also brave and powerful. Her latest is Nap Comix, a diary of her life with a new baby. The second Kickstarter for the second volume is into its last week now. If you’re around York in the UK on 20 November, you really should head to Travelling Man…

Comix Experience’s November Graphic Novel Club Picks…

As you all know by now, Brian Hibbs’ Comix Experience in California is one of the finest examples of a comic shop. Their Graphic Novel Club is the model for many around the world now. And whatever they recommend as their picks for any month are, I’ve found, very much worth your interest.

November’s pick for the adult GN club is If Destruction Be Our Lot by Matthew & Mark Elijah Rosenberg and artist Andy Macdonald.

‘One robot dares to go beyond the walls of society to find the last remaining humans in this sci-fi adventure of the year where WALL-E meets Fallout. Humanity is extinct and all that remains are the robots who once helped us. The robots that once helped us are happier now, doing their work without human interference. But not Abraham Lincoln. Abe is haunted by the thought that there must be something more out there—that somewhere, human beings might still exist. After nearly getting killed, he’s determined to wander the Earth until he finds them. . . or gets recycled trying. Join him on an epic quest to learn who lives beyond the walls, why no one ever comes back, and what it means to be truly alive. We’re thrilled to bring you an ongoing story about finding purpose, holding onto hope, and really lonely robots.’

As for their Kids Club pick for November, that’s The Moonlit Spiral by Mike Maihack.

‘Best friends Rion and Zyla live in the fantastic world of Helix, where treasure hunting was once a way of life. Nowadays, though, it seems like people are more concerned with researching the past than looking for real treasure in the present. Life has gotten pretty dull, which is how Rion likes it. He lost his parents to adventure, so playing video games and hanging around his guardian Henry’s dusty, failing bookstore are all he wants to do. Then Rion discovers hidden pages in a cryptic journal left by his parents. They give clues to the biggest treasure of them all — the last prize of the famed treasure hunter Orion Flynn! It’s clear what Rion’s parents would have wanted him to do, plus Henry needs the money to stay in business. Fearless Zyla insists they have to act fast — the treasure can only be found during the once-a-decade Silver Moon, which will shine for the next six days. Accompanied by a magical fox girl, the friends make their way through twisting caves, colorful forests, and mountainous spires, encountering a host of fascinating creatures along their way to a discovery so great, it will unlock the past, present, and future.’

Comix Experience will be interviewing both Mike Maihack and the team behind If Destruction Be Our Lot this month, with the interviews appearing on the CE socials very soon after.

Paul Gravett’s PG Tips for November — another source of fabulous books for your enjoyment…

Paul Gravett is another of those voices in comics who, when he says a book is good, you take note. More than that, when he publishes his monthly PG Tips, listing all the books worth reading that month, you make a note, and then go and buy them.

I missed last month’s offerings, but late though they may be, they’re always worth a look. So here’s October’s PG Tips. For October, his top pick was the excellent Murder School from Paul Rainey, as highlighted by me here. Other great comics works worthy of your interest (and your money) include Andi Watson‘s The Book Tour 2: A Lack Of Alibi, Ghosts in my House by Eleanor Crewes, Forming by Jesse Moynihan, and Another Realm by Kristyna Baczynski. Go take a look; they’re all worth a read.

More must-see signings at Gosh as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations in November and December — Steve Yeowell, Tom Gauld & Simone Lia, Chris Ware…

Seriously, I shouldn’t need to say too much about the importance of a Chris Ware signing, surely? The new edition of Acme Novelty Library, issue 21, is a must-buy for all of you. Likewise, Steve Yeowell, co-creator of Zenith, should need no introduction — there’s a new colour Zenith omnibus coming out 2 December. But perhaps the one I’d be most excited about would be the Tom Gauld and Simone Lia signing in celebration of the reprinting of their debut comics works in BOTH. 

You know Gauld from his books Goliath, Mooncop, The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess, as well as numerous collections of his works from New Scientist and The Guardian. Likewise, you should know Lia from her quite wonderful Fluffy and How To Make Your Life Better When It Feels Like It’s Getting Worse books. BOTH was a collection of their first works back in 2003, collecting their self-published comics done whilst both were studying at the Royal College of Art. And now it’s finally back in print, a serious must-buy.