Thought Bubble continue to be the pinnacle of the Comic Convention calendar for indie and small press comic creators, and this year’s event looks set to be even bigger and better than ever! With a guest list that include some of the biggest names in comics (such as Brian K Vaughan, Sara Pichelli and more) alongside the very best of the UK indie scene it’s a must attend event for anyone who loves comics. We take a look at some of the books being released on the weekend.

• After a successful Kickstarter, Ken Reynolds will be debuting his end of the world/pregnancy comic In Trouble. (And read our review here)

• The latest instalment of Sarah Milman’s excellent NPC-Tea will [hopefully] be available, but even if it’s not be sure to check out the first two volumes of this outstanding tale of orcs and elves in Cardiff. (Read our interview with Sarah here.)

• Josh Hicks will be releasing the latest chapter of his awesome lo-fi wrestling book Glorious Wrestling Alliance: Grappling Road (Read a full preview here)

• Madius Comics will be bringing a host of amazing new books to Thought Bubble this year: Paperbacks and Inkstains is a remastered collection of their superb indie anthology Papercuts & Inkstains; Corsair is a new chilling horror from writer Nick Gonzo (read our review here); and Bun is perhaps the most leftfield of them all and sees Mike Sambrook go it alone for this tale of a giant rabbit looking for acceptance in the modern world.

• After being one of our top 10 indie comics of 2016, Fraser Campbell and James Corcoran will be debuting the new issue of surreal 60s super spy series in Alex Automatic: Bokeh’s Machine.

• Good Comics will be releasing 3 new books in time for this year’s event: the strange and screwed up SID from Olivia Sullivan and two new books from their Good Zines imprint – New York (A Holiday To Remember) by Elizabeth Querstret and Stir Fry by Sarah Crosby. (Read a full preview here)

• Having produced the amazing cover for the latest issue of The Pull List, Darrell ‘Forpe’ Thorpe will have the new issue of his underwater all-ages adventure Sub Diablo making it’s debut along with another issue of his fantastic collection Forpe Zine.

• Rozi Hathaway will have something a bit different on her table this year, with an incredibly personal and intimate story about break ups and the physical and mental toll they can take. Self Care and Vegetables will have  a limited print run of 100 copies and cost just £3, so if you’re a fan of Rozi’s work it’s going to be a real rarity. But if you love raw and sensitive auto-biographical comics, told in an intelligent and through-provoking way then be sure to pick up a copy.

​• If you love comics full of fart jokes and general silliness then Robert Lucket’s BUMSTORM: A Snake Amongst The Wind Farm is your kind of book. He describes it as “Action, intrigue, and double page splashes of landscape wrecking flatulence: Welcome to THE comic about farting.” He can found at Table 36 in the Leeds Town Hall Marquee and for those who can’t make Digital copies are Pay What You Want and will be up Gumroad  from the 24th or in print from his Bigcartel from the 25th, along with copies of #1 and #2.

• John Riordan will be releasing the fifth and penultimate issue of his music inspired pop art soap opera series Hitsville. If you’re a fan of Phonogram or Metroland then you should definitely be checking this out!

• Comichaus will be releasing the Beta version of their new ‘Netflix for Indie Comics’ iPad app as well as issue #8 of their superb anthology.

• ​The Chimera Factor by Richmond Clements and PL Woods sees three organisations vying for control. Two women with nothing to lose. And one relic of immeasurable power. Winner takes all! When a crashed World War II plane is discovered in the Antarctic a United Nations covert unit, led by Major Stephanie Connisbee, is sent to investigate. Unbeknownst to Steph another team, headed up by ruthless adventuress, Victoria Sullivan has also been dispatched to the crash site. Beneath the snow and ice Steph and Victoria discover a supernatural relic of mass destruction that should have stayed buried. Now the two mismatched warriors must work together to stop a shadowy organisation from using the relic to plunge the world into chaos. There’s just one problem; Steph and Victoria want each other dead and the relic for themselves.

• As part of the excellently titled Wine and Zine Collective, Clare Spiller helped produce the excellent gender swap art anthology Swap in time for CICE. But she’s going to be releasing the first full length W&Z comic at Thought Bubble this year, with Lost Light, a beautiful looking tale about a young girl who attempts to protect herself from the animals of the forest with light, but who finds she has less to be scared of when the lights go out. With some sublime digital colouring, and told without any dialogue it’s a really interesting read which is well worth checking out!

• Tony Cooper’s new book Murder Club sees a pair of A-Level students find a mutual interest in being psychopaths and decide to take matters into their own hands. This graphic novel is part one of the story, with Tony aiming to get the rest out at the beginning of next year.

Other books to keep and eye out for:

• Following a successful launch at London Super Comic Con, Joey Olivera’s Ghost Island #2 will be available.

• Another book launched at LSCC was Chris Sides’ Impossible from Markosia, which he’ll be selling along with the excellent Dark Matter anthology.

• SelfMadeHero continue their 10 year celebrations with a couple of unique offerings. Corbyn The Comic Book is an anthology of strips and stories about the charismatic Labour leader and will be sure to be divide opinion depending on which side of the political spectrum you land, however if you are a bit of a leftie then you are sure to love this! They will also have a new collection of ghost stories adapted from MR James by John Reppion and Leah Moore in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Volume 2 which is sure to be terrifying reading!

• Drawn and Quarterly will have a couple of amazing new releases from Tom Gauld, with a Paperback version of his superb Goliath (a reverse approach to the David and Goliath story that sees the big man rendered as a gentle giant just doing his job) as well as his awesome new collection Baking With Kafka, which we reviewed earlier in the month.