That time of year where the great and the good of the comics world congrgates on Leeds for the Thought Bubble 2018 Comics Art Festival. Running over the weekend of September 22nd it’s the event of the year for launching and showcasing new work, so here we highlight some of our favourites which will be debuting! (We’ll keep updating it as we get closer to the event!)

• Those fine folk at Avery Hill have a whopping THREE books launching at Thought Bubble 2018. Top of our list in terms of anticipation is Follow Me In, the first full length graphic novel from Katzine’s Katriona Chapman. Chronicling her travels in Mexico and under pinned with a poignant story about the breakdown of her relationship with her boyfriend it’s a sumptuous looking book that we’ve been anticipating since it was previewed back in February. Also being launched this year are Retrograde Orbit, a beautful piece of quirky sci-fi from another debutant, Kristyna Baczynski. And also the print debut of Tillie Walden’s epic webcomic On A Sunbeam (which was the winner of our first ever Indie Comic Of The Year in 2017).
You can find Avery Hill at Table 38 of Victoria Hall, Katriona will be next door at Table 39, and Kristyna at Table 47 of the Originals Marquee.

• Comichaus have a busy year ahead and have anounced some exciting new plans which will be taking place during and after Thought Bubble. First up, is the launch of a new issue of the Comichaus Anthology, which is now set to feature one shot stories instead of ongoing story arcs. The ongoing which stories which started in issue #10 will now continue in separate trade editions.

• Comichaus also have a couple of high profile new titles joining their line up. First up is 32 Kills a new book from The Kill Screen’s Mike Garley and Captain Cosmic’s Andy Clift, with a cover by comics legend Darrick Robertson. Described in the press release as ‘A character-driven high-octane noir tale of manipulation, loyalty and revenge….’ it packs more action into it’s 30 pages that any other comic you’ll read this year and we’ll have a full review very soon.

• They will also have the latest issue of their ongoing series, Lizard Men.
You can find Comichaus at Table 13 of the Originals Marquee

• Also releasing a new book under the Comichaus banner is Impossible/Dark Matter writer Chris Sides and his new book Close, a dark crime thriller with artwork by Chris Travell and letters from Ken Reynolds. With a cover by superstar artist Colin Lorimer, the book will be published by Comichaus and available to buy in print on www.comichaus.com and to read online via their app (www.comichaus.com/app). They’ve also got some AMAZING pinups by the  Adam Jakes and Matt Rooke.
You can find the two Chris’s at Table 118-119 of the ComiXology Marquee

• The Madius Comics team are back with not one, but two incredible new books. The first up is the expanded version of Mike Sambrook’s Bun (which has just finished funding on Kickstarter). The tale of a giant rabbit heading to the city was one of our favourite books of last year thanks to it’s 11 page sample packed full of sublime artwork from Rosie Packwood and so we are delighted to hear it will get a proper release at this year’s show.

• Also being released is Ciccadian Rhythms, a Papercuts and Inkstains inspired, black and white short story that feature fantastical characters, blood and guts and the trademark Madius sense of humour. It’s brought to you by Trujillo artist Gustavo Vargas and is another bone-crunchingly good read from the Madius Team.
You can find the Madius team at Tables 5b-6 of the Originals Marquee

• Gustavo will also have his new book L1MA available, which exists in the same crazy world as his previous book Trujillo and looks set to continue his crazy south American slant on small press comics.
You can find Gustavo at Table 68A in the Ask For Mercy Marquee

• If you love crazy coffee addicted crime noir reporters solving murder mysteries by accident as much as skill then you need to be checking out Chip McFitz: Wanted Dead Or Alive, the second book from Illustrator and animator Mat Greaves who is going to be tabling in the ComiXology marquee. If you love books like Pantheon and Deadendia from Hamish Steele or Adult Swim animations like Rick and Morty then you will love this one!
You can find Mat at Tabel 83B of the ComiXology Marquee

• After a highly successful Kickstarter, the hyperactive ball of comics enthusiasm that is Darrell ‘Forpe’ Thorpe will be debuting his new book Errol vs. Evil which has the usual mix of zany humour and street smart art that we have come to love in Darrell’s work.
You can find Darrell at Table 166 of the ComiXology Marquee

• Fresh off the success of his excellent book Smedley, Todd Oliver is releasing a new collection of cartoons he has posting on social media. Entitled Not Your Cuppa Tea it features the same kind of weird and surreal humour we have grown to love on books like Boxes and is well worth checking out!
You can find Todd at Table 167A of the ComiXology Marquee

• After the stellar success of their Kickstarter (The UK’s most successful Comics Crowdfund!), those infectious balls of comic creating energy The Etherington Brothers will be bringing How To Think When You Draw to Thought Bubble – so take a chance to hold in your hands a copy of the book which everyone in the comics art world is talking about!
You can find the Etherington Brothers at Table 165 of the ComiXology Marquee

• Josh Hicks is back with a new instalment of the brilliant Glorious Wrestling Alliance.
You can find Josh at Table 82A of the ComiXology Marquee

• Martin Simpson’s The Needleman has been one of the stand outs in Soaring Penguin Press’ Meanwhile anthology, so we are really excited to find out Martin will be collecting the stories so far into one volume, and will be launching it at Thought Bubble 2018. Find out more and check out some of the incredible looking pages at martinsillustration.com
You can find SIMO at Table 61 of the Originals Marquee

• After last year’s superb gender swap anthology Swap and Clare Spiller’s wonderful Lost Light, the Wine and Zine Collective are set to release their debut anthology featuring work from all five members of this Cardiff collective.
You can find Wine and Zine team at Table 57-58 of the Ask For Mercy Marquee

• Jon Laight’s phenomenal Away will be making it’s convention debut, and this is definitely one to go out of your way to pick up.
You can find Jon at Table 118-119 of the ComiXology Marquee

• Joining the ranks of superb small press comics that look at mental health, Joe Stone’s Stutter brings us an incredibly personal story about his life dealing with a speech impediment via a mix of personal reflection and informative insights.
You can find Joe at Table 51A of the ComiXology Marquee

• John Tucker’s Bald has been one of our favourite discoveries of the year, so we’re delighted hear he’ll have a new book at Thought Bubble called Adrift. He describes it as “What becomes of the world two years after after all the gravity inexplicably and instantaneously disappears from earth. It’s more surrealist kitchen sink comedy.”
You can find John at Table 120B in the ComiXology marquee

• Cosmos creator Rozi Hathaway will have a new mini comic called Moon debuting, which is literally hot off the presses.

• The second issue of Rob Barnes’ hilarious tale of a knight and his dragon will be available in Gallant & Amos #2 from Fairspark Books.

• Hellbound Media will have issue #3 of their excellent Mandy The Monster Hunter series making it’s debut. “The Spindly Man cannot be stopped. Mandy has thrown everything into fighting the nightmarish entity, only to be defeated. Now she must delve deeper into the origins of the Spindly Man’s legend. But with a town in despair, and more children vanishing, time is running out…”
Hellbound Media will be at Table 116 in the Comixology Marquee

• MD Penman will have a new collection of short stories from his excellent Eimurian Tales webcomic series called Revenants. In his press release it says: “Everyone has things they have done in the past. People loved, choices made, actions taken… things that weigh heavy on them. From a long lost lover to violence and retribution, Revenants tells the tale of when things come back.” It features two unreleased stories, as well as one which has previously been published online.
You can find him at table 49 in Victoria Hall.

• The guys from Cog Life Comics have a new anthology called Survivor making it’s debut. It follows in the footsteps of last year’s Isolation and looks set to feature more diverse and thought provoking stories.
You can find Cog Life Comics at Table 3A in the Original Marquee

• Time Bomb Comics will have a couple of fantastic new titles on their Table this year. First up is Defiant, the recently Kickstarted book that tells the story of the Battle of Maldon that took place over 1000 years ago. Written by Andy Winter with artwork by Daniel Bell & Aljosa Tomic as well the main story there’s also a an extra story by the creative team exploring what happened after the battle that shaped British history.

• They’ll also have Flintlock Book Three making its Leeds debut, continuing the adventures of Lady Flintlock and Shanti the Pirate Queen as well as introducing the new characters Onnna, Molly and the Trickster Thief. Writer Steve Tanner and artists Anthony Summey, Lorenzo Nioletta, Jasen Tveit, David Morris and Caroline Parkinson present the latest adventures in the 18th Century to life in this unique critically acclaimed anthology series.

• And finally, although not launching at Thought Bubble the weekend will be running towards the end of the pre-order Kickstarter for Time Bomb’s final release of 2018 – Bomb Scares 2.  This 96 page horror anthology featuring a whole host of creative talent (including Mike Perkins, Cy Dethan, David Hitchcock, Gary Crutchley, Roland Bird, Anthony Summey and Katie Cunningham) has its campaign running until 1st October to deliver in time for Halloween, and a preview of the book will be available at the Time Bomb table.