At the end of last week I was wondering whether Ink and I would make it to the Thought Bubble convention in Leeds and today the droop of my eyes and the fuzzy nature of my thoughts are reminding me that we totally did.

I’ve never been to a comic convention before but (despite that fact there were loads of people there and I’m awfully antisocial sometimes) I really enjoyed it. In many ways it reminded me massively of the book and film festivals in Edinburgh, both of which I’ve worked for a few times over the years, mainly due to the general buzz of anticipation and the strange (and often small) divides between the creators, the staff and the public.

One thing I really enjoyed about the whole experience was the way I was honestly left with the impression that the comic world is an inclusive one. Every talk I heard had encouragements and well as warnings and every person Ink spoke to about arty stuff was happy to give a little of their time, all of which was greatly appreciated.

Not being very knowledgeable about comics didn’t stop me from finding the talks generally interesting, there are many crossovers with prose fiction after all, and it’s inspiring to listen to people who are inspired no matter what medium they are working in.

People I most enjoyed talking or listening to included Keiron Gillen, Andy Diggle and Frank Quitley (who I enjoyed talking to for quite a while with no idea who he was!), all of whom are awesome and talented as well as friendly. I kinda want to go to another one now…