Thought Bubble convention to publish charity anthology

(Spotted on Broken Frontier): This year sees the Leeds Thought Bubble Festival (14th-20th November) celebrate its 5th birthday, and to mark this momentous occasion they'll be publishing  the first ever Thought Bubble Comic Anthology.

On sale in October, the comic will feature a variety of original tales by incredible industry talent from around the world, including Duncan Fegredo, Charlie Adlard, Andy Diggle, D’Israeli, Antony Johnston, Robin Furth, Becky Cloonan and film director Stuart Gordon.

"This first anthology has been curated with the ultimate aim of showcasing the very best that sequential art has to offer," say the editors.

Issue #1 will also feature all the winning entries from 2010′s Northern Sequential Art Competition with stories from Gavin Ross, Sally Jane Thompson, Will Morris, Alice Summerscales, Sophie Kamlish, and Raymond Mak.

All profits from the sale of the anthology will go to the charity Barnardos.

Distribution is being handled by Image Comics and the comic will retail at $2.99 (which should be around £2.20 in most UK comic and book stores).

• More info about the anthology here on the official Thought Bubble web site

New comic shop to open in Perth

Perth's only comic book and collectables store, Venganza, will have its grand opening on Saturday 10th September and with loads of special offers on throughout the weekend and loads of freebies and prizes, owner Brendan Dalton promises it's going be a great weekend.

Promoting British independent publications as well as Marvel and DC, Brendan tells us he has 10 signed and numbered copies of Becky Cloonan's self published Wolves on offer, along with a few copies of the first issues of UK self-published comic anthology Solipsistic Pop.

10 limited edition shirts will be given away at random for purchasing customers throughout the day, and there will be offers on many items, including graphic novels.

- Venganza opens 10th September 2011 at 44 Princes Streeet, Perth PH1 3BN. Contact email: enquiries@venganza.co.uk. For more information visit: www.venganza.co.uk. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/venganzacomics

Above artwork by Becky Cloonan - http://inkandthunder.blogspot.com

More comic talent joins London MCM Expo line-up

With the cream of comic book talent gathering at its famous Comic Village, the MCM Expo London Comic Con is the only place to be on 27-29 May if you’re a fan of comics, graphic novels and manga.

Over 100 top comic artists and writers are coming to the show, including a rare UK appearance by Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, The Authority, Fell); Jamie McKelelvie (The Uncanny X-Men: Heroic Age, Phonogram, Iron Man); Gary Erskine (Judge Dredd, Dan Dare, Knights Of Pengragon); Becky Cloonan (Demo, Northlanders and American Virgin) and many, many more.

Not only can you meet all the artists and writers on their stands, but the Comic Village features its own dedicated stage hosting panels from some of the comic world’s top names, giving you insights into their newest creations, offering invaluable advice and participating in audience Q&A sessions.

And that’s not all – Friday 27 May sees the MCM Expo play host to the prestigious Eagle Awards, the comic industry’s most prestigious fan-selected awards.

• For more on the Comic Village, visit www.londonexpo.com/comicvillage

• For London MCM Expo tickets please visit: www.mcmexpogroup.com/store

On Air with Panel Borders: Becky Cloonan

Continuing Panel Borders month-long look at unusual takes on superheroes, Alex Fitch talks to artist Becky Cloonan about her work, focusing on the series Demo, written by Brian Wood which is a more down to earth look at the problems teenagers with superpowers might face in the real world.

Alex and Becky also talk about her horror collaboration project Pixu with Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon and Vasilis Lolos and her forays into manga with East Coast Rising.

• Panel Borders: Becky Cloonan - Demo Graphics airs at 5.00pm today (11th November) on 11/11/10, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after transmission at www.panelborders.wordpress.com