In the autumnal gloom, a ray of sunlight: Thought Bubble is upon us!

That’s right: this weekend, we’re jumping on the train to Leeds for what is always the highlight of the comic book calendar. Joining us in The Royal Armouries’ New Dock Hall will be Edward Ross (Filmish), Si Spencer and DIX (Klaxon) and Rob Davis (The Motherless Oven). Plus, the best table-neighbour a publisher could wish for: Mike Medaglia (One Year Wiser). To get your hands on signed books, exclusive prints and complimentary liquorice allsorts, stop by tables 90-92 on Saturday or Sunday (10am-5pm). There may even be popcorn.

A chance of some bling: on Friday evening, we’ll be heading to the British Comic Awards. Run in association with Nottingham’s Page 45, and judged by a panel of aficionados including Kate Beaton and Scroobius Pip, the BCAs are the principal and most prestigious accolade for British comics artists – and the 2015 nominees are a testament to the rude health of our scene. SelfMadeHero’s very own Rob Davis is shortlisted in the Best Book category for The Motherless Oven. There will be whoops and hollers.

Hangover cure: at 12.10pm on Saturday, Film4‘s Mike Leader will lead a Q&A with Edward Ross, the creator of Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film. Join them in the Royal Armouries’ Newsroom to learn about Ross’s unique visual guide to cinematic history. The Guardian praised Filmish in a review this Saturday, calling it “thoroughly enjoyable… a wonderfully breezy read.”

Si Spencer and DIX will join Rob Davis and Edward Ross in signing on our table throughout the weekend. So, get yourself a train ticket and come find us in New Dock Hall. We’re right by the entrance!

This Saturday, 7th November, Filmish by Edward Ross launches at Gosh! Comics in London. Join us in raising a glass (or bottle) to this brilliant visual guide to cinema between 7 and 9pm.

Not only will you be able to grab a signed copy of the book – you’ll also get your hands on a beautiful limited edition book plate, which is exclusive to Gosh!

And the book itself? Well, in Filmish, Edward Ross takes us on an exhilarating ride through the history of cinema, using comics to uncover the magic and mechanics behind our favourite movies. Exploring everything from censorship to set design, he spotlights the films and film-makers that embody this provocative and inventive medium, from the pioneers of early cinema to the innovators shaping the movies of today, from A Trip to the Moon to Inception and beyond. For further info, preview material and more, visit www.filmish.co.uk.

The launch takes place on Saturday 7th November at Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR, 7-9pm. Sold? Join the event on Facebook and let everyone know!

This Saturday, we’re celebrating Halloween with the launch ofSi Spencer and DIX’s disturbing urban horror story Klaxon. Join us for a good ol’ knees-up at Islington’s finest, The Lord Clyde on Essex Road, from 1.30-3.30pm. There’ll be booze, bands and liquorice allsorts. All you need to do is let us know you’re coming by joining the event on Facebook or rsvping to [email protected].

Turn up on time to catch musical adventurer Paul Mosley with his band. “A honeyed voice and a garage orchestra of sometimes disturbing magic realist folk-pop. Excellent.” So wrote Q Magazine of his latest album, A Chattering of Birds. Joining Mosley at the Lord Clyde are the mighty Kung Fu Vicar.

So, what’s Klaxon all about? Well, it’s difficult to explain. Tank Girl creator Alan Martin has called it “an urban nightmare of finely balanced dialogue and artwork, as if Raymond Briggs teamed up with Daniel Clowes and they dropped the bad brown acid. Which is my idea of an evening well-spent.” And our idea of a brilliant graphic novel.

Here’s the blurb:

Carlisle, one of three slackers high on wax and cavity wall insulation, finally has a reason to leave the house: new neighbours. But his offer to help Carol and her weeping mother move in incurs the wrath of their landlord, the grim, grinning Mr Stapleton, and his halfwit minion son. As Mr Stapleton’s malign influence begins to plague both houses, the residents are afflicted by milk binges, metamorphoses and indoor confectionary storms. Inspired by the unspoken wisdom of a giant porcelain cherub, Carlisle realises he must take the fight to his enemy – only then will he have a chance of saving his friends and neighbours.

And here’s the object in all its glory:

The Lord Clyde is located at 340-342 Essex Rd, London N1 3PB. It’s close to Angel, Highbury & Islington and Essex Road stations. Join us in Jeremy Corbyn’s heartland from 1.30-3.30pm!

This coming Wednesday, 14th October, we’re celebrating the launch of Hysteria by Richard Appignanesi and Oscar Zarate, the long-awaited second book in our Graphic Freud series. The launch takes place at the Freud Museum, 20 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SX, 6.30-8.30pm. There’ll be free booze, fine company and lots of signed books – and everyone is welcome. What’s more, there’ll be an exhibition of Oscar Zarate’s artwork from Hysteria.

Hysteria follows the early career of Sigmund Freud, from his training in neurological research to his establishment of a therapeutic practice in Vienna. Taking in the psychoanalyst’s earliest clinical experiences, his studies alongside Charcot at La Salpêtrière and his interest in the work of his friend and colleague Joseph Breuer, Richard Appignanesi and Oscar Zarate introduce the characters and case histories that inspired the development of a revolutionary new clinical therapy.

Drawing on the case histories of “Anna O.”, Fräulein Elisabeth von R. and others,Hysteria shows Freud and his contemporaries developing ideas that would transform the intellectual landscape of the Western world. With a foreword by Deborah Levy, this is a masterful visual guide to the strange and fascinating characters that populate Freud and Breuer’s Studies in Hysteria, the founding text of psychoanalysis.

Here’s what people are saying about it:

“What a wonderful book: clear and witty; beautifully drawn; by turns both disturbing and enlightening. Whether you know Freud or not, this will speak to your inner shrink.” Rachel Cooke, The Observer

“Dark, delightful and deep, this brilliant graphic novel not only brings Freud’s case history to life but also raises crucial questions about contemporary approaches to human suffering. An inspiring and thought-provoking book.” Darian Leader

“[An] incredible graphic novel, magically brought to life with delicacy and complexity in the drawings of Oscar Zarate.” Deborah Levy

Hysteria launches on Wednesday 14th October at the Freud Museum, 20 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SX, 6.30-8.30pm. If you’d like to join us for a good ol’ Freudian knees-up, RSVP to [email protected].

The Lakes Comic Art Festival is now so firmly ingrained in the cultural calendar, its guest list so illustrious, its festival mascots so deeply rooted in our collective consciousness, that it’s difficult to believe this is only its third year. If you haven’t been already then now’s the time. Imagine Glastonbury in 1982; these are the glory days. There’s always a lot of rain, but you don’t have to sleep in a tent – and there are lots of creators, publishers and punters to brighten up your weekend. It takes place on Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October across various venues in the beautiful Lake District town of Kendal.

We’ll again be exhibiting our wares in the Comics Clock Tower (Sat, 10-6; Sun, 10.30-5). Our two tables (30-31) are on the first floor, just as you walk in. Joining us in Kendal will be special guests Si Spencer and DIX, whose graphic novel Klaxon debuts at the festival.

Reinventing the Horror Comic: Si Spencer and DIX in conversation with John Freeman. Time: 1.30-2.30pm, Saturday 17th. Venue: Comics Clock Tower.

Si Spencer and DIX’s brand new graphic novel, Klaxon, is a mould-breaking, intensely weird and inscrutably beautiful graphic novel about three wasters who find themselves on the wrong side of their neighbours’ landlord. Milk binges, metamorphoses and indoor confectionary storms ensue. John Freeman joins the authors to discuss this bizarre and brilliant creation. For full details (and to book tickets) click here.

Also at the festival is One Year Wiser creator Mike Medaglia, whose work is currently on show in Kendal’s branch of White Stuff. Look out for his illustrated meditations among the slippers and the socks and the jumpers. You might even find some loose pages from One Year Wiser: The Colouring Book to sneak into your bag. Mike will be signing and sketching in store from 2-3pm on Saturday and 12-1pm on Sunday. Click here for directions.

Mike Medaglia will also be selling prints, comics, greetings cards and copies of both editions of One Year Wiser in the Comics Clock Tower. You can’t miss him – his table’s right next to ours.

And that’s not it: Mike will also be giving a workshop, Illustrate Your Mantra, in which he’ll walk attendees through the process of adapting a favourite quote, song lyric or aphorism into a full-colour illustration. This takes place in the Brewery Arts Centre (Room 2) on Sunday 18th, 1.30-3pm.

There is, of course, so much more going on throughout the weekend, including an appearance from SelfMadeHero favourite Steven Appleby.

The Lakes Comic Art Festival takes place from 16th-18th October in Kendal, Cumbria. View the full festival programme here.