Lesbian vampires headline Thought Bubble festival in Harrogate this weekend

This weekend’s Thought Bubble festival in Harrogate features a small-press risograph zine that revisits a foundational queer gothic tale for a modern audience. Carmilla Through Time, created by Claire Mead and Lucia KitsuneArt, reinterprets the 19th-century vampire story through lush visuals and short comics—a timely reminder of how small publishers are reshaping genre classics.

Carmilla Through Time is a 16-page, black-and-red risograph zine that blends illustration, comic sequences, and curated excerpts from the original novel to trace how the figure of the lesbian vampire has been imagined across different eras. The project pairs historical costume detail with intimate scenes and a conversational essay that explains the collaborators’ approach and inspiration.

Reworking a Victorian classic

The source material, written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in 1871, predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula and introduced readers to a female vampire who develops a close, unsettling relationship with a young woman named Laura. Le Fanu’s story is notable for its themes of desire, illness and the uncanny, and Mead and KitsuneArt lean into those elements while updating tone and imagery for contemporary readers.

Reviewers have singled out the zine’s color palette and layout as effective choices: stark monochrome punctuated by blood-red accents, which enhance the gothic mood without overwhelming the narrative. The creators also include behind-the-scenes notes that give context to their research and design decisions.

Where and when to see it

Find the zine at Thought Bubble’s Bubbleboy Hall—KitsuneArt will be at table A2a. The festival runs 14–15 November at Harrogate Convention Centre and marks Thought Bubble’s twentieth anniversary. The event is the culmination of a week of related exhibitions and talks across Yorkshire and remains one of the UK’s most prominent platforms for comic artists and small press publishers.

Mead and KitsuneArt have brought the book to several recent events, including MCM London Comic Con and Paris’s YCon, and will be available in Harrogate for in-person sales and conversation about the work.

• Format: 16 pages, risograph print (black + red)
• Creators: Claire Mead (writer/artist) and Lucia KitsuneArt (artist)
• Themes: sapphic desire, gothic atmosphere, historical reimagining
• Where to buy: Bubbleboy Hall, table A2a at Thought Bubble
• Recent showings: MCM London, YCon (Paris)

Thought Bubble began in 2007 as a one-off showcase and has expanded into a week-long festival devoted to comics, illustration and animation. Founded by Yorkshire artist Lisa Wood (also known as Tula Lotay), the event emphasizes creator-led work and independent publishing. After several years in central Leeds, the convention moved to Harrogate in 2019 to accommodate growth and new programming needs.

Beyond this single zine, the festival’s scale means attendees will find a wide range of independent comics exploring gender, genre and form—an environment that helps projects like Carmilla Through Time reach readers who care about craft and reinterpretation.

Expect on-the-ground coverage throughout the weekend as reporters and photographers document new releases, panels and exhibitor highlights from the twentieth Thought Bubble.