Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Aaron Reynolds, Effin’ Birds, thought bubble

Aaron Reynolds' Uncensored Effin Birds For Thought Bubble

Published Wed, 09 Nov 2022 13:58:12 -0600

Aaron Reynolds has some very sweary seagulls for this year's Thought Bubble, as well as a new pin for the show, and his San Diego non-NFT pins as well. He tells Bleeding Cool "I was feeling a little depressed about procedurally-generated art of monkeys with laser eyes smoking cigarettes selling for big money, so I did what I do whenever I have a negative emotion: I made a cartoon."

Except in this case I made 54 cartoons, all of the same bird, wearing different combinations of hats and sunglasses. Plus hexagon backgrounds, because that adds value or something. And then I made a limited edition pin set of my favourite ones, because artificial scarcity is cool or something. The vast majority of them sold at SDCC, but I'll have a limited number of them with me at Thought Bubble because I found a bag at the bottom of my SDCC luggage, and I don't need these pins in my house."

But that's nothing compared to what happened to his book Greetings From Effin' Birds. As he put it, the " North American version was a victim of COVID paper shortages and production delays. When it finally hits US and Canadian bookstores this coming summer it will have mutated formats and will be missing one of my favourite cartoons, since apparently the words "Jesus Butt-Humping Christ" are inappropriate for American readers. That means the UK edition is now officially the uncensored version. Congrats on being okay with mentioning our lord and saviour and anal sex in the same sentence, England!" And talking of which "Oh, I forgot! I'm appearing in London on November 16th, an Effin' Birds holiday event at my publisher's office, for those who can't make it to Harrogate." I'd better add that to my Things To Do In London list…

Thought Bubble is the UK's largest comic art festival; a week-long celebration of comics, illustration, animation, and more that culminates in this weekend's comic convention. Focused on those who create comic books, specifically the artists, and the writers, it is especially supportive of small press. The festival was founded in 2007 by Yorkshire artist, Lisa Wood, also known as Tula Lotay, and was organised as part of the Leeds International Film Festival to raise the profile of comics in the area. The first Thought Bubble was held on Saturday, 10 November 2007 in the basement of Leeds Town Hall and was attended by a couple of hundred people, but has grown a little since then. The convention originally ran throughout Leeds but, in 2019, due to issues with Leeds City Council and the need for more space, the convention moved to nearby Harrogate. And earlier this year, Lisa Wood stepped down from the role of director to be taken by Travelling Man's Nabil Homsi. This week's events are already underway and the convention begins on Saturday the 12th of November until Sunday the 13th of November. Bleeding Cool will be reporting from the show all weekend long. Do feel free to say hi!

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