London’s comics schedule for November 2026 offers considerably more than a run of shop signings. The month moves between graphic memoir, superhero experimentation, children’s comics, independent anthologies, art exhibitions, drawing workshops, social groups and large collector gatherings. It also provides distinct paths for distinct kinds of reader: families can find sessions with Dav Pilkey and Jeffrey Brown, aspiring artists have workshops and recurring creator meetups, while collectors have a substantial comic mart at month’s end.
The busiest hubs are Soho and Covent Garden, where Gosh Comics and Forbidden Planet host a dense series of appearances. But the calendar extends to Clerkenwell, Hammersmith, Finchley Road, Maida Vale, Stoke Newington, Southwark and beyond. The major out-of-town draw is Thought Bubble in Harrogate, whose 20th-anniversary edition runs over November 14 and 15.
As ever with live events, readers should check venue pages for admission arrangements, ticket conditions and any last-minute changes before travelling. A number of events list books, exclusive printed items or ticketed entry as part of their format, while other sessions are drop-ins or free workshops.
Early November: memoir, anthology work and comics for young readers
The month begins on November 1 at the Quentin Blake Centre of Illustration with No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, a documentary screening followed by a discussion and online Q&A with producer Justin Hall. The film considers the work of Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Howard Cruse, Rupert Kinnard and Mary Wings. It accompanies the closing day of Queer as Comics, an exhibition presented as a major UK survey of LGBTQIA+ comic-making from the 1940s to the present.
On November 5, Gosh Comics hosts Nick Abadzis and Angela Watson for the launch of My Beloved Other. Their graphic memoir concerns their nearly four-decade interracial relationship, family history and encounters with anti-Black racism in Britain and the United States. A launch event can be useful for readers approaching a book of this sort: the form is not merely biography presented with drawings, but a visual account in which page design, image sequencing and personal testimony can all carry the argument. Copies at this event come with a signed mini-print.
November 7 is especially packed. Shelly Bond’s subCULTURE arrives at Gosh as an anthology launch with contributors including Philip Bond, Davidt Dunlop, Asimina Hollingworth, Clio Isadora, Beck Kubrick, Peter Milligan, Mark Mosedale, Anna Readman and Si Smith. An anthology gathers multiple contributors into one publication; in this case, the stated mix includes comics, photography, essays and illustration. That makes it a particularly broad snapshot of artists working across adjacent visual forms rather than a single continuous narrative.
The same day brings Luke Pearson to sign Hilda and Twig Find a Space Rock, the third title told from Twig’s perspective in the Hilda setting. It is followed by a signing for Blazer! 1976 Annual with Steve MacManus, Dan Cornwell and Peter Western at Forbidden Planet. The 96-page annual is curated by MacManus and includes work by Cornwell, Mike Collins, Colin Maxwell and others. For younger readers and families, free Creative Drawing for Comics and Storytelling sessions with Meighan Clough take place in Stoke Newington; the workshop is for ages 10 and up and supplies materials.
Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man Epic Tour reaches the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square on November 8, with 11am and 3pm sessions for the release of Dog Man: A Sprinkle of Time. The programme includes live drawing, photo opportunities, a pre-signed exclusive edition and a glow-in-the-dark backpack tag included with tickets. Costumes are encouraged. Pilkey’s audience spans readers of Dog Man, Captain Underpants and Cat Kid Comic Club, making this one of the month’s clearest family-focused events.
Jeffrey Brown follows on November 10 at Waterstones Finchley Road with an interactive drawing session and discussion of LEGO: Nikolas Nurdblok and the Lost Brick, for ages seven and over. He returns to Forbidden Planet on November 15 for a ticketed signing of the same book. That ticket is listed at £7.99 plus fees and includes the book.
Marvel, book clubs and independent voices
Raúl Allén signs Doctor Strange: Endless Nightmare at Gosh on November 11. The stand-alone Marvel Arts graphic novel is made with Kevin J. Anderson and Patricia Martín, and sends Stephen Strange into the Nightmare Realm after an encounter with a patient who believes reality is a sleeping god’s dream. The event description points toward Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo, a useful reference point for the book’s deliberately dreamlike direction. Marvel readers looking for a very different current character story can also see how Miles Morales: Spider-Man #4 puts Miles’ civilian life in Revenant’s crosshairs.
Later that evening, Gosh’s Reads Book Club discusses V for Vendetta, focusing on the work’s art, themes and plot. A book-club discussion offers a different kind of comics event from a signing: it puts attention on interpretation and craft rather than simply meeting a creator. The shop lists the code READSNOV26 alongside the November discussion.
On November 12, Adam de Souza, Karl Stevens and Mahdi Khene share a triple signing at Gosh. De Souza marks five years of Blind Alley and brings Mutt Mag and The Gulf; Stevens launches Pepper, described as a standalone sequel to Penny; and Khene represents Zuperhero Comics, including Steel Streets. These linked appearances make room for readers whose interests sit outside the most familiar superhero publishers, especially those looking for a direct encounter with creator-led and small-press work.
For people who want to make comics rather than only read them, Comic and Manga Creators Group London meets on November 6, 13, 20 and 27 at Meltdown London in Islington, from 7.30pm to 9pm. The group’s purpose is practical peer exchange: sharing ideas, techniques, experience and early-stage creative problems. That is a lower-pressure entry point than a convention table for a prospective creator. There is also a London Graphic Novel Club at Maida Vale Library on November 7, split into under-15 and over-15 groups, and suitable for ages seven and above.
Thought Bubble’s anniversary weekend and other convention options
Thought Bubble Comic Convention takes place at Harrogate Convention Centre on November 14 from 10am to 6pm, then on November 15 from 10am to 5pm. The 20th-anniversary edition is set to include more than 600 comic-creating exhibitors across the two days. Kate Beaton, Alice Oseman, Matt Fraction, Erica D’Urso, Emma Rios, Simon Bisley, Charlie Adlard, Jeffrey Brown, Caspar Wijngaard, Al Ewing and Tula Lotay are among the named guests. Panels, workshops, signings, free comics and family zones are all part of the planned programme, while related festival activity runs across Yorkshire from November 9 through 15.
An exhibitor is a creator or group presenting work directly to attendees, typically at a table in a convention hall. The number is meaningful because a festival with hundreds of creators makes discovery part of the experience: visitors may encounter self-published minicomics, graphic novels, art books and work in progress as well as books by established guests. For London-based attendees, Harrogate is reachable by train, though it is naturally a separate journey from the city’s shop events.
Those who prefer closer alternatives have several choices on November 15. Striking Comic Con Brentwood lists cosplay, traders, PS5 and Nintendo Switch activity, a green screen, movie cars and a costume competition. Watford Creed Comic Con similarly brings artists, actors, creators, traders, props and photoshoots to Watford Leisure Centre – Woodside. At the opposite end of the month, Doujin Con London takes over the Novotel London West in Hammersmith on November 28. Doujinshi refers to fan-made or independently made works, and the convention’s artist alley is set to include circles from both London and Japan across multiple zones.
For a more collector-oriented day, London Comic Mart returns to the Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury on November 29, 11am to 4pm. It is a back-issue and collectibles fair with around 100-plus trader stalls of American and British comics, original art and related items. A back issue is a previously published comic rather than the newest issue on sale; an original-art offering, by contrast, concerns artwork connected to the comic’s production. The fair generally has paid early entry from 11am and free admission later, so visitors should verify that timing before going.
Late-month signings: fantasy, ambitious comics and sketchbooks
November 21 brings two sharply contrasting signing opportunities. CROM signs Birdking Volume 4 at Gosh, the concluding volume of the dark-fantasy graphic novel created with Daniel Freedman. The event offers an exclusive sticker sheet. Later that day, Ram V signs Deicidium: Volume 1 at Forbidden Planet.
Chris Ware signs The Acme Novelty Library 21 at Gosh on November 23. Acme Novelty Library is described as an influential series, and the event is for its latest edition. Ware’s appearance adds another distinct strand to the month: comics that are often approached not only as stories but as carefully constructed physical and visual objects, where layout and format are integral to the reading experience.
On November 28, Kiera Won signs Nine to Twelve, part of Gosh’s 40th-anniversary sketchbook series. Unlike a conventional completed comic narrative, a sketchbook can foreground an illustrator’s process, studies and methods. That makes it potentially valuable to readers interested in how finished images begin, change or are selected.
Jamie Smart closes the public calendar’s family-facing comics events on November 29 at Waterstones Piccadilly, signing The World of Bunny vs Monkey and Bunny vs Monkey: Day of the Heroes. Ticket options include family entry and books. Also that day, Comics and Cakes in Chelsea hosts a beginner-friendly Dungeons & Dragons game night led by DM Lucia. A DM, or Dungeon Master, runs the game and presents its scenarios to players.
Exhibitions that extend beyond a single evening
The Quentin Blake Centre of Illustration opens Tove Jansson and her Families on November 21 and runs it through May 9, 2027. It is billed as the first UK exhibition to focus on Jansson’s illustration work and the people who shaped her life and the Moomin world, including previously unseen drawings. This is an opportunity to engage with Jansson beyond one familiar creation, placing illustration and personal connections together in the exhibition’s frame.
Several other shows remain available across the month. Quentin Blake: Performance continues until April 1, 2027, with more than 100 original and rarely seen drawings that examine theatrical influences, including almost 40 images of Macbeth characters rendered as birds. Faerdom: Now, As Ever, by Fromm Studio’s Vince Ibay and Jessica Miller, continues through March 29, 2027 and explores digital landscapes through animated figures rooted in legend and myth. A free Sophy Hollington library display, centred on linocuts drawing from alchemical manuscripts, folktales and Old English poetry, runs until December 31.
At the Cartoon Museum, The Sad Ghost Club exhibition by Lize Meddings lasts until December 6, presenting original pages and previously unseen material from the mental-health-awareness series. A Pop-up Print Shop is scheduled from around November 12 to December 20, with children’s, superhero, political and gag prints among the categories represented. Ben Jennings also appears there on November 24 in conversation with Cody Dahler for the launch of Drawn to the Chaos: A Visual Guide to a Tumultuous Decade, a book collecting an illustrated response to political and cultural events between 2016 and 2026.
The calendar’s strength is its range of entry points. It accommodates the reader chasing a specific creator, the child learning to draw characters, the artist seeking peers, the traveller making a convention weekend of it and the collector looking through long boxes of older issues. November’s London comic scene is not one event with one audience; it is a network of small rooms, galleries, bookshops, cinemas, libraries, fairs and a major festival, each asking something different of the page and of the people gathered around it.
