Dundee Comics Prize 2020

The theme of the 2020 Dundee Comics Prize is ‘New Worlds’. We encourage submissions that explore this theme through the medium of comics. Suggested themes include, but are not limited to, discovery, innovation, space exploration, and fantastic or imagined worlds. Any genre or approach will be considered. There will be a series of events in November 2020 as part of the Being Human Festival. The launch of the comic, New Worlds, will be on Friday 20th November 2020. We will also launch Pandemic Tales, a comic that showcases responses to the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, reflecting on the ways we have all had to adjust to this strange new world over the last year. Under current restrictions we are sorry to say that we cannot host an event in Dundee Comics Creative Space as we have every year since 2015, so we are planning an online launch and a virtual meeting. Details of this will be posted on the Scottish Centre for Comics Studies website soon.

Entries to the competition should take the form of a minimum 5 pages of completed comic art. The prize is £500, plus publication of the story. Stories by runners-up may also be published if suitable. The deadline for submissions is Monday 9th November 2020. The announcement will be made on Friday 20th November 2020.

The aim of the competition is to nurture comics talent. Anyone can enter and the submission can be in any style, in black and white or colour, but the work must be finished to a high standard (lettered, inked, etc), and must be a complete story, suitable for publication at A4 size. The work must be original, and it must not have been already published already elsewhere. High resolution quality electronic files are requested (do not send us original artwork). The prize is awarded to the creator or team who produce the work. If the comic is collaborative the members of the team share the prize money equally. All winners (including runners-up) will be asked to provide a short account of how the comic was created, along with any relevant photos and sketches that can be used on a website or in the publication. The decision of the judging panel is final.

All queries and submissions should be sent to Professor Christopher Murray at: c.murray@dundee.ac.uk

Please send large files via wetransfer.

More information is available here.

Information about Being Human is available here.

COVID-19 Update

Workshop-News-File-copy

The health and wellbeing of our young people and facilitators are our top priority, so we will be suspending our Tuesday and Wednesday Comic Clubs until further notice. This is following current University of Dundee policy on coronavirus, based on advice from the Scottish Government and the NHS.

However, that doesn’t mean the fun stops! We will be posting our weekly comics activities and workshop materials online. Stayed tuned for Digital Comics Club!

Laydeez do…CRIMEZ!

Comic book cover. Title is Crimes by Women. Image shows woman showing her leg to three soldiers — *Crimes by Women* #7 June 1949. Published by Fox Feature Syndicate.

Laydeez are doing CRIMEZ!

Come spend time with fellow comics enthusiasts as we work together to ~~commit~~… we mean, solve a crime.

For the first Laydeez Do Comics Dundee event of 2020 there will be a talk by Dr. Laura Findlay on her work with crime comics, followed by a comic making workshop that involves a crime scene, and a wine reception with nibbles as per usual.

Friday 13 March 2020 from 6-9pm

We hope to see you there!

Laydeez Do Comics Dundee events are open to all 18+
in DCCS, Unit 10, Vision Building

Water Worlds comic launch

WaterWorlds coverforweb — Cover art by Julie Campbell

This Thursday at DCCS sees the launch of Water Worlds. The comic has been created as part of the Being Human Festival. It considers our relationship with the sea and waterways, and several of the stories deal with environmental issues. The comic also contains the winning entry of the 2019 Dundee Comics Prize. Free copies will be available on the night. The event is free and refreshments will be available.

Where: Dundee Comics Creative Space, Unit 10, Vision Building, Dundee
When: Thursday 21st November 6-8pm

Please note that there is no parking available at the Vision Building. Instructions on how to get to DCCS are available here.

Events in DCCS this week

As you may know, Comics Club is on holiday this week. However, there are several exciting public events taking place in DCCS this week!

Wednesday 16th October 1.15-2.45pm
DUNDEE REMIX COMIC WORKSHOP – a Festival of the Future event
Age 8+ years [under 14 years to be accompanied by and adult]

What does a future Dundee look like to you?
How different will the city and people look in 2050?
What would you like to see?
This workshop will give you a chance to create your future Dundee vision in comic strip form using simple techniques including drawing and collage. Learn about the magic of creating comics while imagining Dundee years from now.

No experience necessary and materials will be provided.
For information and booking click here.

Thursday 17th October 5-6pm
IDENTITY IN COMICS PANEL– a Festival of the Future event
Age 14+ years recommended
This event is FREE but must be booked in advance.

Rebecca Horner, comics artist and colourist and lead workshop facilitator at Dundee Comics Creative Space will be joined by special guest Katie Whittle from Comics Youth for this discussion. Comics Youth is a Liverpool-based organisation that supports marginalised and disadvantaged children and young people across Merseyside through comics-focused workshops – themes very close to the heart of DCCS. Other special guest are Dundee based comics creator and researcher Olivia Hicks and up-and-coming comics maker Millie Strachan.

For information and booking click here.

Thursday 17th October 7-8.30pm
Speech Bubble – SPOOKY COMICS!
Speech Bubble is a Comics Book Club for 18 years and over held at the Dundee Comics Creative Space on Thursdays (fortnightly) from 7-8.30pm. All are welcome.

It’s time for a spook-athon! Spooky, spoopy, or just plain scary – we want some comics that deliver chills and spills. So settle in for an evening of seasonal, haunted, ghostly and ghastly comics… but don’t settle in too close to the chairs….

More info on the Speech Bubble FB page.

Friday 18th October 3-5pm
HOW TO GET INTO THE VISUAL EFFECTS INDUSTRY
Age: 10 years+

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) VFX and animation studio staff Amy Backwell and Bimpe Alliu will talk about how to break into the VFX industry and showcase the work of ILM in blockbuster films and TV shows.

The talk will be followed by a concept design workshop where you can create your own characters and designs.

Free, booking essential. For information and booking click here.

Friday 18th October 6-9pm
Laydeez Do Comics Dundee
Laydeez Do ZINES Dundee

The leaves may fall and nights become colder as autumn comes, but LDC Dundee is still here to brighten your nights!
Our 18th October meeting is all about ZINES! Join us for:
* A talk about this most DIY of mediums by Dr. Damon Herd
* A zine-making workshop led by Olivia Hicks, comic creator, doctoral student at the University of Dundee, and experienced zine-maker/zine-instructor/zine-queen.

Everyone over the age of 18 is welcome!
Light drinks and refreshments shall be served! Any questions/comments/concerns, message us! 🙂

More info on the LDCD FB page.

So come on down to DCCS this week and enjoy some great events!

IDENTITY IN COMICS PANEL

A FESTIVAL OF THE FUTURE comics panel.

Rebecca Horner, comics artist and colourist and lead workshop facilitator at Dundee Comics Creative Space, will be joined by a special guest from Comics Youth for this discussion.

Comics Youth is a Liverpool- based organisation that supports marginalised and disadvantaged children and young people across Merseyside through comics-focused workshops – themes very close to the heart of DCCS.

There will also be some local comic creators as special guests!

Age: 14 years+

FREE but places can be booked at the eventbrite page.

DUNDEE REMIX COMICS WORKSHOP

dundeedecides crop — Art by Norrie Millar

A FESTIVAL OF THE FUTURE comics workshop

What does a future Dundee look like to you?

How different will the city and people look in 2050? What would you like to see?

This workshop will give you a chance to create your future Dundee vision in comic strip form using simple techniques including drawing and collage. Learn about the magic of creating comics while imagining Dundee years from now.

No experience necessary and materials will be provided.

Age: 8 years+ (under 14 years to be accompanied by an adult)

Tickets £3

To book a place visit the eventbrite page

Great War Dundee – Comic Launch

Great War Dundee comic cover featuring Ian Kennedy painting of a Scottish soldier — Art by Ian Kennedy

On Friday 20th September from 10am-4.30pm V&A Dundee are hosting a FREE all day event inspired by the First World War. This joint Scottish Centre for Comic Studies and Great War Dundee (GWD) event pulls together many of the threads of the GWD projects that have taken place since 2014, and commemorates the GWD project officially drawing to a close. The event will cover topics such as the presentation of the First World War in comics and games, and attendees will get an opportunity to develop their own comic strips.

The Great War Dundee comic will also be launched at the event. The comic contains a story written by legendary comics creator Pat Mills, who worked at DC Thomson before creating the hugely successful British science fiction comic 2000AD. In the 1970s Pat Mills started work on one of the most acclaimed war comics of all time, Charley’s War. The artist for the ‘Ragtime Soldier’ story is Gary Welsh, one of the University of Dundee’s recent graduates. The other strips included in the comic are ‘The Women’s Toon’, written by Erin Keepers and Hailey Austin, with art by 2000AD artist Anna Morozova, and ‘Casualties of War’, written by Calum Laird and drawn by Elliot Balson. All these creators are graduates of the comics programme in Dundee. Ian Kennedy provides the cover artwork.

For more information and to book tickets please see the Great War Dundee eventbrite page.

There will be a signing with Pat Mills from 6.30-8pm in Dundee Creative Comics Space. No tickets are required to come along to this.

Comics Club Comic Strips Volume 4 Launch

As part of Small Press Day 2019 we are launching THE ULTIMATE COMIC COLLECTION – volume 4 of our Comics Club anthology series. The amazing strips in the collection have all been made by the young people who come along to our weekly Comics Clubs.

Come on down to DCCS HQ in the Vision Building on Saturday 13th July 12-2pm and see the next generation of comics superstars in the making!

There will also be a drop-in comics workshop so come along and make (and buy!) some comics!

More Laydeez Do Comics Dundee this Friday

001_CML_270619_5241.pdf — Cover art: Keith Burns

Laydeez Do Comics Dundee will be hosting an event to celebrate the women of Commando Comics on Friday 5 July from 6-8pm. We will kick the evening off with former Commando editor Calum Laird speaking about the history of Commando and the women involved. Then we will have a panel of the first women to write for Commando in 30 years – Hailey Austin, Georgia Standen Battle, and Kate Dewar – to give an inside look at Commando and talk about their experiences as women in comics.

We will be back at the Dundee Comics Creative Space, Unit 10 in The Vision Building.

And just a heads up – we still have some of the beautiful totes and dishtowels from LDC headquarters. So if you want one before they go, don’t forget to bring cash with you.

This promises to be an unforgettable night of daring pilots, train explosions, risky military operations, and laydeez doing comics!

For more information about the event or Laydeez Do Comics Dundee and to RSVP, go to our Facebook or eventbrite page.