In our second Book Week Scotland post, DCCS artist Elliot Balson tells us what he has been reading lately.
“My pick is Head Lopper by Andrew MacLean. It’s a Mignola-esque fantasy set in the Highlands, featuring a stoic warrior called Norgal, or Headlopper, and his companion – the decapitated head of a witch. It’s a fun tale, with gorgeous visuals, with equal touches of Hellboy, Adventure Time, and The Witcher.”
– Elliot
As it’s Book Week Scotland this week I thought it would be fun to let you know what folks here at DCCS are reading currently. There will be a series of posts this week kicking off with our Coordinator Damon.
“I’ve been catching up with my comics reading recently after finishing my PhD. I picked up a few free comics at Kingdom Comics during Halloween Comic Fest, including The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, You Choose The Story #1. It’s funny and irreverent, and you get to chose how Squirrel Girl deals with her adventures, such as battling Swarm, a bad guy MADE OF BEES! It made me want to read more Squirrel Girl!”
– Damon
Ever stuck for ideas when making comics? Well, our new strip series by Andy Strachan might just be able to help you out.
We are very pleased to welcome Tom Foster as a guest to this afternoon’s Comics Club. He will be showing our young creators how he puts together his comics pages. He is currently working for 2000AD among others – check out his first 2000AD cover featuring Judge Dredd from earlier this year!
Come and join us for an H.G. Wells themed comics workshop, and whet your appetite for all things alien before the Martian Autopsy event at the University of Dundee. Drop by to hear a talk on the history of science-fiction comics! See comics works-in-process by creators Norrie Millar and Rebecca Horner from the forthcoming H.G. Wells graphic anthology! Then design your Martian and make your own comic, perhaps showing the destruction they would wreak on Dundee!
Saturday 19th November 2:00-4:30pm
Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee
Free admission | No booking required
This event is part of University of Dundee’s series H. G. Wells at 150: Hope and Fear
In this week’s webcomic we introduce one of the newest artists here at DCCS Elliot Balson. Thought you knew all the characters in Greek mythology? Think again!
Next week at Comics Club we will be running special War of the Worlds workshops to tie-in with the H.G. Wells celebrations as part of the Being Human festival. Professor of Comics Chris Murray from the University of Dundee (who is also the DCCS Operations Director) will be here to talk out about comics adaptations of Wells’ famous alien invasion story. You will then have the opportunity to create your own Martians and make comics -they might even invade Dundee!
Tuesday 8th November 4.30pm-6.30pm (10-13 year olds)
Wednesday 9th November 4.30pm-6.30pm (14-17 year olds)
It’s Wednesday and after the shenanigans of the Dundee Literary Festival last week it’s back to our regular scheduled web comics series.
Here is episode 2 of Ducks and Drakes by Catriona Laird.
Today at DCCS as part of Dundee Literary Festival – a live drawing demonstration by comics legend Ian Kennedy.
Watch Ian Kennedy create comics illustrations in his signature pen, ink and acrylics technique, honed over his 50 year career.
Educated in Dundee, Ian started work as a trainee illustrator in the D. C. Thomson & Co Art Department in 1949 – he recalls that his first published work was inking the black squares in the weekly Sunday Post crossword!
Over his career he has worked on a host of characters and publications, from 1950’s war comics such as Thriller Picture Library and Air Ace to IPC’s 2000AD and Starlord. Ian is highly regarded in comics circles, by fellow professionals and fans alike, and we’re delighted he’ll be sharing his expertise as part of the festival.
(There will be another opportunity to attend this masterclass with Ian on Saturday 22nd, 5pm)
Tickets available from Dundee Literary Festival’s eventbrite page.
To whet your appetite for Ink & Pixels, our exhibition opening next week looking at contemporary comics creation in Dundee, our Operations Director Dr Chris Murray is giving a talk tomorrow which examines the extraordinary history of comics in Dundee.
Dundee – One City, Many, Many Comics! is part of the 2016 Armitstead Lectures series, and takes place at 7.30pm on Friday 14th October at the University of Dundee and costs £2 on the door.
“Dundee has been at the heart of Scottish, and British, comics publishing since the 1930s. This lecture will briefly discuss how the medium of comics works, then will examine the extraordinary history of comics in Dundee, from DC Thomson and Valentines to the wealth of comics currently being produced in the city.”
Venue: Dalhousie Building, Lecture Theatre 2, University of Dundee, Old Hawkhill, Dundee, DD1 5EN. Click here for a map.
Dundee Comics Creative Space 