DOJ-Con, Scotland’s largest free anime convention, unveils 2013 plans

Dundee will once again proudly nail its geeky colours to the mast when Scotland’s largest free anime, comics and video games convention returns to Dundee University Students Union this year.

DOJ-CON will take place on Saturday 13th April when film screenings, board and video game tournaments, stalls, exhibitions, demonstrations and industry presentations will take place. The event has grown in stature year-on-year, and around 2000 fans, most of whom dressed in costume, took part last year.

DOJ-CON is a product of the Animation Fundraiser Society at Dundee University Students Association. Management of the fundraiser event each year changes to the successive Animation 4th year class.

The event, previously called Dee-Con, has been re-branded DOJ-CON for 2013, emphasising the convention’s roots in the art college. The organisers of Dee-Con 2012, as well as lecturers Dr. Chris Murray and Phil Vaughan, who run comics studies courses at the University and run the Scottish Centre for Comics Studies, are working closely with this year’s management.

Organised predominantly by students and alumni of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, DOJ-CON is a fundraiser event with all proceeds going towards the animation degree show, which takes place 17th-25th May 2013.

The Dundee University Students Association and the Scottish Centre for Comics Studies are providing backing to allow DOJ-CON to take place.

President Slava Lawson explained, “The programme we’re putting together will be added to between now and the event, and the amount of support and enthusiasm that we’ve received from the guest speakers we’ve invited as well as the attendees who remember last year’s convention is absolutely incredible.”

“Our predecessors have done a great job in establishing this as a major event, so we know we have to be at our best to match the standards they set but we’re all really enthusiastic about doing just that. Even if you’re not a diehard manga or anime fan there’s a lot to interest you. It’s shaping up to be a great day and we’d like to welcome everyone along. Video game tournaments will be taking place, and the after party is always a bit special.”

DOJ-CON will feature talks from guest speakers from the animation, games, comic and anime industry as well as other specialists and enthusiasts. The list includes a talk on manga by Sweatdrop founder Hayden Scott-Baron (Dock); a workshop by professional comics artist Tanya Roberts; a talk on Korean Comics by Hannah Rose, a recent graduate of Dundee University’s Comics MLitt programme; an “8 out of 10 cats” style talk by video games music lecturer Rosalie Newcombe including video cameos by well-known composers such as Grant Kirkhope (GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie); Alisa Partridge: Lolita fashion enthusiast with influence directly from world travel, and Alice de Ste Croix aka DestinyBlue, a digital manga style artist who will be hosting an interactive character creation and creativity lecture.

Anime Ltd. run by director of the festival Scotland Loves Animation, will be providing a variety of anime films and shows to screen throughout the day including 2 episodes of the classic Cowboy Bebop and a special feature film voted for by Doj-Con fans: Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Cert:12A (2009). Anime Ltd. will also have a stall in artists alley representing Manga UK and Kaze for attendees to browse.

The convention will feature an Artist’s Alley where up and coming anime/fan art/comic artists and illustrators can sell their work, promote their businesses and make contacts. There will also be a Games area with an entire floor of the Union dedicated to game playing and tournaments including Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Pokemon Black & White 2. There will also be an advanced constructed tournament in the classic anime card game Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Northumbria University Kendo Club will be hosting a demonstration of this Japanese martial art just before the all-important winners of the Cosplay competition and raffle are announced and everyone who has come in costume is given the opportunity to take part in a traditional masquerade.

As is tradition Cosplaying will be taking place and there will be a competition for hand-made costumes. Professional photographers Mr Drew Photography and Scott Baxter will be on hand to capture everyone in their costumes.

Over 18 attendees will have the opportunity to blow off some steam just before the after party at the karaoke night in Ait bar, opened by a special acoustic performance from Tom Paxton.

The event will be rounded off with the now-legendary after party, with Nanashi Dansu, an Eastern Asian music style club night run by David Skelley, coming to DUSA to round off the celebrations. DJ Nanashi will be supported by DJ Bubu, who has been Awarded 'Best Artist' and 'Best Release' during the World Wide Chiptune Awards.

• DOJ-Con Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/446581382089546/?fref=ts

• For more information on DOJ-CON please contact Slava Lawson on dojcon2013@gmail.com. 

• For cosplay related enquiries please visit the Facebook Page (http://dojcon.com) or email dojcon2013cosplay@gmail.com. 

• For information about acquiring an artist’s stall please visit the official website: http://dojcon.com. 

• For more details of corporate stalls please contact Trevor San at tsan@dusa.co.uk

• To receive all the latest updates straight to your news feed like the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/dojconanime or follow the event on Twitter at @DOJ_CON

Anthology Three to be released at Dundee Comics Expo

An anthology of work from aspiring comic and graphic artists from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) will be launched on Saturday the 30th of March at the Dundee Comics Expo, wrapped in an all-new cover by Dave Gibbons.

Anthology Three will showcase the work from the Comic Art and Graphic Novels module undertaken by Level 3 students at DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee. The 120-page, full colour comic is published by 'UniVerse', an imprint specially created to provide exposure for the students' work.

The cover for Anthology Three is provided by legendary comics artist Dave Gibbons, who is a visiting lecturer on the module.

He was one of a number of leading industry professionals who hosted workshops with the students as part of the module.

Lecturer Phillip Vaughan, who runs the module, has been very impressed with the high standard of the students work. “This time around the module was made available to all Level 3 undergraduate students within DJCAD, and the class was full to capacity…”

"Again the work was completed over a 12-week period, which is a tight turnaround, although I am happy to say that the students were up for the challenge. The results speak for themselves! The work is attracting the attention of major comics creators and publishers, which is great exposure for the students!

“Dundee Comics Expo is a great launch pad for this new book, as we have some top comics creators coming to the event, people such as David Lloyd (V for Vendetta / Aces Weekly) and Bryan and Mary Talbot (Dotter Of Her Father's Eyes / Grandville), who won the Costa Biography Award 2012.”

Dr Chris Murray who runs the MLitt in Comics Studies at the University, and who also teaches on the module, paid tribute to the work contained in Anthology Three, saying, “The comics created on this module were outstanding! The students certainly rose to the challenge and it was wonderful to see this work come together over the course of the module.

"The students also benefitted enormously from masterclasses and workshops by Kate Brown, Cam Kennedy, Colin MacNeil, Ian Kennedy, and Dave Gibbons. We are honoured to have the support of top industry talent in the Comics Studies modules at the University of Dundee.

"We are particularly indebted by Dave Gibbons for the incredible cover art, which makes this issue a little bit extra special!”

The cover price of Anthology 3 is £6.00, and the venture is not for profit, with funds from sales being put directly back into the cost of publishing promotional copies of the next issue. Anthology Three will be launched at Dundee Comics Expo 2013 at the Tower Building, University of Dundee.

• For information, please email: universecomicATgmail.com. To buy online go to (Anthology One & Two Available now – Anthology Three from the 30th March): http://ukondisplay-com.mybigcommerce.com/universe/ 

• Dundee Comics Expo is on Saturday 30th March: http://on.fb.me/14h1Hdq

Treating Comics Seriously: Six Questions For Lecturer Phillip Vaughan

Phillip Vaughan is a lecturer at the University of Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art And Design (DJCAD) with a background in 3D animation for the television, film and games industry. At DJCAD he teaches graphic design and has run the first module on Comic Art and Graphic Novels, the results of which have just been published in the Anthology One book from the new UniVerse imprint. Jeremy Briggs talks to Phillip about his work teaching the new generation of animators and graphic artists.

What comics did you grow up reading and what do you read now?
Being brought up near Dundee, it was inevitable that my first comics were The Beano and The Dandy. I soon graduated to more 'adult' comics such as The Victor, Warlord, Commando, Starblazer, Spike, Buddy and Champ, all DC Thomson stalwarts. In 1982 I picked up the new Eagle, but wasn’t impressed with the photo strips (bar Doomlord!), really I bought it for Dan Dare, especially the early Ian Kennedy run. A slow adopter, I moved onto 2000AD in 1984. Also around this time I discovered Marvel and DC Comics imports in my local newsagents. Sporadic though these imports were, I managed to collect runs of Uncanny X-Men, Peter David's run on the Hulk, John Byrne's run on Superman and some of Alan Moore's stint on Swamp Thing.

These days, I have stuck with 2000AD through thick and thin, and like the sentiment of anthologies such as Strip and Clint. I dip my toes into the American mainstream now and then, currently reading Hellblazer, Fatale, Action Comics and Captain America (mainly for the Alan Davis art). I have also been picking up Requiem by Pat Mills and Oliver Ledroit.

You lecture at DJCAD, could you tell us a little about what you cover and how comics came to be in the curriculum?
For the past 7 years I have lectured part-time in Graphic Design, mostly covering On-Screen and Motion Graphics, and I have also taught 3D Animation. We restructured our courses last summer, and as part of the new Communication Design umbrella, we were invited to pitch new expansive modules. I proposed the Comic Art and Graphic Novels Module, and was happy when this was picked up for Level 3 students to participate in.

Dr. Chris Murray, Lecturer & Programme Convenor at the School of Humanities (left, with Phillip Vaughan, centre, and Cam Kennedy, right), was a great help in the preparation of this module, as he had undergone the same process in the School of Humanities a couple of years before. The first cohort of students signed up for the module last year, and we are expanding to offer the module to other undergraduate areas of the art college next year.

You have had a number of comics creators give talks to the pupils as part of the course - who has done this and do the students value these talks?
So far we have been very lucky to welcome David Bishop, Colin MacNeil (a DJCAD graduate and cover artist of Anthology One), Frank Quitely, Cam Kennedy and the guys from DC Thomson, Calum Laird, George Low and a childhood favourite of mine, Ian Kennedy! Phew! This year, as well as returning guests, I have a few more very special creators up my sleeve, who have agreed to come in and impart their considerable knowledge! The students have given very positive feedback, and I can't wait to reveal who we have coming this year!

How did you get involved with the Dundee Comics Day?
Dr. Chris asked me! No seriously, me and Chris had been having several planning meetings with regard to my module and Chris's Comic Studies MLitt in Humanities. We dreamed up a wish list, that just so happened to include a lot of 2000AD alumni and I had a few contacts, Chris had his contacts and we managed to get a stellar line up of guests for Dundee Comics Day 2012. Again we are looking to push the boundaries for this year’s Comics Day…stay tuned!

How did Anthology come about and is it something that we can expect from each year of the course?
The Anthology was always part of the brief for the DJCAD Comic Art and Graphic Novels module, where the students were asked to produce between 2-6 finished pages of comic art, on a subject of their choice, for publication. The final book, Anthology One, features the best of the work from the module, and runs to 72 pages of full colour artwork. Colin MacNeil has provided a stunning cover for the first issue. The book costs £5.95 and is non-profit, with costs just covering printing, and it will be used to support and promote the students hard work!

We will be launching the book at Hi-Ex on the 31st March. Everyone who has seen the finished product has been very impressed with the work, which was produced in a very short space of time. Anthology Two will feature the work of students from the Comic Studies MLitt, and then we will keep the book running as a biannual affair! These publications will all be published under the UniVerse imprint which we have recently set up.

Could you tell us a little about your work outside of the university?
When I am not teaching, I work as a freelance designer/animator. Over the last 16 years I have worked on many different projects including 3D animated sequences for Deathtrap Dungeon, Star Trek, Farscape, Tom & Jerry, Wallace & Gromit, Teletubbies(!), Braveheart, plus a couple of original computer game concepts for various publishers such as Eidos and Sony. Most recently I completed the character design, animation and front end work on an iOS Superman Game App for DC Comics/ Warner Bros, which was nice! In the little spare time that I have I produce comic work just for fun and have had a couple of strips in Zarjaz, with the next one appearing in issue 15, out in July. The next project on the table is a comic book collaboration with Dr. Chris Murray.

There is more information about Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design on their website.

For more information about the Comic Art and Graphic Novels Module at DJCAD e-mail Phillip Vaughan at p.b.vaughan@dundee.ac.uk

For information about ordering Anthology One email: universecomic@gmail.com

There is more information about the University Of Dundee's MLitt in Comics Studies on the university website.

There are more details of Phillip Vaughan’s freelance work on his website, V14 Studios.

Phillip Vaugan will be at the Hi-Ex Comics Convention in Inverness on Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April 2012 where he will have copies of Anthology One for sale.

Anthology One Due From Dundee's UniVerse(ity)

Due out later this month is the first issue of a new comics series, Anthology, published under the new UniVerse imprint, which will showcase the best creative work that is emerging from the new comics courses at the University of Dundee and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

Dundee has long been a haven for comics creation due largely to the city being home to DC Thomson. However in recent years the University of Dundee and its related colleges, specifically Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), have been taking more of an interest in comics creation due in no small part to Dr Chris Murray of the University's School of Humanities. This has lead to various comic art exhibitions, often in association with DC Thomson, and the annual Dundee Comics Day, a full day of talks from a wide variety of British comics creators, as part of the Dundee Literary Festival.

With a cover by DJCAD alumnus Colin MacNeil, Anthology One, is the first issue and features work from the students on DJCAD's Comic Art and Graphic Novels Module. Module Leader and co-organiser of the Dundee Comics Day Phillip Vaughan said, "We have created an imprint called UniVerse to promote and publish up and coming work from the next generation of comic creators. This is the best of the work from the first cohort of the module, which (staggeringly) was run over 12 weeks for one day a week during Semester 1 of Communication Design Level 3 (encompassing Animation, Graphic Design and Illustration undergraduates). This year we plan to roll the module out to other undergraduate areas of the art college."

Chris Murray (far left, with Phillip Vaughan, centre, and Cam Kennedy, right) is course leader of the Comics Studies MLitt at the university and director of the newly formed Scottish Centre for Comics Studies and helped to deliver the course. Chris said, "It is an exciting time for Comics Studies at Dundee, and the DJCAD module has been even more successful than we'd hoped - the results are impressive, and the students clearly benefited from workshops with industry professionals such as Frank Quitely, Cam Kennedy, Colin MacNeil and others".

Anthology One will be available at the Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness on Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April.

The downthetubes review of the 2011 Dundee Comics Day is here.

Links to the various comic art exhibitions that have taken place at the University Of Dundee since 2007 are here.

downthetubes interviewed Dr Chris Murray about his comics work here.

Comic Art Module launches soon at Jordanstone

A module which looks at historical and contemporary comic art practices and will include visits by top British comic creators is due to commence at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee this month.

The expansive module will be available to current level 3 undergraduate students studying under the Communication Design umbrella.

The module will be a mixture of theoretical and practical lectures, seminars and workshops delivered in the studio and in conjunction with the School of Humanities. The module is unique in the current programmes offered in Scottish art colleges and will run for the duration of Semester 1.

Top industry speakers and guests such as Cam Kennedy, Frank Quietly, Colin MacNeil and David Bishop will make visits to the College, delivering workshops and offering practical and career advice to students.

The comics market is part of an ever expanding multi-million pound industry, which feeds into the games, TV and film markets, and the emerging field of Comics Studies, in which the University of Dundee is leading the way, shows students the various ways in which popular culture engages with industry and commerce.

Freelance designer and animator Phillip Vaughan,
who authored the Comic Art Module
at Duncan of Jordanstone College.

"You only have to look at the recent slew of Hollywood comic book adaptations to see that the comics industry can be very lucrative for a top creator," argues freelance designer and animator Phillip Vaughan, who authored the module and who lectures at Duncan of Jordanstone. "We hope to discover the next big comic book talent here in Duncan of Jordanstone!"

Phillip has over 15 years experience in graphic, print and interactive design, motion graphics and the 3D computer games industry and has worked on high profile licenses such as Braveheart, Star Trek, Tom and Jerry, Teletubbies, and Wallace & Gromit, subsequently working as a cut-scene producer for Farscape. He also realised a lifelong ambition and worked with the creators of Judge Dredd on a video game project for Digital Animations.

The students will be tasked to produce an anthology publication in print and in a digital format, utilising their own original concepts and characters. By the end of the module students will be in possession of a creative piece of work which could form part of a portfolio.

The opportunity is to open up an area of undergraduate study that is currently very much underrepresented in the UK, and to take advantage of the increasing demand for courses dealing with comics and graphic novels. The University of Dundee’s commitment to this is seen in the recent launch of the MLitt in Comic Studies by the School of Humanities, led by Dr Chris Murray.

Murray, who is course leader of the postgraduate MLitt in Comics Studies is backing the module at Duncan of Jordanstone, and will assist in delivering it, just as Phillip Vaughan will assist with the delivery of the MLitt course on comics.

"I'm very happy to see Duncan of Jordanstone taking on this course” he says. "It has been obvious for a while looking at the Degree Shows that students at DJCAD are very influenced by comics, so there is a clear demand for this course.

“I’ve supervised dissertations on comics and graphic novels by art students at the College for several years now but it is clear that what they have been looking for has been a creative outlet and a dedicated module in this area," he continues, "so Phil’s course is a very positive development, and fits in very nicely indeed with what I’m doing at the School of Humanities.

"Collaboration between Humanities and the Art College has been a very important part of making the development of Comics Studies at Dundee possible, and we have plans to pursue this further, making Dundee a focal point for comics training, teaching and research”.

• For more information contact: p.b.vaughanATdundee.ac.uk or visit: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad