Free Dundee Comics Expo on 30 March

The first Dundee Comics Expo will be opening its doors to the public in two week's time at 11am on Saturday 30 March 2013 and entry to all its talks, workshops and sales rooms will be free.

Held in the University of Dundee, and building on their experience from running the annual Dundee Comics Day as part of the Dundee Literary Festival, organisers Chris Murray and Phil Vaughan have promised an impressive line-up of both guests, small press and dealers.

The full event programme is as follows:

11.00am - Doors open to public
11.30am - Sha Nazir - Workshop in Baxter Suite Foyer (Tower Building)

All following talks are in the Darcy Thompson Lecture Theatre (Tower Building)

Noon - David Lloyd (Aces Weekly, V For Vendetta)
12:30pm - Comics Studies at Dundee and UniVerse Publishing
1:30pm - Laura Sneddon
2:00pm - Hannah Berry (Britten and Brulightly, Adamtine)
2:30pm - Bryan and Mary Talbot (Dotter Of Her Father's Eyes, Grandville)
3:00pm - Nigel Dobbyn (2000AD, Beano, Transformers)
4:00pm - Doors close

The evening events at Dundee Contemporary Arts complex (a 2 minute walk from the Tower Building) are as follows:
6:00pm - Screening of Judge Minty- A Judge Dredd Fan Film
7:00pm - DeeCAP, an hour of comics, performance and entertainment hosted by Damon Herd.

Note that entry to evening events at the DCA is free but ticketed. For tickets contact the DCA box office on 01382 909 900.

There are more details and update on the Dundee Comics Expo Facebook page.

New Comics Expo At Dundee University in March

Despite the sad cancellation of Hi-Ex in Inverness, there are an increasing number of Scottish comics events in 2013. 

The Glasgow Charity Comic Mart returns to the Panopticon Music Hall on the Saturdays of 2 March, 1 June, 7 September and 30 November, the Glasgow Film Festival continues its comics strand courtesy of Mark Millar in late February, the Glasgow Comic Con returns for its third year at a date and location that have yet to be announced, the Edinburgh International Book Festival from 10-26 August has turned up some very interesting comics events in previous years, Collectormania will be at Glasgow's Hillhead Arena again on the weekend of 24-25 August and, while it is too far ahead to be announced yet, we would be disappointed if the Dundee Comics Day didn't run again at the end of October as part of Dundee University's Literary Festival.

 

In addition to these old favourites, the Dundee University manga/anime convention this year is Doj-Con, following the D-Cons and Dee-Con of previous years, which is on Saturday 13 April, the Scottish capital gains the Edinburgh Toy And Comic Mart at the RAF Club on Saturday 20 April, while MCM Expo comes to the Glasgow SECC for the long-winded Memorabilia And Scottish Comic Con on Saturday 31 August.

 

The University Of Dundee has been a consistent part of the Scottish comics scene for some years now hosting the Dundee Comics Day and the name changing D-/Dee-/Doj-Cons and they have just announced a new comics event - the Dundee Comics Expo. 

This free Expo will take place in the University's Tower Building, where the annual Comics Day is held, on Saturday 30 March 2013 from 11am to 4pm. The Tower Building is a short 10 minute walk from Dundee's train and bus stations, and not that far from the imposing statue of Desperate Dan, Dawg and Minnie The Minx in the city centre.

In addition to signing tables for artists including Gary Erskine and Alex Ronald, and sales tables for dealers including Plan B and small pressers including Team Girl Comic, the event will be welcoming artist/writers David Lloyd and Karrie Fransman to Dundee for the day, both of whom will be giving free talks. 

More guests are planned and will be announced on the event's Facebook page.

Will Dundee Get A Real Bash Street?

(Updated 11/12/12): Class 2B of Bash Street School, otherwise known as The Bash Street Kids, have been entertaining us in The Beano since the strip first appeared under its original title of When The Bell Rings in the issue dated 13 February 1954. Beano editor George Moonie was inspired by the antics of the children of the High School Of Dundee, the playground of which could be seen from the windows of the Beano office, and he passed the idea to artist Leo Baxendale whose imagination did the rest.

The street and school as seen in the comic do not exist in reality in Dundee but with the major redevelopment work that is going on in the city at the moment the opportunity has arisen to name a new street and the proposal that will be going in front of Dundee City Council is that it should be called Bash Street.

The consultation letter from Dundee City Council's Street Naming and Numbering Team states: "There is a proposal for a children's soft play area withinthe former works buildings off West Marketgait. As part of this development DC Thomson is in discussions with a local developer re licensing the Beano IP within thebranded children’s soft play centre. Planning consent has been granted for thesoft play centre.

"The Bash Street Kids will feature heavily in the new centrealongside Dennis the Menace, Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodgerand The Beano logo. Dundee City Council has received a request from DCThomson to allocate the name Bash Street to the street adjacent to 142/144 WestMarketgait which currently has no name. This is to tie-in with the proposed newbuild and to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of The Beano in 2013 in the comic’s hometown."

The as yet unnamed new street is beside a Travelodge hotel off West Marketgait and between the West Port Roundabout and Guthrie Street where DC Thomson used to have their printing works. Indeed the area is only a short walk from DC Thomson's Courier Building and the High School Of Dundee itself.

At the moment the name is at the proposal stage however Councillor Fraser MacPherson, who represents the area in the city council, has stated on his blog, "I think this is a superb proposal." He goes on to say, "Dundee having its very own Bash Street seems very appropriate and I'm very pleased that Bash Street will be in the West End Ward!"

There are more details of the High School Of Dundee's connection with The Bash Street Kids over on Bear Alley.


Update, 11th December 2012: The BBC reports Dundee Council has now approved these plans. See: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-20672645