No jokers, Dundee wins big at Comic Awards

Published On Tue 4 Jul 2017 by Roddy Isles

Comics students and alumni from the University of Dundee have won a host of awards at the Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards, held as part of Glasgow Comic Con.

Dundee students past and present had been nominated in all of the categories, and duly picked up a string of successes.

The winner of the ‘Up and Coming Talent’ award went to Catriona Laird for her comic `Stinger’. Catriona is a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (part of the University), and completed a comics module in 2015. She is now one of the studio members at Ink Pot Studios, which is part of Dundee Comics Creative Space, where she also volunteers as a facilitator on children’s comics classes.

Letty Wilson, who studied on the MLitt in Comics Studies at the University, won the ‘Best Graphic Novel’ award for ‘A Stranger Came To Town’. Letty won the ‘Up and Coming Talent’ award last year for her art on `Cosmic’, a project she started on the masters course in Dundee. Cosmic’s co-creator Erin Keepers also came runner-up in the ‘Best Writer’ category this year, for her work in Cosmic Issue 3.

In the ‘Best Single Issue’ award, the winner was an anthology, ‘Video Games for Good’ which features a strip by current MDes Comics & Graphic Novels student Zu Dominiak. Zu’s work will be featured in Duncan of Jordanstone’s forthcoming Masters Show, which launches on 18^th August.

Chris Murray, Professor of Comic Studies at the University, said, “I am delighted that so many people from our courses and the Dundee Comics Creative Space were nominated for these awards, but even happier with the final results. To take home awards from almost all the categories is a remarkable achievement, and testament to the talent we have here in Dundee. A big congratulations to all of our winners and runners up.”

Phillip Vaughan, Course Director for the MDes in Comics & Graphic Novels course, presented the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Comics’ award to Ian Kennedy. Ian is from Dundee, and has been working in the comics industry for over 60 years. He is still going strong, and contributes covers to `Commando’ comic, as well as doing the occasional talk to comics students in Dundee.

Phillip said, “This is a well-deserved award to one of comics’ most successful freelancers ever and I was truly honoured to be asked to present it to Ian. He was an inspiration to me, but is now an inspiration to a whole new generation of comics creators.

“I have been lucky enough to work with him over the last five years, and he has even produced a cover for a comic based on the life of Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, the first Professor of Biology at Dundee, which is coming out later this year.”

(Photo shows Catriona Laird with comics creator Frank Quitely)

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head of Corporate Communications
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 384910
Mobile: 07800 581902
Email: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk