A Scottish superhero, a time traveller and a man from a Dragons’ Den have helped to celebrate the power of word and image in Dundee.
Over the weekend the comics expo and the literary festival coincided, with hundreds of visitors enjoying a host of talks, displays and special activities.
Among the highlights was the launch of Saltire Invasion, a graphic novel featuring Scottish characters, mythology and landscape.
Saltire is the immortal protector of the nation, sworn to defend its freedoms and its people.
Creator John Ferguson said: “Saltire Invasion starts the series with a twist on the legendary Ninth Legion and its expansion of the Roman empire into Scotland.”
The comics day was honouring the creators of some of the UK’s best known science fiction comics, such as 2000AD and Doctor Who.
A workshop was held for visitors to try their hand at drawing the Doctor or one of the villains he confronts and there were book signings and talks by artists who have worked on the comic or created storyboards for the BBC TV series.
The literary festival also had its share of well-known faces, including entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne, who spoke about his memoirs Riding The Storm.
In the book he describes surviving personal and professional setbacks, including the break-up of his second marriage and the recession.
Ex-Dundee United manager Tommy McLean also took to the stage to talk about his autobiography Winging It, from his days as a player with Rangers to winning the Scottish Cup as manager of Motherwell.
Last week Irish writer Nicola White was named winner of the £10,000 Dundee International Book Prize with her crime thriller In A Rosary Garden, which has been released by Cargo Publishing.
Literary Dundee director Anna Day announced two of the shortlisted novels, Paul Beaumont’s A Brief Eternity and Falling Fast by Neil Broadfoot, have also secured publishing contracts.
She said: “It is fantastic that these shortlisted books have been recognised by publishers it shows that the standard of entries for the prize has just got better and better each year.”