Robot

Have a look back at Comic Con 2019 – Saturday 4 to Sunday 5 May

We brought virtual reality sabre battles, humanoid robots, gothic role-playing and much more to this year’s event

Comic Con is ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s annual celebration of comic books and pop culture

As well as retro gaming, cosplay competitions and trading with other comic book collectors, Comic Con 2019 brought featured artists, writers, and star guests to the Guildhall from all over the world, including Marvel comic book legends Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart. 

At Comic Con we shared our work in subjects that are shaping the future, such as virtual reality, robotics, computing, storytelling and design.

At Comic Con 2019 our visitors:


  • Competed in a virtual reality LED Sabre battle competition – we immersed visitors in another world, facing a computer-controlled droid firing laser bolts, and competing against other players to stop as many bolts as possible.

  • Explored what human settlements might look like on the Moon and Mars, as part of ‘Beyond the Earth: Moon and Mars’, a project based in our School of Architecture, which is bridging the gap between science and fiction by investigating how to build an Earth-based ecology in hostile environments.

  • Discovered the technology behind science fiction, programmed a robot to mimic their movements, built their own app, saw 3D printers in action and took part in demonstrations of virtual reality technologies.

  • Drew their own comic character, explored comic techniques and concepts, and learned about narratives in comics at workshops – this was led by Dr Louis Netter and his Illustration students.

  • Joined Dr Karl Bell of ´óÏó´«Ã½ DarkFest for an immersive role-playing experience informed by our new course in Victorian Gothic: History, Literature and Culture – visitors took a closer look at our Supernatural Cities project and a new app called Portsmyth, a gamified, mythic, supernatural re-imagining of ´óÏó´«Ã½.

  • Attended expert panel discussions on topics including Alan Moore’s Watchmen, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Star Wars (‘The Power of the Force’) and Batman (‘What really makes the Dark Knight tick’)

Immerse yourself in Comic Con 2019

Press play to see what you could experience at next year's Comic Con

Footage of the activities we took to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Comic Con 2019 - virtual reality, cosplay, robotics and more. [No dialogue]