Con Chrisoulis is a Greek multidisciplinary artist and academic, most famous for his graphic novels, Tales of The Smiths, Dryland, Giant-Size Fascists, and Rebel Rebel.
| Con Chrisoulis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker |
| Pseudonym(s) | ΚΩΝ Κων Χρυσούλης |
Notable works | Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity [el] Giant-Size Fascists Tales of The Smiths Dryland Rebel Rebel |
| Awards | Comic book of the year (Greece, 2008) Comic book of the year (People's choice award) (Greece, 2010) First Fictions Finalist for Dryland Book One (UK, 2012) |
| http://conchrisoulis.com | |
Chrisoulis was born in Victoria, Australia, to Greek Australian migrants.[1] Self-taught in the creation and production of comics,[2] in 2010 he earned an ISCED Level 4 degree in Film Editing, in 2014 he earned a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design at the University of Brighton and in 2015 he was awarded a Master of Research in Arts and Cultural Research, during which he experimented on the digital future of the comic book medium.[1]
In 1996 he self-published his first comic book series, Clans, in Melbourne, Australia, which lasted three issues.[2] The following year he collaborated with writer Nick Bugeja on the superhero comic book series Bloodsport (Impulse Comics).[3] In the late 1990s he migrated to Athens, Greece, and began self-publishing his personal comic book anthology, Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity (Greek: Ιστορίες Ατελείωτης Ματαιοδοξίας [el]), one of Greece's longest-running self-published independent comics.[2][4] Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity lasted ten issues, ending in 2004.
In 2002 he formed the group that would eventually publish the Greek independent comics anthology SubArt Comics. The group self-published 6 issues collectively.[5] As the group imploded in 2005, Chrisoulis and three other members initiated the first 24-hour comic event in Greece; his story was included in the subsequent 24 Hours SubArt Comics collection (2005)[6]
From 2002 to 2006, Chrisoulis collaborated with 9 (Ennea) [el] magazine, a Greek comics anthology that was included as a free supplement every Wednesday within Eleftherotypia newspaper. He serialised his science fiction series Vacant Testament (Greek: Κενή Διαθήκη) within the pages of 9 (Ennea) magazine, making it the first long-running sci-fi comics series published in a Greek mainstream comic book.
During the 2000s, he initiated campaigns within his self-published comics in order to advise and help creators set up their own self-published comics, and participated in various self-published comic books, also distributing many in independent stores in Athens and local zine and comics festivals.[7] Some of the comics he participated in include Sapilla #1-3 (2004-2005),[8] Red.Dot Comix #10 (2004) and #12 (2005),[9] Giannis Milonogiannis' Roppongi #2 (2006)[10] and many more.
In 2007 he released the first volume of his acclaimed political satire comic book series, Giant-Size Fascists. After the first volume was released, the series continued in monthly episodes in Galera [el] (Γαλέρα) magazine from 2007 to 2008. The two volumes of Giant-Size Fascists earned him Greek comic book of the year awards by popular vote in 2008 and 2010.[11]
His graphic novel Dryland, which narrates the violent deaths of most of his ancestors in Interwar Greece, was a finalist at the Myriad Editions' First Fictions competition [12][13] and was released in 2016 by Markosia Enterprises.[14]
Singer-songwriter of two concept art bands, Autodivine[15] and the UK-based band Ghosts of Future Past,[16] he has released two illustrated concept albums with linear narratives and post-punk aesthetics.
From 2012 until 2014 he wrote and drew a daily online comic strip entitled Tales of The Smiths about the early unknown days of Morrissey and seminal indie band The Smiths, a 450-page collected edition of which will be released by Omnibus Press in 2018.[17]
Since 2016, he has been researching, writing and drawing Rebel Rebel: The graphic biography of David Bowie, the weekly online comics biography of David Bowie,[18] whilst in 2017 he began researching and serialising his latest series King: The graphic biography of Jack Kirby,[19] about the Ashkenazi Jewish origins of the visual creator of Marvel Comics.
He is the creator and art director of Museums News,[20] a website that focuses on museum and exhibition culture.
Con Chrisoulis currently works as a Senior Lecturer in Commercial Art and Illustration at Teesside University, teaching on the undergraduate and postgraduate Comics & Graphic Novels and Graphic Design courses, whilst conducting practice-led academic research within the graphic novel biography field.[21]
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