Con Chrisoulis is a Greek

multidisciplinary artist Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

, most famous for his

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s, ''

Tales of The Smiths ''Tales of The Smiths'' is a graphic novel biography about the early years of the seminal indie band The Smiths by multidisciplinary creator Con Chrisoulis. Publication History From September 2012 until September 2014, Con Chrisoulis researched ...

'', ''Dryland'', ''Giant-Size Fascists'', and ''Rebel Rebel''.

Career

Chrisoulis was born in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, to Greek Australian migrants. Self-taught in the creation and production of comics, in 2010 he earned an ISCED Level 4 degree in

Film Editing Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

, in 2014 he earned a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design at the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...

and in 2015 he was awarded a

Master of Research A Master of Research (abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare students for doctoral research. Increasingly, the degree may ...

in Arts and Cultural Research, during which he experimented on the digital future of the comic book medium. In 1996, he self-published his first comic book series, ''Clans'', in Melbourne, Australia, which lasted three issues. The following year he collaborated with writer Nick Bugeja on the superhero comic book series ''Bloodsport'' (Impulse Comics). In the late 1990s he migrated to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Greece, and began

self-publishing Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

his personal comic book anthology, ''Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ), one of Greece's longest-running self-published independent comics. ''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. As the group imploded in 2005, Chrisoulis and three other members initiated the first

24-hour comic A 24-hour comic is a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 hours. Cartoonist Scott McCloud came up with the challenge in 1990 as a creative exercise for himself and fellow comics artist Stephen R. Bissette. Beginning in 2004, wri ...

event in Greece; his story was included in the subsequent ''24 Hours SubArt Comics'' collection (2005) From 2002 to 2006, Chrisoulis collaborated with ' magazine, a Greek comics anthology that was included as a free

supplement Supplement or Supplemental may refer to: Health and medicine * Bodybuilding supplement * Dietary supplement * Herbal supplement Media * Supplement (publishing), a publication that has a role secondary to that of another preceding or concurre ...

every Wednesday within ''

Eleftherotypia ''Eleftherotypia'' ( el, Ελευθεροτυπία, lit=freedom of the press) was a daily national newspaper published in Athens, Greece. Published since 21 July 1975, it was the first newspaper to appear after the fall of the Regime of the ...

'' newspaper. He serialised his

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

series ''Vacant Testament'' (

: 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. Some of the comics he participated in include ''Sapilla'' #1-3 (2004-2005), ''Red.Dot Comix'' #10 (2004) and #12 (2005), Giannis Milonogiannis' ''Roppongi'' #2 (2006) 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 ' (''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. His graphic novel ''Dryland'', which narrates the violent deaths of most of his ancestors in

Interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

Greece, was a finalist at the Myriad Editions' First Fictions competition and was released in 2016 by Markosia Enterprises. Singer-songwriter of two concept art bands, Autodivine and the UK-based band Ghosts of Future Past, he has released two illustrated

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

s with linear narratives and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

aesthetics. From 2012 until 2014, he wrote and drew a daily online comic strip entitled ''

'' 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 Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 250 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...

in 2018. 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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, whilst in 2017 he began researching and serialising his latest series ''King: The graphic biography of

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...

'', about the

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

origins of the visual creator of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

. He is the creator and art director of Museums News, 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.

Bibliography

Works in Australia

* ''Clans'' #1-3. MoJo Comics, 1996-1997. * ''Bloodsport'' #1 (written by Nick Bugeja). Impulse Comics, 1997.

Works in Greece

* ''Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity'' (

: ) #1-10. MoJo/Dark Wave Comics, 2001-2004. * ''Jazz and Maria'' TPB – collects the vampire stories from ''Tales of Unsurpassed Vanity'' #1-5. MoJo/Dark Wave Comics, 2002. * ''SubArt Comics'' #1-3. Tsiki-Tsiki Productions, 2002-2003. * ''Hesiod's Theogony''. Evandros Press, 2003. * ''SubArt Comics'' #1-3. Giganto, 2003-2004. ISSN 1109-9224 * ''Babel'' #226. 2004. * ''Sapilla'' #1-3. 2004-2005. (participation with short stories and front cover) * ''Homer's Iliad'' (''Ομήρου Ιλιάς''). Evandros Press, 2004. * ''Homer's Odyssey'' (''Ομήρου Οδύσσεια''). Evandros Press, 2004. * magazine (2004) * ''Autobio Comics'', weekly short stories published within ''Paraskevi+13'' (''Παρασκευή+13'') newspaper (2005-2006) * ''Red.Dot Comix'' #10, 2004, #12, 2005. (participation with short stories and pin-ups) * ''24 Hours SubArt Comics''. Tsiki-Tsiki Productions, 2005. * ''Roppongi'' #2. 2006. (participation with a pin-up) * ''Herodotus' The Battle of Thermopylae'' (''Ηροδότου Η Μάχη των Θερμοπυλών''). Evandros Press, 2006. * ''Giant-Size Fascists''. Haramada, 2007. * ''Autobio Comics'', gonzo journalist comics published within ''Big Fish'' magazine. 2007-2008. * (''Γαλέρα'') magazine (monthly episodes of ''Giant-Size Fascists'' and short comics stories). 2007-2008. * ''Giant-Size Fascists ConMix Extravaganza''. Jemma Press, 2009. * ''Autodivine - EP''. Jemma Press, 2009. * ''At The Drive Ink'' (short story in anthology inspired by garage rock band

The Last Drive The Last Drive is a Greek punk garage rock group, which was formed in 1983, broke up in 1995, and reunited in January 2007. History 1983-1987: The beginnings The Last Drive started playing under the name "Last Drive" in late 1983 and their firs ...

). Tilt Comics, 2010. * ''Giant-Size Fascists reprint''. Jemma Press, 2010.

Works in UK

* ''Dryland Book One, , , Chapter One''. 2012. * ''Dryland Book One''. Markosia Enterprises, 2016. * ''

''.

, 2018. * ''King: The graphic biography of Jack Kirby Chapter One''. Self-published, 2018. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter One''. Self-published, 2018. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Two''. Self-published, 2019. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Three''. Self-published, 2020. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Four''. Self-published, 2021. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Five''. Self-published, 2021. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Six''. Self-published, 2022. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Seven''. Self-published, 2022.

Webcomics

* ''Autobio Comics''. Deviantart and Blogspot, 2004-2009. * ''

''. Socomic.gr, 2012-2014. * ''Dryland Book One''. Socomic.gr, 2015-2016. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie''. Socomic.gr, 2016-. * ''King: The graphic biography of Jack Kirby''. Webtoons, 2017-.

Digital Comics

* ''

''. ComiXology, 2018. * ''King: The graphic biography of Jack Kirby Chapter One''. ComiXology, 2020. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter One''. ComiXology, 2020. * ''Rebel Rebel The graphic biography of David Bowie Chapter Two''. ComiXology, 2021.

Other work

As illustrator

* Freelance editorial illustrator for ''Big Fish'' magazine (2007-2009) * Illustrator for lecture series at Amnesty International (2012) * Illustrator/Graphic Designer for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' communication needs with the

refugee crisis A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of Forced displacement, forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced person, internally displaced, refugees, asylum ...

(2016)

As animator

* Animator and editor of the music video for Thodoris Triantafillou & CJ Jeff feat.

Nomi Ruiz Nomi Ruiz is an American singer, songwriter, actress, essayist, DJ and producer, who is also known for her work as Jessica 6. Early life Nomi Ruiz was born in 1986 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and assigned male at birth. Her parents ...

's cover of "

Dirty Cash (Money Talks) "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" is a song by British dance music act the Adventures of Stevie V. It was first released in December 1989 on the Mercury record label, then again in 1990 both on 7-inch vinyl. The 1990 release peaked at number two on the ...

" (2013)

Discography

* ''Autodivine - EP''. Jemma Press, 2009. * ''Ghosts of Future Past - 4X84 EP''. 2014.

References

Works cited

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chrisoulis, Con Living people Australian comics artists Greek comics artists Year of birth missing (living people) Graphic novelists People from Victoria (Australia)