Nick Abadzis (; born 1965)
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2020. is a British comic book writer and artist.

Early life

Abadzis is of

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

and British parentage and raised in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, England and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He is British by nationality.

Career

In 1987, he secured a job at Marvel Comics' UK publishing branch where he was, at that time, the youngest-ever editor. Abadzis went freelance in 1988 when his career as a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

took off in the pages of legendary UK comics and music magazine ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

''. Here he created two of his best-known characters, Hugo Tate, a stick-man lost in a figuratively drawn world, and the

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...

Mr. Pleebus, who later starred in his own series of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. His series ''Hugo Tate'' ran in ''Deadline'' magazine from 1988 to 1994. Some of this series was collected as ''Hugo Tate: O, America'' in 1993, which won in 1994 a UK Comic Art Award for best graphic novel. As a part of the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

of American comics, he wrote '' Children of the Voyager'' for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

in 1993 and '' Millennium Fever'' in 1995 for

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

. His graphic novel, ''

Laika Laika ( ; , ; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, launched into lo ...

'', about the eponymous dog, the first living creature from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

to enter

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

, was published in 2007. ''Laika'' was well-received, with the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'' remarking that "the British comics creator has fashioned a poignant and accurate portrait of the lives Laika touched in the three years leading up to

Sputnik 2 Sputnik 2 (, , ''Satellite 2'', or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (PS-2, , ''Simplest Satellite 2'', launched on 3 November 1957, was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, and the first to carry an animal into orbit, a Soviet space dog named ...

's launch. His characters — including the dog – are as real as the story he's telling: animated with complex personalities, flaws, humor and emotion." ''Laika'' won an Eisner award in 2008 for Best Teen graphic novel and a further nomination for Best Reality-based Work. In the same year it was nominated for a

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

for Best Original Graphic Album. In 2009, the book won Meilleur Scénario (Best story/script) – Festival du Livre Aéronautique at Le Bourget Book Festival in France, and at the Napoli Comicon Awards, Italy for Best Foreign Graphic Novel. Abadzis also worked as a newspaper cartoonist on '' The Sunday Correspondent'' (now defunct), and as a freelance illustrator and comics writer and as a development and consultant editor on a range of best-selling children's magazines for various British publishers. He has also moonlighted as a TV writer for the children's animated show ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...

''. He has created ''Cora's Breakfast'' for ''

The DFC ''The DFC'' was a weekly British children's anthology comic, published by David Fickling Books (an imprint of Random House). The first issue was published at the end of May 2008. The title stood for "David Fickling Comic". Its successor, '' The ...

'', which has run in the comic section of the weekend ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

''. ''The Trial of the Sober Dog'', a graphic novella, was serialised in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' over a six-month period in 2008. Beginning in May 2010, Abadzis' one-off comics have been published weekly in '' Nib-Lit Comics Journal''.

Bibliography

Revolver

*''Revolver Horror Special'', 1989 *"The Head" (script, with art by

Edmund Perryman Edmund Bagwell (1966 – 2017) was a British comics artist. Professionally he was also known as Edmund Perryman, EC Perriman, Edmund Kitsune, Anonyman and Anoniman. Bagwell was born in Preston, England, and studied art at Leeds Polytechnic. His ...

)

Crisis

*"The Big Voice", (script, art by Edmund Perryman) in ''

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

'' no. 63, 1991 *"Commuter's Journey", (script and art) in ''Crisis'' no. 63, 1991

Hugo Tate

*''Hugo Tate: O, America'' (

Tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

/ Atomeka, 1993)

Marvel

* '' Children of the Voyager'' (script, with art by Paul Johnson, four-issue

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, 1993)

DC

*'' The Big Book of Death'': "Six Feet Under" (script and art,

Paradox Press Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andy Helfer, Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton, the imprint was renamed. Paradox was best known for pu ...

, 1993) *'' Millennium Fever'' (script, with art by

Duncan Fegredo Duncan Fegredo (; born 1964) is a British comic book artist. Career Born in Leicester, Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a s ...

, four-issue

, 1995)Millennium Fever (DC Comics) on Comic Collector Connect, home of the Collectorz.com comic database
/ref>

2000 AD

*'' Tharg's Terror Tales'' (script, with art by Paul Johnson): ** "The Operatives" (in ''2000 AD Winter Special'', 1994) ** "The Devil you know" (in '' 2000 AD'' No. 936, 1995) *''2000AD Alternity Winter Special'': "The Big Fight" *''

Rogue Trooper ''Rogue Trooper'' is a science fiction strip in the British comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a "Supersoldier, Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue ...

(

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

)'': "Mind Bombs" (art, with Steve White and Edmund Perryman, in ''2000 AD'' #937–939, 1995) *''

Vector 13 {{italic title ''Vector 13'' is a comic strip published in the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. It featured the eponymous agency set up to investigate anomalous phenomena and conspiracy theories. It was influenced by American TV drama ''The X-Files' ...

'': ** "Case Three: Circle of Evil" (script, with Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' No. 953, 1995) ** "Case Eleven: Imaginary Friend" (script, with Paul Johnson, in ''2000 AD'' #998–999, 1996) ** "Case 667: Suburban Hell" (art, with Igor Goldkind, in ''2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1996'') ** "Case Two: It's Good to Talk" (script, with Sean Phillips, in ''2000 AD'' #1025, 1997) *''Darkness Visible'' (script, with art by John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'', #975–980, 1996)

The Pleebus Planet Books

*''The Amazing Mr Pleebus'' (script and art, Orchard Books, 1996, reissued by Rising Trout Press, in 2001) *''The Freaky Beastie of Hill Road School'' (script and art, Orchard Books, 1997, reissued by Rising Trout Press, in 2001) *''The Magic Skateboard'' (script and art, Orchard Books, 1998, reissued by Rising Trout Press, in 2001) *''Voyage to Planet Voon'' (script and art, Orchard Books, 1999)

Other

*''The Dangerous Planet'' (script and art, 48-page

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

. Heinemann, now Harcourt Education, 1999) *''The Pyramid of Doom'' (script and art, 48-page

. Heinemann, 2000) *The Dog From Outer Space (script and art, Heinemann, 2001, published in the US by Rigby) *''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'': "The Betrothal of Sontar" (with co-author John Tomlinson, and art by Mike Collins, in

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...

#365–367, 2006) *''

'' (art and script, First Second Publishing,

, 2007) * ''Cora's Breakfast'' (''

'', 2008-ongoing) *''The Trial of the Sober Dog'', graphic novella, serialised in ''

'' over a six-month period in 2008. *''Pigs Might Fly'' (writer, illustrated by Jerel Dye, First Second Publishing, graphic novel, 2017)

Notes

References

*
2000 AD profile

External links

* *
Blog
Silver Bullet Comic Books

Selected interviews

Talking with Nick Abadzis about ''Laika''

Newsarama ''Newsarama'' is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website ''GamesRadar+'', also owned by Future US. Hi ...

, 19 September 2007
Air & Space MagazineComic Book ResourcesWashington Post ExpressBBC's The WorldThe Comics ReporterJazma Online

Radio and podcasts

BBC's The World magazine on Laika by Clark Boyd featuring Nick Abadzis (originally broadcast on The World radio program)Inkstuds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abadzis, Nick British comics artists British people of Greek descent Living people 1965 births British expatriates in Sweden British expatriates in Switzerland