Chris Eliopoulos
{{short description|American cartoonist}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image = 3.31.12ChrisEliopoulosByLuigiNovi1.jpg
| caption = Chris Eliopoulos at the March 31, 2012 launch party for Ultimate Spider-Man
at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|9|30}}
| birth_place = Astoria, Queens, New York, US
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American-Greek
| area = Letterer, penciller, inker, writer
| alias =
| signature =
| notable works = Desperate Times
Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius
Misery Loves Sherman
| awards = Harvey Award 2008
| website = {{official website|http://chriseliopoulos.com/}}
}}
Chris Eliopoulos (born September 30, 1967) is an American cartoonist and letterer of comic books.
Early life
Eliopoulos attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City from 1985 to 1989.[http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/461/576 Eliopolous's LinkedIn profile.] Retrieved July 22, 2008. He majored in graphic design and minored in illustration. He is a resident of River Vale, New Jersey."People to Watch in 2008", (201), January 2008.
Career
File:Chris Eliopoulos (49056483281) (cropped).jpg
Eliopoulos is known as a prolific letterer, in particular for hand-lettering the first 100 issues of the ongoing Savage Dragon series, even after much of the comic book industry (including Eliopoulos himself, on other titles) had come to rely on computer-generated fonts for dialogue; this was done at Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen's request; Larsen preferring the individual look of hand-lettered dialogue.
He designed the fonts for Marvel Comics' in-house computer lettering unit.Contino, Jennifer. [http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=320250#Post320250 "ABCs with Orzechowski," Comicon.com: The Pulse (Dec. 30, 2003). Retrieved January 3, 2010.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605181240/http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=320250#Post320250 |date=June 5, 2011 }} He has also contributed lettering work to Valiant Comics, DC Comics, and other publishers. For Dark Horse Comics, Eliopoulos wrote and/or drew some Star Wars stories.
Eliopoulos is also known for his comic strip Desperate Times, which showcases art admittedly inspired by the work of Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame. Desperate Times features the misadventures of bachelor losers Marty and Toad, which ran as a back-up feature in Savage Dragon, and later Desperate Times comics from Savage Dragon publisher Image Comics and AAArgh! Comics, a part of After Hours Press.
Eliopoulos quoted in interview about art inspiration.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
{{cquote|Visually. I was REALLY into Bloom County at the time--still am--and that spoke to me more. But I liked his (Watterson's) zaniness as well. It pushed me to be a better cartoonist. I realized that comic strips didn't have to look so bad--they could look amazing. Between the two is where I would love to do a strip. The all-out humor of Bloom County with the quality art of a Calvin and Hobbes.}}
Following the September 11 attacks, Eliopoulos contributed a story to a Marvel Comics benefit book about how his family was affected by the event, which shares the date of his wedding anniversary.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=April 2012}}
He is the artist and co-writer on Marvel Comics' former back-up feature and current series of one-shot comics, Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius, teamed with writer Marc Sumerak. The first one-shot in the series was nominated for an Eisner Award and a Harvey Award in 2005.
Eliopoulos also created a daily webcomic, Misery Loves Sherman, until abandoning it around 2015. He has contributed cartoon strips to the book series The Complete Idiot's Guide...{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} and to Sports Illustrated.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=April 2012}}
On January 14, 2014 Dial Books published I am Amelia Earhart and I am Abraham Lincoln, the first two books in writer Brad Meltzer's series of 29 children's books, Ordinary People Change the World, which are illustrated by Eliopoulos. The series focused on 23 historical figures (six books were compilations) such as Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Lucille Ball, Sacagawea, and Jackie Robinson.[http://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/noted-author-and-illustrator-to-visit-maplewood-bookstore-1.1650104 "Noted author and illustrator to visit Maplewood bookstore"]. NorthJersey.com. August 25, 2016.[http://www.chicagotribune.com/06-ordinarypeople-janegoodall-jk-15things-0905-jpg-20160901-photo.html "Thursday, Sept. 8: MEET 'ORDINARY PEOPLE' ARTIST CHRISTOPHER ELIOPOULOS"]. Chicago Tribune. 2016. Eliopoulos promoted the series during an October 7, 2016 appearance on the NBC talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers, which included a live drawing demonstration in which Meyers participated.Late Night with Seth Meyers (October 7, 2016). NBC. Season 4, Episode 12.
Eliopoulos appeared as a guest on the August 8, 2020 episode of The George Lucas Talk Show with fellow guest Lauren Lapkus, in which he discussed his work and career with "retired filmmaker George Lucas" (actor and comedian Connor Ratliff).{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 25, 2020|title=The George Lucas Talk Show Episode VI with Lauren Lapkus and Chris Eliopoulos|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsNT8CFxFyw|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Youtube}}
Reception
Doug Zawisza, reviewing the 2011 Fear Itself miniseries for Comic Book Resources, praised Eliopoulos' lettering, singling issue #4 in particular, for which he positively compared Eliopoulous' work to letterer John Workman, to whom Zawisza felt Eliopoulos was paying homage.Zawisza, Doug (July 6, 2011). [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=3674 "Review for Fear Itself #4"]. Comic Book Resources.
Awards
Awards include:
- 2002, 2003, and 2005{{cite press release|url=http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/8469.shtml|title=Wizard World Chicago Sets Attendance Records |work=Raving Toy Maniac - The Latest News and Pictures from the World of Toys|publisher=www.toymania.com|date=Aug 7, 2006|location=Congers, New York}} Wizard Fan Award "Favorite Letterer"
- 2007 "Best Letterer" Eagle Award
- 2008 "Best Letterer" Harvey Award, for Daredevil[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18247 2008 Harvey Award Winners], Comic Book Resources, September 28, 2008
Nominations include:
- 2006 "Best Letterer" Eisner Award
- 2006 "Best Letterer" Eagle Award
- 2008 "Special Award for Humor" Harvey Award, for Franklin Richards
- 2008 "Best letterer" Eagle Award
Bibliography
{{Expand section|date=September 2008}}
- Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius (writer, artist and letterer with co-author Marc Sumerak, Marvel Comics)
- Civil War (letterer, Marvel Comics)
- Kick-Ass (letterer, Icon Comics)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website|https://chriseliopoulos.substack.com/}}
- {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=36|title=Chris Eliopoulos}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.miserylovessherman.com/ |title=Misery Loves Sherman – Chris Eliopoulos' Webcomic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725232050/http://www.miserylovessherman.com/|archivedate=July 25, 2019|accessdate=April 26, 2021}}
- [https://archive.today/20080705013530/http://www.comicbookgazette.com/desperatetimesdaily.htm Desperate Times Daily @ ComicBookGazette.com] A New Page of Chris Eliopoulos' Desperate Times Comic Every Day {{dead link|date=April 2021}}
=Interviews=
- [http://www.freewebs.com/marvelgazette/interviews.htm#111019868 ComicBookGazette.com Interview]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071019141156/http://www.ifanboy.com/archive/weblog/ifanboy_episode_51.html Episode of iFanboy featuring Chris Eliopoulos]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliopoulos, Chris}}
Category:American webcomic creators
Category:American comics artists
Category:American comics writers
Category:American people of Greek descent
Category:Fashion Institute of Technology alumni