Until 1981, comic book writing officially began. Since then Tasos Apostolidis has written 33 scenarios for comics-graphic novels, most of which are still in circulation today with continuous reprints!
“Aesop’s Fables”, “Antigone”, “Iphigenia”, “Olympic Games in ancient Greece”, “Odyssey” are some of the titles of the comics that bear the signature of the Thessaloniki writer and mathematician with 42 years in Education. By decision of the Ministry of Culture of Greece, his books are available from the sales offices of the country’s archaeological museums, as well as from the Acropolis Museum. Dozens of titles and many distinctions.
“Justification”
“Awards and distinctions are of course not a goal, they are justification and they are welcome!”, he says to “ET”. of Sunday Tasos Apostolidis on the occasion of the grand prize awarded to him by the Hellenic Academy of Comics for his entire work, during the awarding of the Greek Comics Awards 2024 in the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens, in the context of Comicdom Con Athens 2024.
“I was particularly moved by the award from the Comics Academy”, confesses Mr. Apostolidis, because – as he explains – the award comes from young people in the field, who know and recognize the work, the lot of work, of the older creators.
The discussion with Tassos Ioannidis took place on the occasion of the book “Aristotles”, from Ikaros publications, illustrated by Alekos Papadatos, and was based on the two main creative identities, the author and the teacher… And as he describes to us, seven years were needed for to complete “Aristotles”, which was first published in French by Dargaud and then in Greek by “Ikaros”, while it was translated and is published in German, Portuguese, Chinese, Turkish, Korean and in September 2024 in English and Lithuanian.
What led you to these awesome stories?
I have a particular weakness in matters of ancient Greek writing. I wanted to pass them on in a popularized form to young readers. That’s how I chose comics, as a medium, since the core readership of comics is young people. Perhaps a fifteen-year-old would never read “Chickens” and even more so would not see them in the theater. Instead, comics sent young readers to the theater, who sought out the original. My first works were comedies, such as “Aristophanes”, “The exploits of Vougodou”, then I moved on to entertainment information scripts (“Aesop’s Fables”, “Olympic Games”) and then “Lost Spectre”, with pictures by Maria Zoglopitou, of the greatest Greek designer, who left us so quickly. I consider “Odyssey” a milestone in my career, which I worked on for five years with Giorgos Akokalides, who was also the illustrator of Aristophanes’ comedies, but this time his images were realistic, with a unique global originality: the gutters, the endings of the images were not – as usual – square or rectangular frames, but curvilinear frames, which gave an incredible dynamic to the images and the flow of the work. From 2015 onwards I decided to try my hand at Philosophy.
And in 2022 “Aristotles” is released… What led you to him?
Philosophy in its theory is the search for truth through knowledge, but in practice it is a life guide! In our time, when measure has been lost everywhere, only the philosopher of “mediocrity”, Aristotle, seems to propose solutions that can be applied. That is why, when I decided to deal with the philosophers, I started with Stageritis. There is also a second, personal reason: it was the most difficult and I said to start with it, because the years pass and it is better to leave the easier ones for later!
Aristotle meets the 9th art and enters our everyday life through image and speech, two main components of comics. What is the place of Philosophy in our life today?
Indeed, the main components of comics are the image and the speech-dialogue. Philosophy is most effectively taught through dialogue, so dialogue was effectively used in the popularization part. The difficulty was in directing the thought. We wanted, first of all, to emphasize the human side of Aristotle, to present him as he was… The iconic portrayal of Aristotle by Alekos Papadatos was based on these characteristics. Philosophy always has a place in our lives, since it determines it, we just don’t know it and we wallow in opinions, theories of political or social life proposals and drown in debt and ignorance! Philosophy answers the questions of children, the simple questions of existence, good, evil, fair, beauty and ugliness! I believe that if someone at 15 read and understood Aristotle, he would go through life on happy paths.
In these happy paths, language, thought and reality may be catalysts of life, says Theophrastus, as reflected in your book. As an educator, do you find that Philosophy is taught in a way that fascinates students?
Students listen to Philosophy and put it to work. They are looking to find something more interesting for them on the Internet! Because no one taught them to discover the beauty of Philosophy and even more to apply it in their everyday life. And when I say “no one”, I don’t mean the colleagues, I mean the detailed programs, the zero related references in the Media, the dismissal of Philosophy – as something difficult and incomprehensible – even from the family itself, but also from art. How can one find interest and beauty in something one does not know?
I imagine you’ve been asked the question many times, but let’s ask it one more time: Where do you feel you belong more, the family of writers or educators?
Of the educators! This shows in my writing too! As much as I try to avoid “didacticism”, something escapes me, without, I hope, making the text disgusting!
And at this point I am tempted to ask you: How do we make students love knowledge?
A! This is the question that keeps the teacher on his toes from the first day he enters the classroom until the last day before retirement! Students will love knowledge following they… get to know it and following they are fascinated by it and recognize its usefulness. What prevails among students today regarding knowledge is: “The method you acquire in tutoring schools to get into the “good schools” of the university!”. This is why we have so many unhappy scientists… And, of course, knowledge is not something that is only learned in schools. The family, the child’s immediate environment, the arts, sports, etc. impart knowledge. The main thing that man must first learn is himself, and then adapt to him the kind and amount of knowledge that will lead him to right choices and ultimately to happiness, which is his ultimate goal.
“Everything is constantly transforming and changing, sometimes bringing joy and sometimes sorrow”, Pindar reminds us on the last page of “Aristotle”. What is your anxiety regarding the future of the new generations?
Indeed, Pindar was right. Everything is constantly transforming and changing. I’m not anxious, I’d say more curious regarding where these kids will go to create their world. I’m optimistic that there will always be some way around it. Yes, the fact that our books, with a strong cultural charge, are already circulating in so many languages and are being read by young people in distant countries, with other cultures, religions and customs, gives me hope…
In closing, what advice would you give to new readers, as well as new writers and educators?
For young readers, read paper books. Lots of paper books and discussing them with each other. For writers, I have a timeless piece of advice: search and find your personal style. For teachers, remember that what they do is not a job, but a function, and by their personal example support what they ask their students to implement.
Eleni Kourmantzis in “ET”: Psalidas looks like a version of Prometheus
The program of the Paramythia Festival: 2 weeks full of culture
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