The Thessaloniki Comic Convention, “The Comic Con”, is the leading event for the world of comics in Greece today – and the only one based on the authentic tradition of the great comic conventions worldwide. James Bacon reports on the latest event, now in its ninth year…

Photographs by Phoenix

The ninth Thessaloniki Comic Con, taking place 9th – 11th May, proved terrific, with an excellent guest line up. The convention proved to be a superbly relaxed, highly enjoyable, and prompted much friendly conversation, which really exceeded all expectations! 

With a stunning line up of international comic guests including Stephanie Phillips, Salvador Larocca, Jim Cheung, John Jackson Miller, Darrick Robertson and the indefatigable Will Simpson, there is much to attract readers of Marvel, DC, Image, Independent and 2000AD comics, giving a wonderful reason to travel. 

Added to that there was considerable  excitement here for the high calibre continental European professionals: Achde (Hervé Darmenton) of Lucky Luke fame, from France, who has been drawing this well-loved character since 2003; Disney artist Massimo de Vita, who is a second generation Disney artist, with over sixty years of work and whose print especially for the convention was proving very popular; and Batem (Luc Collins), the Belgian who succeeded André Franquin on Marsupilami series. It was clearly visible how popular these and the many other guests were, as fans delighted in meeting these well known artists.

Here in the UK, we don’t always realise how huge Disney comics are in Europe, but they can be found everywhere, in shops, large and small; and as for Lucky Luke, the excitement when Achde produced some original drawings was palpable! 

Friday was an excellent day to explore the whole convention at the Ioannis Vellidis Convention Centre, which spans a number of Halls. As the afternoon continued a huge number of fans arrived, with even more attending over the weekend. 

With 150 artists in artists alley, there was, as you can imagine, a fantastic variety of art and comics available to see. Situated next to the international guest section in the Hall of Nations, there was little repetition in style or subject. It’s clear so many of the artists here have their own artistic sensibility, their own imaginative instinct, and there was so much beautiful art: clever ideas brought to fruition and available to buy, including many professional looking small press comics.

There are so many wonderful artists, and indeed all are featured on the the event website, but I thought I should mention a few, as examples of the high calibre. 

Decomposition is the pen name of Nasia Stylidou, an incredible artist with a very beautiful artistic style. I was very taken with their comic Pale Blue Freedom, and their ink as well as coloured work was outstanding. I have found her art in the Garden of Artworks collection from Relax Your Soul Comics, which was also exhibited.

Stavros Damos illustrative style is quite stunning: beautiful depictions of well known famous real life and media characters, but the pencil and colour work is intricate and amazing looking.

Eirini Skoura has a wonderful light style, capturing hints of Disney, but which is distinctively her own, drawn from her own imagination and so well drawn, her Joe’s Diner comics were super, as are a series of publications, Shadow of a Shade, The Music Box, and a colouring book. In addition to her Facebook, you can also find her on Instagram @eirmindu.

I thought Apoken‘s style was brilliant. I loved his parody of the Fantastic Four with Cookie Monster, as well as his Viva la Revolución, with Mafaldas refusing her breakfast, sporting a classic beret with the red star.

The Himera Comics collective, some six creatives, had a lovely looking stand, and a selection of items, offering such a variety of material. I was impressed that Himera Comics, which was started by students of the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia, had pursued their passion to deliver a selection of amazing items. 

Alexandros Katsikas has a lovely pen and ink style, and interprets culturally significant characters and elements, in a very beautiful and personalised way; and, like so many At the event, his charm and pleasantness was engaging and delightful.

Asterios Gousios runs DreamShaper Studios, offering photography, cinematography and photo comics and I was stunned by his work, and especially two fan comic projects he had completed. One was about Darth Raven, the other was a Dr. Doom and Ghost Rider Crossover, genuine works of passion, and not for any monetary return, I was delighted to find them, the work taking the art of Photo Comic to a whole new level! 

Darick Robertson was so very lovely and engaging with fans. (In fact, everyone was really lovely, the atmosphere was infectious, and everyone seemed to be happy to chat). He spoke across a range of subjects, from Star Wars to working with Stan Lee on Spider-man, and also of an upcoming Vertigo project with Tom Taylor, chatting about comics with great enthusiasm. 

Jim Cheung was a delight to meet. He has drawn so many brilliant stories, and his artistic style is so wonderful. He made time to chat and engage, was really pleasant, and it was lovely to hear about his work and to see some of it in action.

Will Simpson, who has recommended this convention for years, was charming and great to catch up with, too. 

Everyone was so nice but also just chilled out, here for a great time. The passion, pleasure and commitment was clearly visible, and the convention ran really well, the programme was well attended and featured a great variety of activities, with twenty seven scheduled talks and panels in a dedicated room. There was something for everyone, as interviews were conducted in English where appropriate, and fans with a lack of Greek, could be seen enjoying the conversations with the aid of translator apps. 

The main hall, which is a great size, had a fabulous variety of activities, exhibits, and engagements for fans, dancing, interacting in a virtual space, as well as so many tables, and when it came to comics, there were sellers with some very old comics, as well as Silver Age US comics, and some fascinating later editions, in a variety of languages. 

I cannot overstate how much crafting and making is readily available and very affordable, at the convention. Crochet was huge, a fine example of that was the lovely work done by V from Oakee Makes, but it was amazing to see so many wonderful handmade items. There was jewellery, wood and leather craft, amazing 3D creations, and some exceptionally professional work, such as by Seven Keys Designs, who had a whole range of items.

Epsilon Sabre Construction were another incredible outfit, with a wide range of hand built light sabres, which were intricate pieces of work. But also they had a stunning K-2SO robot amongst other incredible props. It was just all so impressive. 

Outside the event, Thessaloniki provided sunshine and sea, but the city has so many places to eat, relax and enjoy too. Coffee shops are ubiquitous, and the quality of the delicious food in so many restaurants is stunning, and all so affordable. Travelling to Thessaloniki on a budget is absolutely viable, with Jet2 flights currently starting at £85 return, and British Airways £200, and accommodation is very affordable, (£25 per night sharing an apartment 300 metres from the con!). You could combine a holiday to Greece with this amazing convention, which a number of what I called the “International Brigade of Comic Con goers” were taking advantage of, as I met fans from Italy, Spain and France. 

The social scene is vibrant here, and we loved the To Spiti Mou Bar (shown as Kofodeio Ellinko), with a living room feel with so many wondrous things, and the coctails, and hospitality were just fantastic from the server Constantine, who even had his own superb cocktail, called Constantine! 

At the convention, you can see the standard and commitment of the cosplay which had its own dealers section in the Hall of Nations. There’s a fun and relaxed approach which is intrinsically perhaps typical of Greek fans, which is so delightful. All the convention spaces are used well, including 10 Forward, a children’s crafting  area, games machines, interactive gaming, role playing games tables, table top gaming… Everything was here, and it felt like everyone was enjoying it all so much.

Here are just some of the incredible cosplayers at the event…  

But it is the ingenuity of the art here which was really something to see, the sheer variety of astonishing looking comics that locals had produced, and the breath of styles and stories on offer, as well as the lovely craft work, from crochet characters to hand made items, to professional looking props and incredible work, all of which left an impression and of course the superb range of guests. 

The convention is beautifully relaxed. It’s as if you have entered a time shift. While the con opens at 10.00 am in the morning, there’s no queues, fans arrive later, and the event fills up in the afternoon but it continues until 9.00 p.m. And even then, there was no urgency and barely any encouragement for fans to leave, who continued to enjoy the convention and slowly went to join those who stood about in the beautiful dark skied warm night outside, slowly leaving at a pleasant and relaxed pace, not even wanting their convention experience to end. 

I can’t emphasise enough the friendliness here. Bill from the Hellenic Outpost of the 501 was a delight, as was Nastasia from the convention staff, who was so helpful, but these are but momentary examples of the warmth at the convention that exuded an atmosphere of inclusivity and diversity that was wonderful to experience. 

This convention welcomes all, and has something for everyone, but it’s strength is the comic book presence, the excellent high class guests and the wonderful artists alley. 
It was truly a very good comic convention. 

James Bacon

Thessaloniki Comic Convention, “The Comic Con” returns on 8th – 10th May 2026

• Check out Thessaloniki Comic Convention online at https://thecomiccon.gr | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | X

Our sincerest thanks to Anastasios Lazaridis and all the staff at THE Comic Con Vol. #9 for accommodating James and Phoenix.

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James Bacon

James Bacon (he/him) is an Irish fan, a train driver living in London. A Hugo Award-winning editor of the fanzine “Journey Planet”, he is a comic fan and enjoys comic art, war Comics, Star Wars, Irish aspects to comics and railways in comics or otherwise. He has been writing about comics for over thirty years.

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Tags: Alexandros Katsikas, Apoken, Batem, Cosplay, Darrick Robertson, DreamShaper Studios, Eirini Skoura, Epsilon Sabre Construction, Hervé Darmenton, Himera Comics, Jim Cheung, John Jackson Miller, Kevin J. Anderson, Luc Collins, Massimo de Vita, Nasia Stylidou, Salvador Larocca, Stavros Damos, Stephanie Phillips, Thessaloniki Comic Convention, Will Simpson