Illustration from: 'The Ancient Losers' (1978).
Dimitris Antonopoulos (Δημήτρης Αντωνόπουλος) was a Greek architect painter and comic illustrator. During the 1960s and 1970s he worked for several magazines and newspapers; his best-known work being his illustrations for George Marmaridis' 'The Ancient Losers' (1960, 1978).
Early life and career
Born in 1932, Antonopoulos studied Fine Arts in Austria, before settling in Greece's Peloponnese prefecture. One of the first publications he worked for were Nikos Moschos' Fantasy and Feeling and the Acropolis newspaper.
The Ancient Losers
In Fantasy and Feeling, he illustrated George Marmaridis' 'The Ancient Losers' serial ('Ta Koróida oi Archaíoi', 1960). The humorous feature was a satirical take on Greek mythology, as told to an heir to the throne. With his surreal sense of humor, the author filled 74 weekly sequels, before leaving the magazine. Years later, Marmaridis approached Antonopoulos to provide the illustrations for a book publication as well, which compiled an extended edition of the original serial. Published in 1978, it is obvious that the illustrator copied many drawings from Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny's 'Asterix' comics.
Eikonografimenos Mikros Iros #24.
Further work
Dimitris Antonopoulos additionally worked for the Greek pulp fiction title Maska magazine between 1963 and 1974, and its later reboot, Jimmy Corini's Mask, in 1998. In the period 1969-1970 he also made illustrations for Eikonografimenos Mikros Iros ("The Illustrated Little Hero", issues 22-27), published by Stelios Anemodouras. It was a spin-off in comics format of the long-running title 'Mikros Iros', about the struggles of three heroic children with German, Italian and Bulgarian fascists during World War II. Byron Aptosoglou was the title's main illustrator. Dimitris Antonopoulos passed away in 2004.
Homonym confusion
Dimitris Antonopoulos should not be confused with the Greek hagiographer, painter and composer of church music Dimitris Antonopoulos (1954-2001), who was also the father of the cartonist Giannis Antonopoulos.
Illustration from: 'The Ancient Losers' (1978).