20. – 21.09.2025

The 40th Helsinki Comics Festival, free event, with programme tailored for adults and children alike, will be held at the Cable Factory, 20-21 September 2025. This year’s themes are darkness and Greek comics. The theme exhibition of the festival at MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre showcases comics art by six invited guest artists.

“Finland and Greece share, somewhat surprisingly, an interest in dark and epic mythology. I thought it would be fascinating to explore these connections,” says the artistic director of the festival, Athanasía Aarniosuo. At the festival, attendees will have the opportunity to explore, among other things, comics inspired by horror and mythology.

Steve Stivaktis, one of the Greek guests, connects Greek folktales with queer themes. His work “Gérard: Ή, το σπαθί στην πλάτη του,” translated as “Gérard or the sword on his back,” will be published at the time of the festival by Zum Teufel.

Ilias Kyriazis is well known in Greece for his iconic “Manifesto” series, and his latest comic book is titled “What We Wished For.”

Invited guest Alexia Othonaiou‘s comics and illustrations have appeared in Greek newspapers and magazines. Her work “Η γυναίκα με τα τραπουλόχαρτα,” translated as “The Woman with Playing Cards” (published in Finnish as Pelikorttinainen by Zum Teufel), will also be published at the festival.

The other three artists of the exhibition, Terhi Ekebom, Joonas Järvi and Jiipu Uusitalo, will participate also festival’s discussion panel on Sunday 21 September. In addition to exhibitions and discussions, the festival programme includes interviews with artists, lectures, workshops, and of course, the publishers’ comic book markets. The event also includes the traditional self-publishers’ Zine Fest and the Kids’ Comics Fest.

Read more about festival program:
sarjakuvafestivaalit.fi/en

Artists of the exhibition:

Alexia Othonaiou

Alexia Othonaiou is an artist, cartoonist, and illustrator based in Athens, Greece. Her cartoons and illustrations have been published in major Greek newspapers and magazines. Some of her published comics are Aprostateftos (Απροστάτευτος, AHOS publications), an illustrated music album by Sokratis Malamas and Thanasis Papakonstantinou, The Woman with the Playing Cards (Η γυναίκα με τα τραπουλόχαρτα, Jemma Press, 2020), Savoir Survivre (Σαβουάρ Σουρβίβρ, Jemma Press, 2019). Since 2021, she has been selling her art through her brand Curious Attic.

Ilias Kyriazis

Ilias Kyriazis is a critically acclaimed cartoonist based in Athens, Greece. He has drawn comics for numerous companies, including DC, IDW, Image Comics, Penguin Random House, Dark Horse, Rebellion Developments, and Dynamite Entertainment. He co-created Chronophage for Humanoids (with writer Tim Seeley), Collapser for DC (with writers Mikey Way and Shaun Simon) and Secret Identities for Image (with writers Jay Faerber and Brian Joines). Previous solo works of his in English are the crowd-funded sci-fi horror Elysium Online, the romantic comedy Falling for Lionheart for IDW and the fantasy thriller Melody for DC, while in Greece he’s best known for his iconic series Manifesto. His most recent comic is the graphic novel What We Wished For by Humanoids.

Steve Stivaktis

Steve Stivaktis (they/he) is a transmasculine queer writer, artist, and science enthusiast based in Athens, Greece. They have been working in comics and illustration since 2013 and have co-created or taken part in several award winning works, including the comic Spazorahoula i to mati tis Medousas (Σπαζοραχούλα ή το μάτι της Μέδουσας, art by Len Gogos) and the documentary AKOE-AMFI: The History of a Revolution by Sifis Vardakis. Stivaktis likes to make queer-themed works seen through a Greek folklore lens. Their semi-autobiographical comic Gérard i to spathi stin plati tou (Gérard ή Το Σπαθί Στην Πλάτη Του) was published in 2024 by Jemma Press.

Jiipu Uusitalo

Jiipu Uusitalo is a comic artist, originally from Pori, who now lives in Tampere. In their comics, social issues collide with wild psychedelia. Uusitalo’s most recent published comic album is Pimeän rihmasto (Zum Teufel, 2024), which explores the mind, existence in the world, and psychological manipulation through horror elements.

Terhi Ekebom

Terhi Ekebom (born 1971, Helsinki) is a Helsinki-based illustrator and comic artist who also creates murals and public art. She holds a Master of Arts degree and a media diploma. Ekebom works extensively in the field of illustration, taking on commissions as an illustrator for Napa Agency and exploring experimental, more artistically liberated spatial illustration. Movement, line, light, and nature are central elements in her works.

She has been awarded multiple honours, including the Puupäähattu award from Finnish Comics Society in 2014, the silver Kuvitustimantti award for illustration in 2014, and honourable mentions at the Mikkeli Illustration Triennale in 2014 and 2023.

Joonas Järvi

Joonas Järvi is fascinated by moods and incomprehensible, strange spaces in his drawing. He journeys mentally towards places that do not exist in reality or which he otherwise could not access. In his images, his journeys become visible, transforming his inner explorations into tangible visual expressions.

Opening of the exhition on Friday 19 September 2025 at 19:00.