Nick: Comics, Horror and Politics in Exarchia ^{CEFR B2}

Nikos Tragganidas Posazennikov, who signs his work Nick, makes comics that mix horror imagery with political critique. He grew up in a politically active family and was at first discouraged from pursuing art, but he later chose art full time. He now works as a comic book artist, animator and musician and returned to visual storytelling after trying other paths such as music.

Two events prompted a clear change in his focus. The Tempi train crash in February 2023, which killed 57 people, exposed long-running negligence and corruption in Greece’s railway systems and led him to make art about a specific tragedy. After October 7, 2023 he made pieces about Palestine. These events shifted his interest toward what he calls the horror of real life, where political failures create ongoing suffering.

Vile Hunter grew from ideas he first wrote in high school and shows the influence of Hellblazer and the character John Constantine. The protagonist, Mac, is an ordinary, unpolished protester who is politically aware but not deeply organized; he is not a superhero and often reacts with fear, confusion or disgust. Nick chooses Exarchia as the setting because the name immediately evokes police brutality and gentrification, though he also considered his hometown Korydallos. He argues that supernatural stories can mirror real injustices: a ghost born from a crime will not vanish while the system that caused the crime remains unchanged.

On hope and action, he says politically engaged people must keep hope to continue fighting and repeats a chant he likes: ‘Even if we lose, we keep fighting.’ He believes art can reach people in ways photos or articles sometimes cannot and encourages artists to keep creating and to make their work as political as needed.