Teddy Kristiansen

Teddy Kristiansen blev født i 1964. Han gik et halvt år på Ulrik Hoffs Tegne- og Maleskole, men er ellers autodidakt. I 1986 leverede han et enkelt, kort tegneseriebidrag til det danske tegneseriemagasin Kulørte sider, men har ellers primært været beskæftiget som illustrator, farvelægger og baggrundstegner på tegnefilm. I sidstnævnte funktion bl.a. på Jungledyret Hugo og Hjælp! Jeg er en fisk.
I 1990 udkom hans første tegneseriealbum Superman og fredsbomben - den første Superman-historie tegnet uden for USA med tilladelse fra DC.
Manuskriptet var skrevet med glimt i øjet af Niels Søndergaard - mangeårig oversætter af Superman-hæftet i Danmark. Han sender Superman på et eventyr, som starter i Amsterdam, går via Helsinki og København til Oslo for endelig at kulminere i Stockholm. Efter endt færd sørger den stålsatte helt selv for reparationen af de ødelagte kulturværdier!
Teddy Kristiansen beretter den forrygende historie i en personlig, udtryksfuld stil, som viser inspirationen både fra "new wave" og Frank Miller - uden på nogen måde at gøre vold på Siegel og Shusters oprindelige koncept.
I 1992 leverede han sammen med Peter Snejbjerg bidrag til Henning Kures Tarzan-projekt, og blev i 1993 nomineret til den amerikanske tegneseriepris Eisner-award for sit arbejde til det amerikanske Tarzan-hæfte.
Dette arbejde fik amerikanernes øjne op for den unge danske tegner og bragte ham i kontakt med Matt Wagner og dennes tegneseriehæfte fra fantasiens og sindets overdrev, Grendel Tales.
Til James Robinsons manuskript tegnede og farvelagde Teddy Kristiansen 1993-94 Four Devils, One Hell - 148 sider fordelt over 6 hæfter, som fuldt ud levede op til titlen. For resultatet var en visuelt flot og fascinerende studie i vold, ødelæggelse og undergang, fremstillet at en tegner, som prøvede nye muligheder for sit talent og for tegneserien i det hele taget - både i layout, personskildring og farveanvendelse.
I 1994 leverede Teddy Kristiansen også korte bidrag til DC's Vertigo-hæfte WitchCraft og længere til Sandman. The Kindly Ones - sidstnævnte skrevet af Neil Gaiman.
Samme år fulgte den mere humoristiske gyser The Secret Origin of Scarface skrevet af Alan Grant og John Wagner til DC-hæftet Showcase.
Hvor 1994-serierne til DC var knapt så eksperimenterende som Grendel Tales, afprøvede Teddy Kristiansen nye grænser i 1995 i Vertigo-hæftet Sandman Midnight Theatre til manuskript og plot af Neil Gaiman og Matt Wagner.
Her har han primært brugt farvepenslen og farveskalaens brunlige, blålige og mørke nuancer i formidlingen af en psykologisk thriller fra New York og London 1939.
1996-98 udførte Teddy Kristiansen et fremragende tegnearbejde på DC/Vertigos House of Secrets med Steven T. Seagle som forfatter og danske Bjarne Hansen som farvelægger.
1999 tegnede han bl.a. The Dreaming #36-39 rentegnet af Christian Højgaard og Grendel Devil Child #1&2 farvelagt af Tim Sale.
2003 leverede han tegnearbejdet på Superman: Metropolis, # 7-12.
Samarbejdet med Gaiman, Wagner and Seagle har placeret Teddy Kristiansen på fanskarens stjernehimmel i USA, hvor hans originaltegninger er blevet eftertragtede samleobjekter.
Men de skabes stadig i tegnestuen Pinligt Selskab i København, hvor Teddy Kristiansen har arbejdet igennem flere år.

Teddy Kristiansen was born in 1964. He attended Ulrik Hoff’s School of Drawing and Painting for half a year, but is otherwise self-taught. In 1986 he contributed a single, short comic to the Danish comics magazine Pulp Pages (Kulørte sider), but he is otherwise primarily occupied as an illustrator, colorist, and background artist for animated films.
In 1990 his first comics album appeared, Superman and the tale of five cities (Superman og fredsbomben). It was the first Superman story drawn outside of the USA with the permission of DC. The manuscript was written, with tongue in cheek, by Niels Søndergaard - the translator of the Superman comic book in Denmark for many years. He sends Superman on an adventure that starts in Amsterdam and goes, via Helsinki and Copenhagen, to Oslo and finally culminates in Stockholm. At the end of his journey, the staunch hero sees to the repair of the ruined cultural monuments himself!
Teddy Kristiansen tells the fast-paced story in a personal, expressive style which shows inspiration from both the New Wave and from Frank Miller - without doing any injustice to Siegel and Shuster’s original concept.
In 1992 he produced, together with Peter Snejbjerg, a contribution to Henning Kure’s Tarzan project, and in 1993 was nominated for the American Eisner Award for comics for his work on the American Tarzan comic book.
This work brought the young Danish artist to the attention of the Americans, and also brought him in contact with Matt Wagner and his comic book from the fringes of the imagination, Grendel Tales.
In 1993-94 Teddy Kristiansen drew and colored Four Devils, One Hell, written by James Robinson - 148 pages divided into six volumes, which fully lived up to the title. The result was a visually lavish and fascinating study of violence, destruction and ruin. In this work, Teddy Kristiansen tries out new possibilities for his talent and for comics in general, in layout, character portrayals and use of color.
In 1994 Teddy Kristiansen also made short contributions to DC’s Vertigo comic book WitchCraft and longer contributions to Sandman, The Kindly Ones, the latter written by Neil Gaiman. The same year his humourous thriller The Secret Origin of Scarface, written by Alan Grant and John Wagner, was published in the DC comic book Showcase.
While the 1994 series for DC was hardly as experimental as Grendel Tales, Teddy Kristiansen tested new limits in 1995 in the Vertigo comic book Sandman Midnight Theatre, with a manuscript and plot by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. In this work, Teddy Kristiansen has primarily used the coloring brush and the color range of brown, blue and dark shades in the presentation of a psychological thriller set in New York and London in 1939.
Same year he produced two painted projects for Dark Horse: Deadface color special, a oneshot with writer Eddie Campell about the winegod, Bacchus. KNOX with Diane Shutz, a very experimental shortstory both in writing and in painting.
In 1996 he started up on House of Secrets with Steven T. Seagle, and did a black and white Batman shortstory with Dennis O’Neil. House of Secrets is an ongoing monthly book where he produces as many issues a year as time allows. Colorist on the book is Danish Bjarne Hansen.
The collaboration with Gaiman, Wagner and Seagle has given Teddy Kristiansen great visibility in the USA, where his original drawings are sought-after collector’s items.