condo heartbreak disco (2017)

published by koyama press / 52 pages / black & white

nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in Best LGBT Graphic Novel

nominated for a Doug Wright Spotlight Award

out of print

PRAISE:

"Kostiuk Williams' sinuous, bendy lines and libidinal energy fuse his sci-fi super-diva narrative with the textures of everyday queer life gleaned from years spent observing his adopted home. Throughout, there is a wistful sense of how great the city could be were it to value its underground, subcultural bustle rather than reaching up to the sky."

                       - Jon Davies for C Magazine

"Condo Hearbreak Disco is a Cassandra-like warning of the evils of gentrification and cultural appropriation, rendered in Eric Kostiuk Williams' swirly, whirly, marvelously morphing graphic matrix. Wise and whimsical, political and personal, freaked out and fabulous, it's a visionary work by a gifted young cartoonist."

                       - Rob Kirby (editor of QU33R, writer for The Comics Journal)

"Evil and urbanity parry in this oh-so-very accurate portrait of Toronto the Good - or is it Toronto the Bad? A pair of superheroes (or perhaps demons) is queered into a deliciously devilish duo, kind of like Ab Fab on steroids. Denizens of Queen West, and specifically Parkdale, they skewer the shadow that lurks behind the explosion of condo high-rises, or "artists' studios" as one developer so coyly names them. But will our heroines stand up for community and neighbourhood values or will they give in to the side of darkness? A kind of roman a clef for the hipster know-it-all. In other words, a must-read!"

                       - AA Bronson (Queer Spirits, Mirror Mirror)

click on the preview images to enlarge

"Williams’ surrealist line art curves and meanders like psychedelic paisley, reflecting the true absurdity of the capitalist transformation of our cities. The morphing of his story and art capture how our cities seem to change before our eyes, without our input. This is truly a tale of our times, queer in its activist view, and crucial in its critique of how our landscape shapes us." - Lambda Literary

"Condo Heartbreak Disco is an atypical social critique that is genuinely relatable despite its outrageous characters and setting. While Toronto's plight may be a bit exaggerated, it can feel all too familiar to residents of nearly any metropolitan area in North America. Cities such as San Francisco have become impossible to afford for anyone except the extremely wealthy due to speculative property investments. If you're one of the masses resisting invading hordes of affluent assholes or even if you live in a rural area, the theme of helplessness and insecurity in the face of the never-ending march of “progress” is something that resonates with anyone in the 21st century." - Comic Bastards

"Eric Kostiuk Williams’ Condo Heartbreak Disco fluctuates between superhero parody and superhero tale set in an absurdist world that reflects but warps ours like a funhouse mirror. Reminiscent at times of Robert Crumb and Bob Burden, Williams’ style is transgressive in a familiar way, evoking a decades-long history of alternative comics." - Pop Matters