Black Mirrors — Current Graphic Novels from Germany

After his abdication, Kaiser Wilhelm II goes into exile,...

After his abdication, Kaiser Wilhelm II goes into exile,

spending his first years at Amerongen Castle with a

family of aristocratic friends. He spends most of his time

there felling the surrounding forest. Quoting from memoirs

of the ex-monarch's entourage, and linking them with

invented scenes and dialogues, Bachmann constructs

a merciless parody of the failed man of power. The

pathos of the respectful descriptions, full of trivial details

about the emperor's fate, contrasts grotesquely with

the absurdly overdrawn characters, who expose

themselves to ridicule. The atmosphere is surreal and

creepy at the same time, thanks to the garish colours

and Bachmann's erratic stroke. Like caricatures, his

distorted images combine comedy with horror in

virtuoso way.

To mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of Sibylla Schwarz, Max Baitinger has spent time examining the life of...

To mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of Sibylla Schwarz, Max Baitinger has spent time examining the life of this literary prodigy. After living her entire life within the span of the Thirty Years' War, despite only

reaching the age of 17, Schwarz used to be considered as perhaps the most important Baroque poet. Thanks to

the fragmentary nature of the available sources and the resulting narrative freedom for the artist, the result is a

biography by no means typical. Baitinger humorously mixes different narrative levels, adding reflections on his own three-year creative process to the episodes from Schwarz's life. The central question is how this young woman’s creative spirit could unfold in contrast to the brutal reality of her life. The work was awarded the Comicbuchpreis of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung.

Eleni is a single mother. When nine people are shot in a racist attack in her immediate vicinity, she is...

Eleni is a single mother. When nine people are shot in a racist attack in her immediate vicinity, she is stunned to see how extremists and politicians from the right-wing fringe start to relativize the attack. Together with her neighbour Rudi, a retired teacher, she takes up the fight against radical right-wing agitation. Based in Freiburg, the Guano Project aims to draw attention to the growing danger of populist right-wing propaganda. In their fictional adventure comic, they draw on a carefully researched pool of original quotes from politicians and sympathisers of the AfD (Alternative for Germany party), which are marked in blue in the speech bubbles. In this way, they establish links to the reality of the many rightwing terrorist attacks of recent years.

Ms Grey, the gazelle, and her friend, Mr Elephant, are fed up with being stared at by safari tourists at...

Ms Grey, the gazelle, and her friend, Mr Elephant, are fed up with being stared at by safari tourists at the waterhole all the time. Without further ado, they turn the tables and go to the city to get to know the "naked monkeys" in their everyday life. They are accompanied by a strange, flat, black beetle that goes by the name of Siri. In this hilarious animal adventure for young readers aged six and over, award-winning German children's author Martin Baltscheit takes an astute look at our human world. Lovingly and vibrantly illustrated by Max Fiedler.

With her comic debut, the 24-year-old artist presents a collection of her "2067" series, which she has been self-publishing for...

With her comic debut, the 24-year-old artist presents a collection of her "2067" series, which she has been self-publishing for several years. In short episodes, Baumann gives us a deep insight into the world of her feelings and thoughts. This comic conveys her daily struggle in a chaotic and dreary world. Her depression hovers over everything and yet there is always room for a little gallows humour. The images are expressive and raw, ometimes disturbing, sometimes surreally distorted. They are full of details and suggestions that make you

linger in fascination as you regard each scene.

Austrian illustrator Patrick Bonato spent three months in Senegal as an artist in residence. There, (white) Europeans are commonly referred...

Austrian illustrator Patrick Bonato spent three months in Senegal as an artist in residence. There, (white) Europeans are commonly referred to as toubab, which Bonato wittily translates as "white bread." In his fictionalised autobiographical comic, he recounts the hardships that are the price of his confrontation with an unfamiliar world. And he tells how he gradually abandons his usual stance, and how the clash of two realities sets up encounters that are both comic and enlightening. He presents his very personal accounts with a soft penstroke. They are colourful, loud, sometimes strange, often funny, always beautiful.

Everyone associates cartoonist Brösel with his character Werner. The Platt-speaking motor-bike-riding plumber's...

Everyone associates cartoonist Brösel with his character Werner. The Platt-speaking motor-bike-riding plumber's

apprentice was a well-known phenomenon in the late eighties and early nineties, also thanks to the film

adaptation. This volume brings together comics from the time before Brösel's breakthrough. They include

numerous works published in the satirical magazine Pardon as well as completely unpublished material, such as all the episodes of the anarchist family Die Bakuninis. The themes of consumer terror, political despotism and fantasies of violence against law enforcement officers are central to Brösel's early work.

With their biography of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish journalist Can Dündar and Egyptian-...

With their biography of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish journalist Can Dündar and Egyptian-

Sudanese cartoonist Mohamed Anwar present a carefully researched portrait of the autocratic ruler. At the same time, the sober black-and-white drawings shed contextual light on Erdoğan's path to the top: a development taking place over decades that has seen Turkey shift from a secular to an authoritarian-Islamist state. Dündar's narrative delves into the motives that have influenced the power politician (since childhood). Setting the scene with great artistic effect, the book shows how Erdoğan pursues his interest in absolute power over the course of time. In this way, the documentary comic, intended above all to bring the phenomenon of Erdoğan closer to a younger generation, makes an important contribution.

A visit to a bar gives scientist Nici a brilliant idea: She builds herself a perfect artificial body, Melek, with...

A visit to a bar gives scientist Nici a brilliant idea: She builds herself a perfect artificial body, Melek, with which she can travel to parallel dimensions. There she meets another, completely opposite version of herself, and Nici, in the body of Melek, falls passionately in love with her other self. Ehrentraut's comic debut, which was also her submission for the final examination at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig, addresses themes like identity and aspects of it, homosexual love and selflove. The explicit and sensitive presentation of the lesbian love affair is of central importance. Ehrentraut artfully switches from bold, black-and-white drawing to abstract colour painting that illustrates her protagonist’s lustful experiences.

In his one and only prose story, Georg Büchner described the progressive mental illness of the Sturm und Drang poet...

In his one and only prose story, Georg Büchner described the progressive mental illness of the Sturm und Drang poet Jakob M. R. Lenz, which manifested itself during a stay of several weeks at the home of the social reformer

and priest, Johann Friedrich Oberlin, in the Vosges mountains. The fragmentary story is considered the first precise case description of its kind. Andreas Eikenroth has transformed the drama surrounding Lenz's temporary disturbances of consciousness, his anxiety attacks and his loss of spatial and temporal feelings into intense, atmospheric images. He illustrates the hallucinations with drawing borrowed from Hieronymus Bosch. At the same time, the colourful geometry of the page architecture propels the plot kaleidoscopically.

Hamburg-based artist Kristina Gehrmann (German Youth Literature Prize 2016 for Im Eisland) depicts the life of Mary I, the elder...

Hamburg-based artist Kristina Gehrmann (German Youth Literature Prize 2016 for Im Eisland) depicts the life of Mary I, the elder daughter of Henry VIII, from his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. In four sections, from childhood onwards, Gehrmann shows us the pressures, fears and restrictions that Mary Tudor faced throughout her life. The closeness she achieves to the emotional life of her protagonist derives from the consistent first-person perspective of the narrator and from the lively dialogues. She sets all this in clear panels with bright watercolours, while paying attention to the drawing detail. This serves to reinforce the sense of her interest in the exciting historical material.

In her comic debut, Nozomi Horibe, a Japanese artist living in Berlin, describes her experiences during a four-week cycling tour...

In her comic debut, Nozomi Horibe, a Japanese artist living in Berlin, describes her experiences during a four-week cycling tour of the country-side surrounding the capital: the social challenges presented by some of her encounters with locals, and the strange experiences and magical moments that are her reward. From fear and discomfort at the outset, her sense of independence grows as the journey progresses. Her thoughts about origins, identity and a sense of home complete the picture. The drawings exude a lively looseness, their bold purple strokes standing out against often yellow backgrounds. An entertaining comic full of empathy and attentiveness that shows, among other things, that exoticism and foreignness are not linked to distance.

In the 23rd century, the Earth is almost entirely flooded. People live in run-down cities surrounded by broken wastelands and...

In the 23rd century, the Earth is almost entirely flooded. People live in run-down cities surrounded by broken wastelands and ruins. Six-year-old Ali is searching for her mother. She is accompanied by a robot in the form of a giant teddy bear, whose job it is to protect her. Kiener, who is co-editor of the Swiss Ampel Magazin for independent comics, draws a post-apocalyptic world in his multi-layered and visually powerful comic. His generous panels with their richness of detail invite close perusal by the reader. This is underscored by the skilful soft colouring of the beautiful watercolour drawings.

When she founded her publishing house ten years ago, Annette Köhn fulfilled a childhood dream. That anniversary was the opportunity...

When she founded her publishing house ten years ago, Annette Köhn fulfilled a childhood dream. That anniversary was the opportunity for her to publish an autobiographical comic that gives us insights into the day-today workings of a comic publisher. Describing a fictitious day in the office, she depicts in an entertaining and revealing way both the duties and the pleasant activities that have to be mastered. She is accompanied by scurrying little characters (the publishing sprites), who are visible only to the author and who reflect her thoughts, making for some amusing moments. Her sketch-like pictures convey lightness and joie de vivre.

While herding cows for a Swiss chocolate manufacturer, Lucky Luke meets chubby redhead Bud, who tells him about his wild...

While herding cows for a Swiss chocolate manufacturer, Lucky Luke meets chubby redhead Bud, who tells him about his wild affair with little Terence, who’s as hairy as a bear: A love story in the spirit of Brokeback Mountain between two poor, lonesome cowboys, who meet with hostility in the homophobic western town of Straight Gulch. For more than 40 years, Ralf König has been considered the master of gay comics, and he is probably the most famous German comic artist internationally. An admirer of Morris since child-hood, to mark Lucky Luke's 75th birthday he has created an adventure of the famous cowboy that sparkles with countless allusions and elfmockery.

Ralf König, who had his breakthrough with Der bewegte Mann (1987), is internationally one of the best-known German comic artists....

Ralf König, who had his breakthrough with Der bewegte Mann (1987), is internationally one of the best-known German comic artists. The multiple award-winning artist (including the Max and Moritz Prize for his outstanding life's work) has seen his work translated into 18 languages. In March 2020, from the confines of his lockdown, König began drawing comic strips about the coronavirus crisis, posting them on his social media accounts each day. With the help of his male couple Konrad and Paul, who have been popular now for 20 years, König spent several months commenting on the new situation and the challenges it brings at a human level. As well as current events, he included feedback from his readers in the content. The result is a chronicle of the crisis, humorous and touching at the same time.

Peter Hartmann is a normal teenager in the early 2000s. A teenager who, like so many of his peers, is...

Peter Hartmann is a normal teenager in the early 2000s. A teenager who, like so many of his peers, is still searching for his place in the world. Peter's life plays out between bullying attacks on his way to school, anger over a failed driving test and frustration at his unrequited love for Anke. It seems there is drama everywhere but as it is all so incidental, ultimately nothing takes on much significance, and Peter prefers to escape to the roof to smoke in secret. With clear and skilful strokes, Till Lukat proves his good feeling for graphic storytelling. His coming-of-age comic entices us with an authentic look at the life of its teenage protagonis, making his experiences and emotions palpable.

Since 2013, Robin Thiesmeyer, who originally studied as a writer, has been publishing his works under the pseudonym Meta Bene,...

Since 2013, Robin Thiesmeyer, who originally studied as a writer, has been publishing his works under the pseudonym Meta Bene, primarily online and in social media. All of his protagonists are animals: depressed penguins, sceptical antelopes, cynical cockroaches, existentialist fishes. Sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone, they expose everyday life and questions of philosophy, usually through short dialogues or inner reflections. Executed with ink brushes, the cartoons are minimalist calligraphies. Playing with antinomies, tautologies and small logical errors of language, Meta Bene proves masterful at producing good punch lines. Language is always the basis of inspiration for the great questions of meaning in life. Humour is the only salvation.

The mass murderer Peter Kürten, whose serial murders shocked the Rhineland in 1930, was dubbed the Vampire of Düsseldorf by...

The mass murderer Peter Kürten, whose serial murders shocked the Rhineland in 1930, was dubbed the Vampire of Düsseldorf by the press after it became known that he not only grue-somely killed his victims, but also drank their blood. This graphic novel gets to the bottom of that true story. Why did Kürten kill and why did he kill in this way? Transcripts of interrogations are integrated into the narrative as text, giving the perpetrator the opportunity to talk about himself and his murders. The heinous acts are juxtaposed with Kürten's justifications. Mikolajczak creates a disturbing proximity that lets the reader look into bottomless human abysses. Matching this dark story are Holger Klein’s harsh illustrations, dominated by razor-sharp shadows and darkness.

In his second work, convincing in both its story and its images, Mitringer gives us a classic fantasy tale that...

In his second work, convincing in both its story and its images, Mitringer gives us a classic fantasy tale that lacks neither action nor dry humour. He turns the principle of a heroic journey on its head: In a desolate, dead world populated by demons and monsters, a skeleton knight who has come back to life seeks his final resting place. His path leads him through an abandoned, devastated world back to his beginnings, gradually piecing together memories from his old life. Mitringer's strokes are fine, his hard hatching and shading filling many a panel with opulent detail and creating a successful atmosphere of constant melancholy.