Imagine That!

This complete edition is a journey through time. It takes us back to the end of the 1990s and the...

This complete edition is a journey through time. It takes us back to the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium. One might expect volume 1 of a complete edition to feature the early work of an artist, but apparently the early gags, which date from 1985 onwards, are not considered suitable for a gentle introduction to the work of Peter Puck. Not a bad decision, because the stories on display are brimming with anarchic humour. From today's perspective, some of it may no longer be entirely politically correct. But the characters, inspired by Carl Barks, the great cartoonist of Duckburg, with their bulbous noses, tackle the issues of migration and integration. The right-wing neo-Nazi scene is once again exposed. Eroticism and sex dominate the lives of antiheroes Rudi and Fred. But that alone would not do justice to the work. For it is above all the wordplay in the richly filled speech bubbles that provides the best entertainment. And creates a classic of black humour.

For a long time, the people of a fantasy world with a magical-mechanical touch have been plagued by the Crows,...

For a long time, the people of a fantasy world with a magical-mechanical touch have been plagued by the Crows, crow-like monstrous creatures. Legend has it that there were once the Scarecrows, who stood by humans in the fight against these monsters, but one day mysteriously disappeared.

After Princess Engell resurrected the Scarecrow Dion, the two of them, together with some companions, set out in search of his heart. This heart carries Dion's memories and could help humans in the fight against the dreadful Crows that keep the land in suspense. Along their journey, Engell, Dion and their companions encounter the mysterious Crowmaster, who seems to lead the Crows. He is determined to stop Dion and confronts him in battle. What secret does the stranger carry within him …?

Wasn't the Louvre in Paris recently the victim of a spectacular heist? As if she had anticipated it, the German...

Wasn't the Louvre in Paris recently the victim of a spectacular heist? As if she had anticipated it, the German illustrator Wiebke Petersen, working under the pseudonym Zelba, chooses this very museum as the setting for her comic. But overnight, it wasn't valuable jewels that disappeared—rather, all the female nudes in every artwork were gone. Simply vanished. Whether painting or sculpture, the depicted women no longer wanted to subject themselves to the touches and stares of visitors. Only when security guard Nadir and cleaning lady Teresa get involved do the museum director and the Prime Minister of France begin to hope that the matter can be handled quietly. A satirical story about the role of women in art and society—and at the same time a tribute to one of the most beautiful museums in the world.

It came as quite a surprise when the German Publishers and Booksellers Association honoured Die Frau als Mensch as the...

It came as quite a surprise when the German Publishers and Booksellers Association honoured Die Frau als Mensch as the best non-fiction book of the year. This was the first time ever that a comic book had been nominated in this category – and it promptly won. In its statement, the jury wrote: ‘The long-prevailing view of humans as male is in fundamental need of revision, and this book demonstrates this through an original interweaving of scientific findings from archaeology, anthropology and art history, repeatedly inspired by everyday experiences.’ Ulli Lust goes back to early history and shows that human history was by no means always dominated by men. With its mixture of narrative comics and supplementary factual text, the book became a bestseller.

A whole life dedicated to the theater. That applied to the actress who was simply called “Die Giehse.” On behalf...

A whole life dedicated to the theater. That applied to the actress who was simply called “Die Giehse.” On behalf of the Münchner Kammerspiele, Barbara Yelin explored the life of the woman who, as a politically active, Jewish, lesbian person, had to flee Nazi Germany in 1933. The theater aims to tell untold stories with this project. They want to fill in the gaps of 300 people who had to go into exile or were murdered. Barbara Yelin was hired as an illustrator, someone who has often dealt with the culture of remembrance. For her comic, she read interviews, memories, and letters from people who were close to Giehse. In doing so, she observed that the actress actually hardly ever spoke about herself. The comic traces her journey—from Munich to Breslau to Berlin. It covers her relationship with Erika Mann, her escape to Switzerland, her emigration to the USA, and then her return to Europe. "I am a solitary person," is a central quote, and a trait that made 'Die Giehse' what they were: one of the last great stars of the theater.

Hildegard Knef was the last German diva. She would have turned 100 in 2025. On this occasion, Moritz Stetter has...

Hildegard Knef was the last German diva. She would have turned 100 in 2025. On this occasion, Moritz Stetter has created a tribute to the singer, actress, and author with his comic. The graphic novel is largely based on original texts and quotes. Using various song lyrics, he recounts Knef's life. The song 'Von nun an gings bergab' serves as the leitmotif, as the woman born in Berlin sings about her life in it anyway. But of course, her hit 'Für mich solls rote Rosen regnen' must not be missing either. The comic paints a picture of a woman who is both strong and fragile. Knef, born in 1925, first becomes an animator and from 1944 gets her first film and theater roles. The scandal film 'Die Sünderin' makes her famous overnight. In the comic, Stetter shows a torn woman who goes her own way against all odds. An exciting life in clear, colorful images.

How has the manipulation of food influenced human history? ...

How has the manipulation of food influenced human history? 

The comic starts with Adam and Eve, just kicked out of paradise, inventing the baked apple out of sheer desperation. From this scene, Steen jumps back to the “chimpanzee-like diet” of early hominids, which he explores in the first chapter, and then moves on to the making of humans – that is, the moment when apes became “cooking apes.” 

Steen’s book isn’t some overly didactic commissioned comic in a pseudo-textbook style, nor is it just a nice little collection of anecdotes for the cookbook shelf. Instead, it’s a wild, knowledgeable, and really funny educational comic that shamelessly absorbs anthropological theories and serves them up with humor, feminist insight, and a good dose of DIY aesthetic.

This graphic novel, which runs to around 300 pages, is set during the Nazi era. It tells the story of...

This graphic novel, which runs to around 300 pages, is set during the Nazi era. It tells the story of Heinz Hoffmann, an editor and writer who, like many others, becomes a ‘banned author’. His Berlin apartment is destroyed in an air raid, and he moves in with his lover Erika Harms. She works at UFA, and when the Nazis urgently need a ghostwriter for the screenplay of a ‘perseverance film’, he reluctantly agrees to take on the job. 

Kreitz depicts bombed-out Berlin in her usual style of fine pencil drawings, often from a bird's-eye view. Her main character, Heinz Hoffmann, is likely based on Erich Kästner – not only his bushy eyebrows give a small hint of this – but he is not his exact replica. Kreitz has created her own new story based on historical events. It is about an artist's struggle for survival in a world that rejects him and which he rejects. Unaware that the war is about to end.

The team of authors had already enjoyed great success with their adaptation of Marc-Uwe Kling's best-selling novel Die Känguru-Chroniken (The...

The team of authors had already enjoyed great success with their adaptation of Marc-Uwe Kling's best-selling novel Die Känguru-Chroniken (The Kangaroo Chronicles). The Kangaroo comics not only appeared in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit for several years, but were also published as a book. Elon & Jeff on Mars, on the other hand, was originally just a gag in the Kangaroo comics, but it quickly took on a life of its own. 

The story is about the competition between the two super-fictional multi-billionaires Elon Dusk and Jeff Jezos. Which of the two will be the first human on Mars? When Jeff supposedly becomes the first human to set foot on the red planet, he naturally discovers that Elon has already been there for a long time. And that's where the problems for the two of them begin. Whether it's space debris or communication problems, the two have to get along and learn that the artificial intelligence they so highly praise may not always work in the best interests of its users. 

You can do it without ambition too – Welcome to Café Cycliste: A graphic novel about too much coffee, disrespectful...

You can do it without ambition too – Welcome to Café Cycliste: A graphic novel about too much coffee, disrespectful underworld creatures, lack of ambition – and the healing power of cycling.

The not very sporty M. Stricker opens a bicycle café after the death of his father, the professional cyclist Pepe Stricker, in order to finally pursue his favourite hobbies undisturbed: listening to music, drinking coffee, and looking out of the window. Reality, however, is different – M. is haunted by unpleasant memories of his father, the café turns out to be much more work than expected, and the guests who arrive on their expensive bikes to photograph the displayed Pepe Stricker memorabilia are extremely annoying, not to mention M.'s new, strange companion from the underworld. With the help of a pandemic-related closure, a barefoot-running neighbour, and long-neglected friends, M. manages to make peace with the past. In the process, he not only falls in love with a package delivery woman with ADHD but also rediscovers cycling, which he once hated, and which helps him to mobilize new strength. Accompanied by the little creature from the underworld, he embarks, completely untrained, on the first bike tour of his life, during which not only his phone and tent but also all his self-images are left behind, only to ultimately arrive at himself in a spectacularly unspectacular way. Completely without ambition – welcome to Café Cycliste. 

Winner of the 2025 ICOM Independent Comic Prize.

Compared to the yellow Reclam booklets from school days, this version of Faust is a heavy tome. The classic German...

Compared to the yellow Reclam booklets from school days, this version of Faust is a heavy tome. The classic German school reading material comes in at almost 300 pages between two hard covers. The story is probably familiar: the scholar Faust makes a pact with the devil. And so the tragedy begins. In her adaptation, the author sets the story in three different eras: the Middle Ages, the Nazi era and the present day. The illustrator says: "Faust (...) adapted to the new time periods as if it had been written especially for them. (...) This raised socially critical questions about the relationship between humans and the environment, individuals and society, and the (dis)continuity of perpetrator and victim roles, which are as relevant today as they were in Goethe's time." 

A timeless classic, then, in detailed, finely hatched drawings – which can also be enjoyed by those who did not like the school reading. 

It is unusual for a trained butcher to create a comic book. But it is even more unusual that it...

It is unusual for a trained butcher to create a comic book. But it is even more unusual that it is a comic with a thoroughly nuanced view of our meat consumption. In his comic debut, Martin Oesch tells the story of Erwin Merz, master butcher and owner of his own butcher's shop. For many years, he enjoyed his profession. But now he seems to have lost his enthusiasm. Even getting up in the morning is difficult for him, knowing that animals have to be slaughtered. And when he takes meat waste to the knacker, you can sense his aversion. Even after all these years, he still hasn't got used to the smell. The artist skilfully incorporates environmental and relationship issues into the story. And so it comes as no surprise that Erwin and his wife end up meeting in a sex club – giving the word “carnal desire” a whole new meaning.

Jens Harder has been working on his history of the universe and everything else for more than 20 years. After...

Jens Harder has been working on his history of the universe and everything else for more than 20 years. After covering the Big Bang and its consequences in the first of four volumes (Gamma) and working his way up to the present in the next two volumes (Beta 1 and 2), the final volume now deals with the future of humanity. And according to Harder's understanding, that future clearly belongs to artificial intelligence. In contrast to the previous parts, the story told in Gamma is fictional. Although the comic is based on current knowledge and trends, it is ultimately science fiction. For many critics, the project defies categorisation. It is a mixture of non-fiction, picture book, history book and comic. A book brimming with opulent images and fantastical visions. Harder works with visual quotations, i.e. images from books, films or the news that are burned into our collective memory. And so he takes us on an exciting journey through life. 

A weekend trip with old friends? Not a bad idea, think 48-year-old successful engineer and family man Dietz and his...

A weekend trip with old friends? Not a bad idea, think 48-year-old successful engineer and family man Dietz and his equally alternative friend Volker, a musician and notorious kleptomaniac. The SUV is ready, and the journey from Düsseldorf to Leipzig isn't too far. So they set off to visit their old friend Acki. The hotel is booked, the mood is great – the only thing they don't know is their old friend's current address. But that doesn't stop the two of them from embarking on their adventure. For one of them, it ends in a drunken binge in a bar, the other steals a sword from a museum. The only thing they can't find is Acki. The trip somehow also becomes a journey into the past. And it shows how differently friends from the past often develop – or perhaps they were always so different? 

What would Lagerfeld have thought about a graphic novel about himself? Did the man ever even read comics? Or would...

What would Lagerfeld have thought about a graphic novel about himself? Did the man ever even read comics? Or would he perhaps have dismissed them, like the much-quoted jogging pants? In any case, the figure who made himself a style icon and became a myth of the fashion world has now become the subject of Simon Schwartz's new comic. The author of the volume is journalist Alfons Kaiser, who works as an editor at the daily newspaper FAZ. The comic is intended to bring the reader closer to the person Lagerfeld. Schwartz, who recently gained attention with portraits of politicians and historical comics, is now focusing on a person who, although already deceased, was at least contemporary. The comic deals, among other things, with Lagerfeld's relationship with his parents. We learn that Lagerfeld's father earned a good amount of money with condensed milk of the brand Glücksklee and that his mother refused him the breastfeeding breast. It's about lonely drawing sessions in the attic, but also about his competitor Yves Saint Laurent and his relationship with his partner Jacques de Bascher. In terms of drawing, Schwartz provides a detailed representation – one that Lagerfeld himself probably could have appreciated.

Can you fall in love with a 150-year-old poet? You can, says comic book artist Melanie Garanin. In Mein Freund...

Can you fall in love with a 150-year-old poet? You can, says comic book artist Melanie Garanin. In Mein Freund Rilke, it is her alter ego, journalist Ellen, who falls in love with the character of Rilke. In a real way, somehow – not just in his language, but in his person. While researching for her small newspaper, Ellen encounters the man behind the poet. Just as she is about to abandon her on-site research and decide to copy the rest from the internet, she literally runs into him at the museum in Worpswede. To which he simply asks: ‘Champagne?’ The illustrator found comfort in Rilke while working on her first comic, which dealt with her son's death from cancer. Just in time for the poet's milestone birthday, she has now put her unusual declaration of love for Rilke down on paper.

A comic without text that makes no secret of its great role model. On the very first pages, Greve quotes...

A comic without text that makes no secret of its great role model. On the very first pages, Greve quotes the stories of Father and Son by Erich Ohser, alias e.o.plauen, which appeared in the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (no spelling mistake!) between 1934 and 1937. And in the afterword, she explains that her stories are her personal homage to the classic. And just as the role model was the representative of the ‘little people’, mother and daughter become an emancipated version of the same. For example, when they wait in vain for the waiter in the restaurant and then order the pizza delivery boy into the restaurant. Or when they repeatedly argue with the sales assistant in the electrical shop. Everything is rendered in Greve's minimalist style, with even the chapter headings represented by pictograms.

In 'Tintin' everything is included, the entire condition humaine. At least this is the assumption Martin Meyer makes in his...

In 'Tintin' everything is included, the entire condition humaine. At least this is the assumption Martin Meyer makes in his 'Study of Humanity,' for which he takes 33 archetypal situations from the world-famous comic series as a starting point for philosophical and societal reflections on everyday life. Themes such as patience, transience, happiness, distraction, and many more are reflected in the comic scenes, from which Meyer develops his own reflections and, in short chapters, gets to the heart of what life is about. Life, according to his thesis, is the overcoming of resistance. And as with everything, one thing also applies here: nothing works without humour.

When a German comic artist first publishes his comics in France, he has probably made it. This is now the...

When a German comic artist first publishes his comics in France, he has probably made it. This is now the case for Berlin-based artist Ingo Römling. His science fiction adventure Metropolia was first published by Dargaud. Screenwriter Fred Duval developed the story, which takes place in Berlin in the year 2099 – some aspects are reminiscent of Blade Runner, not just visually. Private investigator Sasha Jäger is tracking a mysterious female killer. She carried out an assassination during a luxury auction at the Old Museum in Berlin. Disguised holographically as a kind of Grace Kelly, she escapes in the darkness of night. Sasha is hired to find her. Since long-distance travel has become a luxury in Metropolia, most residents prefer not to hoard money but to trade in miles. Sasha takes the job in exchange for a privilege transport card that gives him 30 trips. The only question is: Will he be able to track down the killer? Or maybe even find another corpse?