New Graphic Novels from Germany

It has been three years since Tamasaburo – aka Kim Liersch – published the final volume of her adventure series...

It has been three years since Tamasaburo – aka Kim Liersch – published the final volume of her adventure series "The Liberi Project". Now we have her latest work, which is set in a fantasy world, where it is the task of the Charons – masked figures with special abilities – to guide people safely through the Acheron, a rift in space that harbours numerous dangers. One of those Charons is Number 78, a taciturn protagonist whose special gift is the ability to see through illusions. The opening volume takes us on various assignments with Number 78, and we gradually discover the things that make this place a world of fantasy. It is the authentic dialogue and the meticulously designed characters that make Tamasaburo's work convincing.

Atlantis Verlag has been publishing the biannual comic anthology COZMIC since 2019. Each issue, produced as a hardcover, contains around...

Atlantis Verlag has been publishing the biannual comic anthology COZMIC since 2019. Each issue, produced as a hardcover, contains around 100 colour pages of short or serialised fantasy stories, mainly by German-speaking illustrators, aimed at an adult readership. The broad narrative spectrum as well as the stylistic diversity are part of the concept, which is reminiscent of the French Métal Hurlant. The stories, sometimes dark, sometimes twisted, sometimes gripping, sometimes thought-provoking, are convincing thanks to their artwork and narrative depth. Each issue also has a secondary literary focus. With COZMIC, Rene Moreau (editor of the important German SF magazine Exodus) and co-editor Michael Vogt have created a promising interface between the “ninth art” and fantasy.

In the years since he first visited the Australian desert settlement of Yuendumu, Jan Bauer has returned several times, familiarising...

In the years since he first visited the Australian desert settlement of Yuendumu, Jan Bauer has returned several times, familiarising himself much more closely with the local people, their culture and history. In the process, he has made friends who have helped him gain valuable insights into the world of the Warlpiri, a culture entirely foreign to him before. In a series of episodes, using poetic, fairy-tale images, Bauer explores the unfathomable, timeless myths of the Aborigines, whose stories are inextricably linked to the natural world around them. Alongside this, he documents their contemporary living conditions in realistic black-and-white drawings, lucidly depicting a complex history of oppression and violence that still has dramatic consequences today. The result is an impressive reportage that magically opens up a foreign world to us.

We find ourselves in provincial western Germany at the end of the 1990s. Young Hamed has to chart a course...

We find ourselves in provincial western Germany at the end of the 1990s. Young Hamed has to chart a course between his first wild experiences with drugs and sex, between skating, drawing and listening to music, school and rival gangs, and the boredom of everyday life. In the process, he is confronted at home with the painful experiences of his father, a refugee from Iran who cannot cope with his life in Germany. With great sensitivity, Eshrat weaves together an array of experiences and different time fames to produce a dense narrative. He elegantly exploits the formal language of comics and changes the colour atmosphere and layout to suit the situation. In this, his most personal narrative to date, the author shows us how he became who he is today.  

Birgit Weyhe has tackled the stories of black people in many of her comics. During an exchange programme in the...

Birgit Weyhe has tackled the stories of black people in many of her comics. During an exchange programme in the USA she, a white author, faced the accusation of cultural appropriation for the first. In Rude Girl Weyhe takes a self-critical look at this accusation. This is not simply a fictionalisation of the multifaceted life story of Priscilla Layne, a US professor of German studies with Caribbean roots and a rebellious attitude; Weyhe also engages in a critical dialogue with her main character in the comic, transforming her from an object into a narratively self-effective subject. This narrative construct gives the story a meta-level that provides space for reflection on the meaning of prejudice, social origin and skin colour, and as such makes an important contribution to the debate around racism.  

This second anthology contains over 50 newspaper strips that Schwartz has published in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag" (half-page format)...

This second anthology contains over 50 newspaper strips that Schwartz has published in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag" (half-page format) until 2016 and the FAZ magazine (full-page) since 2019. It is a kaleidoscope of extraordinary life stories of rather unknown personalities that can best be described as "unbelievable but true". Schwartz delivers a decidedly eclectic compilation of bizarre short portraits of people whose lives were outside the norm or marked by particular drama. The choice of subjects is excellent and the artistic realisation remarkable, because each page is a small work of art in its own right.  

In his fifth comic, Austrian artist Franz Suess ("Paul Zwei") tells a gently paced story about marginalised characters and their...

In his fifth comic, Austrian artist Franz Suess ("Paul Zwei") tells a gently paced story about marginalised characters and their relationships. All the characters are loosely linked by the plot and in each of the four episodes we get a brief and fascinating insight into their eccentric lives. The story begins with a burglary and ends with a theft. With a few exceptions, the pages of the square-format book are divided into four panels of equal size. Many sequences work well without text, as the pictures impress us, on the one hand, with the intensity of their colouring, which appears simultaneously luminous and gloomy and, on the other hand, with the strange aesthetics of the figures, whose proportions make them appear almost childlike.

In this, her debut graphic novel, the successful Berlin-based illustrator Bianca Schaalburg (born in 1968) researches her own family history....

In this, her debut graphic novel, the successful Berlin-based illustrator Bianca Schaalburg (born in 1968) researches her own family history. The starting point is the uncomfortable question of how far her relatives were Nazi members, fellow-travellers or even culprits. At different time periods, cleverly distinguished using different colour shades, the author deals with historical events that take place against the background of her family cosmos. Besides her mother’s and her grandmother’s stories, Schaalburg also depicts herself pursuing her research in the present. She condenses this detailed research into a complex narrative about silence, lies and repression. For this graphic and narrative "Stolperstein" (artistic-historical stumbling block), she was awarded the German Youth Literature Prize 2022 in the non-fiction category.

The 70-year-old illustrator Dietmar Reinhard spent five years working on his graphic documentation of the largest of the German extermination...

The 70-year-old illustrator Dietmar Reinhard spent five years working on his graphic documentation of the largest of the German extermination camps. He studied relevant sources intensively, including Danuta Czech's A Calendar of the Most Important Events in the History of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and the records kept by the camp commandant Rudolf Höß. Without artificial scene-setting, Reinhard faithfully reconstructs events, from the creation of the camp (spring 1940) to its liberation by the Red Army (January 1945). The gruesome everyday life, the merciless violence of the perpetrators, the suffering and death of the dehumanised victims: these are agonising images that the draughtsman presents soberly with crystal-clear, detailed strokes and pale colours, and which burn themselves inexorably into the memory. With his approach to the unimaginable, Reinhard has created a masterpiece of remembrance.

In this investigative comic, Anna Geselle discusses, among other things, the question of why female anger has no place in...

In this investigative comic, Anna Geselle discusses, among other things, the question of why female anger has no place in society. Successfully blending information and entertainment, she presents a kind of cultural history of female anger. In clearly structured chapters, she addresses scientific theories on the subject and adds levity to her informative texts by introducing comic passages whose colloquial tone provides an amusing contrast. Here we find parallels to the comics of Liv Strömquist. Geselle executes her drawings seemingly intuitively, with rapid strokes, predominantly in black and white. With this feminist comic, she makes an interesting contribution to the current debate on gender-specific role models.

This book is the result of an international research project which, at the initiative of Canadian history professor Charlotte Schallié,...

This book is the result of an international research project which, at the initiative of Canadian history professor Charlotte Schallié, aimed to convey history to young people in a vivid way. Working from interviews, two comic artists, Miriam Libicki and Barbara Yelin, from Canada and Germany respectively, as well as the Israeli illustrator Gilad Seliktar, have produced graphic adaptations of three eyewitness accounts by people who, as children, survived the Holocaust. The harrowing accounts, each of which is presented in a different graphical way by the different artists, movingly illustrate the unspeakable events. This is accompanied by an extensive secondary section in which experts provide historical context to supplement the reconstruction of the memories.

After an anthology on Elvis Presley and biographies of Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, the multi-award-winning author devotes himself here...

After an anthology on Elvis Presley and biographies of Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, the multi-award-winning author devotes himself here to the life of another important pop musician. He deals with David Bowie's early years, above all with the question of how Bowie created the gaudy alien figure Ziggy Stardust and what influence it had on his life. Kleist not only collects facts and anecdotes, but also allows his own vision to flow into the biographical narrative. This time, his elegant black-and-white drawings have been coloured in, whereby Kleist had the support of Thomas Gilke, who rendered the scenes from the 1970s in the raucous, brightly coloured colouring of comics at that time. Kleist creates a captivating graphic memorial to David Bowie. A second volume about Bowie's years in New York and Berlin is to follow.

In the summer of 1977 near to Bonn, a young woman, a sympathiser with the Red Army Faction, dies in...

In the summer of 1977 near to Bonn, a young woman, a sympathiser with the Red Army Faction, dies in a hit-and-run car accident. Mr Martin, a forensics expert who happened to witness the event, notices some strange apects to the subsequent investigation. He sets out to find the person responsible, while elsewhere efforts are being made to hide the truth as far as possible. Martin, who is plagued by memories of his time as a soldier in the Wehrmacht, has to deal with questions of guilt, responsibility and the value of a human life. Piece by piece, Jennifer Daniel's clever thriller builds up a complex picture of post-war German society, one that reflects the generational and social conflicts of the time. Sparse dialogue leaves room for interpretation and creates many a moment of suspense. Daniel's painterly illustration style and her warm colour palette skilfully capture the spirit of the late 70s.

Jens Harder (born in 1970) has been working on his monumental, multi-volume work for almost twenty years. It sets out...

Jens Harder (born in 1970) has been working on his monumental, multi-volume work for almost twenty years. It sets out to tell no less than the entire history of mankind and the universe, from the Big Bang to the distant future beyond. What you might call the most ambitious comic in the world is difficult to pin down in a single category. A visually powerful non-fiction book or fantasy picture book, this, the third volume of Harder's grand narrative, covers the last 2,000 years of human history. In a breathtaking flight through the centuries, Harder condenses the most diverse events in his typical, associative way and quotes countless references from science, art, religion and pop culture. The whole thing comes together to form a gigantic, page-turning collage.

André Breinbauer's comic debut is an unusual reinterpretation of the Greek myth of Medusa. Unusual not least because of the...

André Breinbauer's comic debut is an unusual reinterpretation of the Greek myth of Medusa. Unusual not least because of the format: the reversible comic can be started from either the front or the back, from the respective perspective of each of the two protagonists. In the middle, their fates meet in a dramatic climax. Medusa's tale is at times oppressively wordless and kept in sombre shades of black and grey, while Perseus' story is colourful and chatty. Breinbauer explores the question of who is actually the monster and who the heroic figure. He deconstructs the cliché of the man-killing Gorgon and the famous Greek hero by reversing the roles of perpetrator and victim and adding a feminist perspective to the narrative.  

After "Spirou in Berlin", Flix (alias Felix Görmann) from Berlin was once again given the honour of transposing a character...

After "Spirou in Berlin", Flix (alias Felix Görmann) from Berlin was once again given the honour of transposing a character from the Franquin universe to a modern adventure. In Flix's version, the discoverer of the Marsupilami is none other than Alexander von Humboldt, but the Marsupilami wakes up only in 1931 in a wintery Berlin, having slept through the years in a box in the Museum of Natural History. There it befriends the young Mimmi, who lives with her single mother in poor circumstances. Mimmi sets off with the quick-witted marsupial in search of its eggs. Flix has risen masterfully to the challenge of maintaining the authenticity of the iconic and fabulous creature of Franco-Belgian comics, while adding a new perspective through his own narrative and style. The result is magical reading fun for all ages.

Since autumn 2020, ZEIT Online has been publishing the continuation of Marc-Uwe Kling's bestselling series The Kangaroo Chronicles, as a...

Since autumn 2020, ZEIT Online has been publishing the continuation of Marc-Uwe Kling's bestselling series The Kangaroo Chronicles, as a comic strip. It recounts the bizarre experiences of a small-time artist in Berlin and the communist kangaroo who lives with him. Six times a week, Bernd Kissel, from Saarland, neatly illustrates the day’s gags. More than 550 episodes of the funny comic strips have now been published. This anthology brings together those from the first year. Recurring funny secondary characters, a host of running gags played to their extreme, and the regular breaking of the fourth wall make for a great read. Sometimes silly, sometimes critical, the author and the kangaroo comment on the absurd world of everyday life or the political events of the day, making you smile or think, depending on the situation.

Patrick Spät and Sheree Domingo tell the biography of South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee, an icon of Asian cinema, who...

Patrick Spät and Sheree Domingo tell the biography of South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee, an icon of Asian cinema, who died in 2018. In 1978, together with her then husband, film director Shin Sang-ok, she was abducted to North Korea, where the film-loving dictator Kim-Jong-il forced them to make films for the regime modelled on international movies. In 1986, after a thrilling chase in Vienna, they managed to escape to the West. Choi's incredible story is repeatedly interrupted by a parallel film narrative. This is "Bulgasari", a hit monster film from 1962, in which a brave blacksmith's daughter and an iron-eating monster stand up to a tyrannical ruler. Spät’s complex account is rich in dramatic twists and turns, which Domingo illustrates with great sensitivity in bright colours and brush and ink. The work was awarded the Comic Book Prize of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung 2022.

"Firebugs" tells the story of a trans couple who become increasingly estranged. Lily is at peace with herself, while Ingken...

"Firebugs" tells the story of a trans couple who become increasingly estranged. Lily is at peace with herself, while Ingken is searching for an identity and a new name. Bulling deals with themes such as identity, love and partnership, as well as the psychological impacts of climate catastrophe and social erosion. The angry-sounding title contrasts with the book’s hesitant and poetic content. Bulling conveys Ingken's sustained discomfort in a differentiated and sensitive way, without destroying the hope for a better life. The brilliant use of the red (for panel outlines, motion lines and sounds) ensures visual coherence in an innovative way. With this personal work, Bulling has nade an important contribution to queer comic literature. Sketches from "Firebugs" were presented as large ink paintings on silk fabrics at documenta fifteen (2022).

For his debut comic, Philip Deines takes a look at the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862 - 1944), a...

For his debut comic, Philip Deines takes a look at the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862 - 1944), a pioneer of abstract painting who only rose to global fame following her rediscovery decades after her death. The life and work of this artist, whose main concern was a deeper understanding of the world and human existence, are told in five chapters. Deines uses graphical tools for an ingenious, visual means of tracing af Klint's escape from the representational world. At the outset, his ligne claire drawings are calm and clearly structured, but as the book progresses they burst from more and more often the pictorial frame. For the vivid depiction of her creative process, the author has drawn inspiration from af Klint's cosmos of colour and form. In bright colours and elaborately drawn, partly double-page graphics, Deines provides deep insights into the inner world of this spiritual painter.