History/Politics

Isabel Kreitz, from Hamburg, is one of the most ambitious female comic artists in Germany. Her comics examine both the phenomenon of youth culture and the historical and political events of German history. She always integrates her protagonists within a historical context, usually with a local connection to Hamburg.

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A classic example of her work is the comic Die Entdeckung der Curry-Wurst (2005). Basing her work on the novella by Uwe Timm, the artist links National Socialism with the present in strongly contrasting black and white images, focusing on the German process of coming to terms with the past. Her polished use of light and shade reflects the influence of Will Eisner, her great role model.

She found the perfect setting for Schlechte Laune (2000), her first comic, which marks the beginning of a series about the tragic fate of the train-surfer Ralf, in the catacombs and underground-train network of the city of Hamburg. This youth, disfigured by an accident, turns up in the underground system. There he meets other fellow sufferers, together with whom he tries to survive in a parallel world. In the comics Ohne Peilung (1995) and Totenstill (1997), Kreitz once again uses hidden-away places such as bunkers and sewers as a metaphor for the remnants of National Socialism. Kreitz stresses the political apathy of the younger generation and the naive way they view neo-Nazism, as well as the lax attitude of society and contemporary witnesses. In her comic Waffenhändler (1998), she pillories political and business connections and cliques that have existed beyond the Third Reich, still pulling strings in the background even today.

Isabel Kreitz meticulously researches the historical locations for her comics and creates impressive and atmospheric backdrops with her realistic artistic style. Together with Laura Bartels, Isabel Kreitz produced a comic for German World Famine Relief about foreign aid in Bolivia. In spite of the serious theme, the duo managed to embellish the informative part of Die Leidenschaft des Herrn Lührs (2001) with an exciting and upbeat story about a potato-loving chef. This comic revealed the humorous talent of Isabel Kreitz, the idealistic comic artist who earns her daily bread with humorous comic strips, such as Ottifanten and Heiss & Fettig, her own series, which is set in a snack bar.