Graphic Novels from Germany
With the Stroke of the Pen

Now as ever, real life remains the most vital source of inspiration for the German comics scene, even in these troubling times of the coronavirus crisis. Many German cartoonists have been artistically processing the pandemic and its effects on everyday life – and publishing their comics online.

The reunification has put Germany back on the world map of graphic novels. A look back at 30 years of German comic history.

The number of new comic books published in Germany is rising – in large part thanks to a number of young artists jumping directly from the art academy straight into the book market. They are exploring everything from current socio-political topics to important historical figures.

With her “Madgermanes”, Birgit Weyhe has revisited Afro-German history, and in a certain way a part of her very own biography. This year, she is among the guests at the festival BD in Montreal.

In “Wave and Smile”, Arne Jysch reconstructs the day-to-day life of a German army soldier in Afghanistan. “Der nasse Fisch” (i.e. The Wet Fish) is an adaptation of Volker Kutscher’s best-selling novel of the same name and focuses particular attention on the details of 1920s Berlin.

Interview with writer and illustrator Nora Krug about her book “Belonging”, living as a German in the US and the potential of graphic memoirs to deal with the past. 

In her “Schattenspringer” comics, Daniela Schreiter portrays how she and other people with Asperger syndrome cope with their condition, which makes them feel as if they have “landed on the wrong planet”. Her art helps her come to terms with serious real-life experiences.

Comic-strip artist Olivia Vieweg writes to entertain her readers with characters that battle monsters like zombies. She focuses on strong women set against East German backdrops and explores the exceptional value of friendship. And she shows that entertainment doesn’t have to be apolitical.

Anna Haifisch publishes comics in New York and co-founded a comic festival in Leipzig: this is how the illustrator combines her fascination with US culture, local engagement and her penchant for the independent.

Jens Harder only began drawing comics as an adult. This influences his work: rather than using conventional narrative structures, he uses an associative narrative style to expand the concept of the medium – most noticeably in his multi-volume history of the universe.

Berliner-by-choice Reinhard Kleist is one of Germany’s hardest working and most successful comic artists and illustrators. His graphic novels portray exceptional figures from politics, sports and pop culture – and have won numerous prizes.

From the North Pole to the slaughterhouses of Chicago: Kristina Gehrmann has a penchant for all things historical, which she combines with her love of manga.

German-speaking Swiss Matthias Gnehm is a rarity among comic authors: the artist and screenwriter works as a freelance architect and incorporates his professional experience into his comics.

Now in its 16th year, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival continues to cement its place as one of the world’s premier events in comics and graphic novels.

The Erlangen Comic Salon in 2018 was devoted to graphic journalism. The dividing line in this genre, as it emerges, runs between dedicated journalism and ethnographic inventory. 

Jeff Lemire, award-winning Canadian illustrator and author of graphic novels, visited the International Comic Salon Erlangen in June 2018.

Whether it is passing on knowledge or encouraging creativity and imagination, comics for kids and teens have become truly high-quality children’s and young adult literature. 

Numerous comics remind us of the dictatorial regime that ruled the GDR and the peaceful end of the East German state.

For the 2018 edition of the TCAF the Goethe-Institut Toronto invited German illustrator Stephanie Wunderlich. In an interview with the Goethe-Institut Toronto, she tells us about Spring, a German collective of female artists she had been a member of for over 10 years and which publishes a yearly issue of their magazine SPRING.