Black Mirrors — Current Graphic Novels from Germany

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.

In Thomas Wellmann's short episodes from the daily lives of three friends, Nika, Lotte and Mangold, not only is the...

In Thomas Wellmann's short episodes from the daily lives of three friends, Nika, Lotte and Mangold, not only is the draughtsmanship convincing, but the dry humour and cheeky dialogue are especially enchanting. With the brightly coloured, sometimes fantastic stories about the mismatched trio, he moves beyond clichéed roles and brings diversity into play in an uninhibited way. The interplay between text and image works brilliantly. Wellmann's stories take place in the here and now: the everyday problems, the language, all this is tangible to young readers and shows them, in a wonderful way, how they can be themselves without worries, while still being friends with each other.

In her impressive documentary graphic novel, journalist Anna Rakhmanko tells the story of Vasja, her grandfather. It is based on...

In her impressive documentary graphic novel, journalist Anna Rakhmanko tells the story of Vasja, her grandfather. It is based on an interview with her great-aunt Ljuba, who recalls her harrowing childhood experience of deportation from Bukovina to faraway Siberia, and describes her family's fate as slave workers in the Gulag, tormented by suffering, hunger and death. Mikkel Sommer's drawings, in black and tones of grey and violet, convey the desolation as well as an oppressive proximity to the events that stays with the reader for a long time.

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.

After a climate catastrophe, the world consists only of ice. Survivors have retreated to fortified cities to protect themselves from...

After a climate catastrophe, the world consists only of ice. Survivors have retreated to fortified cities to protect themselves from the threat of ice monsters that attack people at night. The boy Sami dreams of taking on the creatures, but he gets injured during one of their attacks and is himself transformed into a creature, half-man, halfmonster. Ban Zarbo delivers some high quality of drawing to kick off a fast-paced post-apocalyptic adventure. The narrative successfully mixes elements of fantasy and science fiction and wins our attention with a sympathetic ensemble of characters.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In their comic, Jochen Voit, the biographer of Ernst Busch, and illustrator Sophia Hirsch trace the history of a man...

In their comic, Jochen Voit, the biographer of Ernst Busch, and illustrator Sophia Hirsch trace the history of a man who is also a myth: Busch was a shipyard worker during the time of the Kaiser; a star of films and phonographs in the Weimar Republic; an anti-fascist singer in exile; a prisoner of the Nazi regime; later a querulous state artist and communist star of the GDR. The story is based on the attempt in the early 1970s by the painter Ronald Paris to capture Busch in an oil painting, and to exhibit that painting, which ends in disaster. In three acts, three very different companions tell of their encounters with the eccentric singer and actor. In this way, the authors manage to make Ernst Busch approachable. Instead of the myth, they draw the man with all his maladjustments and contradictions.

Adrian and his younger sister are haunted in their sleep by nightmares of terrifying monsters. These originate in a ...

Adrian and his younger sister are haunted in their sleep by nightmares of terrifying monsters. These originate in a parallel world, a kind of dream realm, which Adrian can enter through the "Gateway". Martina Peters was inspired to write this dark urban fantasy story by her own experiences with sleep paralysis. She demonstrates her great skill as one of the most experienced German mangaka, which is reflected in drawing terms in the successful characters and detailed backgrounds, and in narrative terms in the achievement suspense through the graduation in the build-up of the evil.

With their fifth volume, this pair of comic artists present the furious finale of their internationally successful series — an...

With their fifth volume, this pair of comic artists present the furious finale of their internationally successful series — an action-packed mixture of teen drama and postcivilisation survival adventure. Humans have been forced to barricade themselves in fortified settlements subject to strict rules, to protect themselves from a bloodthirsty species of ape. When two rebellious orphan brothers are punitively transferred to an outpost, the social order is upset and conflicts erupt. The spectacular aesthetics of the virtuoso drawings are reminiscent of animation and with their colour and lighting, stand out visually from other publications. Editions of Gung Ho in France, Spain and the USA bear witness to the success story of this outstanding genre comic.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

In Backwards Land we experience scenes from our lives in reverse: in the newspaper you can read what will happen...

In Backwards Land we experience scenes from our lives in reverse: in the newspaper you can read what will happen the next day, trees are put back upright with saws, pigs are resuscitated with an electric club in the slaughterhouse. The principle of cause and effect is reversed, and splendidly absurd situations arise — in lovingly detailed, brightly coloured illustrations, sometimes as panels, sometimes full pages. All of this rhymed to perfection in a way that expresses Wagenbreth's love of wordplay. An enjoyable read that makes you wonder and think. Born in 1962, since 1994 Wagenbreth has been professor of illustration at the Berlin University of the Arts, one of Germany's most important centres for young comic artists.

In Black Mirrors, the last survivor wanders a deserted landscape devastated by nuclear war. Then, against all expectations, he meets...

In Black Mirrors, the last survivor wanders a deserted landscape devastated by nuclear war. Then, against all expectations, he meets a woman. The multi-awardwinning Viennese comic artist, whose extensive work has been published internationally, retells Arno Schmidt's culturally pessimistic Adam and Eve dystopia in his inimitable humorous way. Previously he has radically rewritten several other great novels, making new works of art in their own right. With his unmistakable, very economical stroke, he succeeds once again in innovatively condensing a classic.