German comics are comics written in the German language or by German-speaking creators, for the major comic markets in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with spill-overs into the neighboring, but lesser, comic markets of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and German-speaking Belgium.
The German language comic market is not as large or strong in sales as in most other European countries: comics account for only approximately 3% of printed matter in Germany. The main publishers of original material are Schwarzer Turm, Weissblech Comics, Gringo Comics, and Zwerchfell Verlag.
There continues to be a large presence of translated material in the German language market. Panini Comics holds licensing agreements to publish translated Marvel and DC Comics, among other things. Other comic publishers of licensed versions of foreign language material, particularly those from Franco-Belgian origin (which started to become a major force on the German comics scene from the late-1960s onward, presently eclipsing native productions), include Egmont Ehapa, Carlsen Comics, and others.
History
The German comic has many early forerunners. In the 19th century, satire publications like Simplicissimus and Fliegende Blätter featured many caricatures that became internationally well-known. At around the same time, Rodolphe Töpffer (Switzerland) and Wilhelm Busch (Germany) published many comic strips. They are now generally recognized as pioneers of the comic form, predating the development of the American comic strip. German born and influenced artists Rudolph Dirks and Lyonel Feininger brought the innovations to American Sunday papers.
For most of the post-World War II 20th century, the German-speaking comic market was dominated by translated importations like The Adventures of Tintin (German: Tim und Struppi), Asterix, and Micky Maus. Notable German comic translators are Erika Fuchs (Micky Maus), (Asterix) and Herbert Feuerstein (Mad). Towards the end of the century, superheroes, manga, and Calvin and Hobbes began to have a large presence in the translated comic market. However, there were some successful German creations during this time.
Between 1934 and 1937, the comic strip Vater und Sohn ("Father and Son") appeared in the weekly illustrated magazine Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung. It was one of the most popular German strips of all time. It was created by Erich Ohser, under the pseudonym e.o.plauen (which stands for "Erich Ohser from Plauen" and was adopted by him after being blacklisted by the Nazis for his political cartoons).
Comic books were not published in Nazi Germany because such literature was banned under the Nazi party. The reaction of the SS towards the comic book character Superman was negative because the creator of Superman was Jewish, even though they regarded themselves as the primary representatives of the master race and were themselves trying to create a super race:
In post-war (the 1950s and 1960s) West Germany, comic books and strips were largely inspired by American models. Comic books for children and young people were developed, such as Rolf Kauka's Fix and Foxi and adventure comics like Sigurd and Nick by Hansrudi Wäscher. After 1960 the West German publishers commissioned foreign artists and studios. Bessy was a Belgian production for the German market, was produced in Britain, and Gespenster Geschichten was drawn by Spanish artists. Despite dubious art quality and increasing resistance from educators, these comics were very popular.
Of somewhat better quality were the comics in weekly news magazines. In the 1950s, the series Nick Knatterton by Manfred Schmidt was published in the news magazine Quick. The detective story strip was inspired by Schmidt's dislike of Superman, and was in part intended as a parody. The news magazine Stern had several comics: (by Loriot), (by Hans Jürgen Press), Jimmy das Gummipferd and Taró. Since 1953 the television magazine Hörzu has a long-running comic with the hedgehog Mecki. Germany has also popular advertising comic books like Lurchi, Max und Luzie, Mike der Taschengeldexperte, and Knax.