Ralf König (born 8 August 1960) is one of the best known and most commercially successful German

comic book creator developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...

s. His books have been translated into many languages. He has resided in Soest,

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and now lives in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Biography

After attending a German

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

, König completed an apprenticeship, learning the trade of a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

. In 1979, he

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as a gay man, and about this time he created short comics stories that appeared in the Munich underground magazine ''Zomix'' and the gay periodical ''Rosa Flieder''. He returned to school from 1981 to 1986, attending the public Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and pursuing a major in free art (''Freie Kunst''). Also in 1981, his early collected comics were published by the gay publishing house Verlag rosa Winkel as ''SchwulComix'' (''GayComix''). In 1987, he wrote ''The Killer Condom'' (''Kondom des Grauens''), his first comic with a continuous story, which was later produced as a film. In the German-speaking world, König's comics have a vast homosexual fan base. Despite initial skepticism about the prospect of a broader audience due to his works' frequent setting within the gay milieu, his comics have achieved considerable popularity among heterosexual readers as well. A few of his comics have been adapted into films, and several have translated into other languages. By 2008, his total publications exceeded 5 million copies. Since November 2017, König is an Ambassador of ''intaktiv e.V.'', an association against ritual circumcision of male children.

Style

König's stories are drawn in an expressive

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

style. Consistently written with

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

, they occasionally deal with serious themes such as the tension between sexual freedom and the risk of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

infection. His work has repeatedly portrayed daily routines of gay life, often based on personal experiences of himself and his friends. He has also written works that deal centrally with heterosexuals (''Der bewegte Mann'', ''Hempels Sofa'') and with religious themes, criticizing literalist readings of the bible (''Prototyp'' and ''Archetyp'') as well as Islamic fundamentalism (''Dschinn Dschinn'').

Awards

* ''Joop Klepzeiker Prijs'', 1988 * ''Best German comic creator'', Grenoble, 1990 * '' Max-und-Moritz'' Prize, 1992 * ''Best International Comic Creator'', Barcelona, 1992 * '' Bundesfilmpreis'' for the movie

Der bewegte Mann ''Der bewegte Mann'' (international title: ''The Most Desired Man'', U.S. title: ''Maybe ... Maybe Not'') is a 1994 German comedy film directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring Til Schweiger, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król and Katja Riemann. The fi ...

, 1995 * ''

Goldene Leinwand The Goldene Leinwand (Golden Screen) is an award created in 1964 by the HDF ("Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater e.V.", literally translated "Main Association For Movie Theatres") and the journal ''Filmecho/Filmwoche''. Like a Golden Record, it is ...

mit Stern'' for the movie Der bewegte Mann, 1995 * ''Goldener RIK'', Köln, 2002 * ''Zivilcourage-Preis des Berliner CSD'', Berlin, 2004 * ''Prix Alph’Art'',

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

, 2005 * ''Premio miglior storia lunga'', 2005 * ''Max-und-Moritz Prize'', 2006 * ''Max-und-Moritz Prize'', 2010

Works

Comics

* ''Sarius'', 1981 * ''Das sensationelle Comic-Book'', 1981 * ''SchwulComix'' (Gay Comics), 1981 * ''SchwulComix 2'' (Gay Comics 2), 1984 * ''Macho Comix'' (Macho Comix), 1984 * ''SchwulComix 3'' (Gay Comics 3), 1985 * ''SchwulComix 4'' (Gay Comics 4), 1986 * ''Kondom des Grauens'' (The Killer Condom), 1987 * ''Der bewegte Mann'' (Maybe...Maybe Not), 1987 * ''Lysistrata'', 1987 * ''Pretty Baby'', 1988 (Maybe...Maybe Not Again!, sequel to ''Der bewegte Mann'') * ''Comics, Cartoons, Critzeleien'', 1988 * ''Safere Zeiten'' (Safer Times), 1988 * ''Beach Boys'', 1989 * ''Prall aus dem Leben'' (Life to the Full), 1989 * ''Bis auf die Knochen'' (Down to the Bone), 1990 (sequel to ''Kondom des Grauens'') * ''Heiße Herzen'' (Flaming Hearts), 1990 (with Detlev Meyer) * ''Zitronenröllchen'' (Lemon cake), 1990 * ''Schwulxx-Comix'' (Gay Comix), 1990 (with Walter Moers) * ''Deutsche Tuntenpost'', 1991 * ''Bullenklöten!'' (Bull's Balls), 1992 * ''...und das mit links!'', 1993 * ''Konrad und Paul'', 1993 * ''Konrad und Paul 2'', 1994 * ''Konrad und Paul 3'', 1997 * ''Jago'', 1998 * ''Superparadise'', 1999 (sequel to ''Bullenklöten'') * ''Poppers! Rimming! Tittentrimm!'', 2001 * ''Wie die Karnickel'' (like bunnies), 2002 * ''Sie dürfen sich jetzt küssen'', 2003 (Third part of ''Bullenklöten'') * ''Suck my duck'', 2004 * ''Roy und Al'', 2004 * ''Dschinn Dschinn: Der Zauber des Schabbar'', 2005 * ''Dschinn Dschinn 2: Schleierzwang im Sündenpfuhl'', 2006 * ''Trojanische Hengste'', 2006 * ''Hempels Sofa'', 2007 * ''Stutenkerle'', 2008 * ''Prototyp'', 2008 * ''Archetyp'', 2009 * ''Antityp'', 2010 * ''Der Dicke König'', 2011 * ''Elftausend Jungfrauen'', 2012 * ''Herbst in der Hose'', 2017 * ''Santa Claus Junior'', 2017 * ''Stehaufmännchen'', 2019

English translations

Some of König's books have been translated into English. First was ''Kondom des Grauens'', published as ''The Killer Condom'' (1991, reprint 2009). The two-part book ''Der bewegte Mann''/''Pretty Baby'' appeared as ''Maybe... Maybe Not'' (1998)/''Maybe... Maybe Not Again!'' (1999). Later translations include ''Bullenklöten'' as ''Bull's Balls'' (2002), ''Roy und Al'' as ''Roy & Al'' (2006) and ''Down to the Bone'' (2011).

Films

* ''

'', 1994 * '' Kondom des Grauens'', 1996 (script by Ralf König) * '' Wie die Karnickel'', 2002 (script by Ralf König) * '' Lisístrata'', Spain 2002 (following ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', ) is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city ...

'')

Documentary

A 2012 German

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film directed by

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous LGBT social move ...

named ''König des Comics'' follows König's life and work. Besides König, those interviewed include

Hella von Sinnen Hella Kemper (born 2 February 1959), known by her stage name Hella von Sinnen (lit. ''Hella out of her mind'', making pun of the aristocratic "von"), is a German entertainer and television presenter. She has been a regular on several TV shows on ...

, Ralph Morgenstern, Joachim Król as well as friends and admirers of the cartoonist, like a Swiss fan who visits his beloved writer, a couple of friends who played important roles during König's youth, a comic book seller etc. The film also includes clips from König's comic public readings. It was screened at various festivals such as

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and San Sebastian. It reached a wider audience than most of von Praunheim's documentaries and it is available for streaming on digital platforms.

Footnotes

References

Ralf König publications
from Goethe-Institut

External links

*
Ralf König official site

on Lambiek Comiclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Ralf 1960 births People from Soest, Germany German comics artists German comics writers German humorists Living people LGBTQ comics creators German gay artists Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni German male writers 20th-century German LGBTQ people 21st-century German LGBTQ people