Sondermann is a cartoon character of the painter and cartoonist

Bernd Pfarr Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. *Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player *Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), ...

, which appeared, until August 1994, in a column of the same name by the writer Simone Borowiak and, from 1987 to August 2004, regularly in the satirical magazine ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

''. Model for the name was Gerhard Sondermann, the first publisher of ''Titanic''. Sondermann is a creation of an illustrator, who, as Bernd Pfarr himself once said, wants "to drive reality out of the pictures" (german: "den Bildern die Realität austreiben").

The comic

The world of Sondermann is subject to its own, individual laws: "Negro scrubbing" (German: "Negerschrubben") is a traditional ritual in Sondermann's company, Sondermann and his chef subdue their hunger by "huddling softly together" (German: "sich weich aneinander schmiegen"), consuming a Schnitzel or taking out the trash are common yoga exercises, and Sondermann defeats God (German: "den lieben Gott") in Tennis. Sondermann's world is populated by strange creatures: * a neighbor, Schulze, who often "comes to detonate" (German: "zum Sprengen kommt"); * God, as mentioned above; * the blowdryer-armed super hero Supererpel, who is not actually that heroic; * the brothers Strittmatter, also neighbors of Sondermann, who are penguins and "detonate saurians in their spare time" (German: "in ihrer Freizeit Saurier sprengen"); * the by Sondermann for inexplicable reasons unbeloved Mr. Sharp, "lord over seven flies" (German: "Herr über sieben Fliegen"), also a penguin and "newest stallion" (German: "neuester Stecher") of Sondermann's mother; * Herr Detlev Siehlbeck, who always carries a dead fish with him and expects that one pets it; * the small dog Willi, whose "freethinking remarks about the preparation of his food" (German: "freigeistige Ausführungen der Zubereitung seines Fresschens betreffend") impress the

Weltgeist ''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to h ...

so much that they cause

metaphysical levitation Levitation or transvection in the paranormal context is the rising of a human body and other objects into the air by mystical means. While believed by some in certain religious and New Age communities to occur as a result of supernatural, psyc ...

in it; * and not least Sondermann himself: accountant, single and eager to learn, with a pronounced artistic side, while not insusceptible for erotic or homoerotic attractions. Early Sondermann episodes mostly limited themselves on the master-servant-relationship between Sondermann and his chef. Out of this basic conflict, grew only over time the pandemonium of the above listed characters. According to writer

Robert Gernhardt Robert Gernhardt (13 December 1937 – 30 June 2006) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist and poet. Life Robert Gernhardt was born the son of a judge and a chemist in Tallinn, where his family was part of the Baltic German minority. I ...

, the character very quickly developed a "life of its own" (German: "Eigenleben"), for which even the editorial staff of ''Titanic'' was not prepared.

Sondermann Award

Since 2004 Bernd Pfarr's character name also denotes an audience prize for comics awarded by and at the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

in collaboration with the magazine '' Comixene'', the ''

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...

'', and ''

Spiegel Online ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, '' Der Spiegel'', w ...

''. Some of the prizes include a cash sum.

Recipients 2004

*International comic: ''

Asterix and the Class Act ''Asterix and the Class Act'' (french: link=no, Astérix et la rentrée gauloise, "Asterix and the Gaulish return; ''la rentrée'' is the French return to school after the summer break) is officially the thirty-second album of the Asterix comic ...

'' by

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with R ...

and

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

*Domestic comic: ''Nichtlustig 2'' by Joscha Sauer *International

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. ...

: ''

Angel Sanctuary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. It was serialized in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Hana to Yume'' from July 1994 to October 2000. It follows Setsuna Mudo, a human teenager who, as the reincarnation of ...

'' by

Kaori Yuki is a Japanese manga artist best known for her gothic manga such as '' Earl Cain'', its sequel ''Godchild'', and ''Angel Sanctuary''. Yuki debuted professionally in 1987 with , which ran in the manga anthology ''Bessatsu Hana to Yume'' published ...

*Domestic manga: ''Without Identity'' by Sascha Schätzchen *Newcomer 2004: Joscha Sauer (''Nichtlustig 2'')

Recipients 2005

*International comic: ''Onkel Dagobert'' by

Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Di ...

*Domestic comic: ''Die Chronik der Unsterblichen'' by

Wolfgang Hohlbein Wolfgang Hohlbein (born 15 August 1953 in Weimar, Bezirk Erfurt) is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike Hohlbein, is also a writer and often works with ...

Benjamin von Eckartsberg Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

and

Thomas von Kummant Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

*International manga/manhwa: ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chap ...

'' by

Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'' (1997–present). With more than 516.5 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide, ''One Piece'' is both the best-selling manga in history and the best-se ...

*Domestic manga: ''

Dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

'' by Judith Park *Cartoon: ''Shit happens!'' by

Ralph Ruthe Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

*Newcomer 2005:

Arne Bellstorf Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly), ...

(''Acht, neun, zehn'') *Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art:

Rudi Hurzlmeier Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spirit ...

Recipients 2006

*International comic: ''

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Presents'' #51� ...

'' by

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

*Domestic comic: ''Adolf – der Bonker'' by

Walter Moers Walter Moers (; born 24 May 1957 in Mönchengladbach) is a German comic creator and author. Life and work Moers held odd jobs after leaving school before starting a commercial apprenticeship. He taught himself how to draw, and has been publis ...

*International manga/manhwa: '' Shinshi Doumei Cross'' by

Arina Tanemura is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and character designer. She made her professional manga debut in 1996 with the one-shot ''The Style of the Second Love'' in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine '' Ribon Original'' and later published her fir ...

*Domestic manga: ''Jibun-Jishin'' by Nina Werner *Cartoon: ''Shit happens!'' by

*Newcomer 2006: Moki (''Asleep in a foreign place'') *Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Greser & Lenz

Recipients 2007

*International comic: ''

Calvin & Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly cited as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin and Hobb ...

'' by

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995, w ...

*Domestic comic: ''Cash – I see a darkness'' by

Reinhard Kleist Reinhard Kleist (born 11 February 1970, Hürth, Germany) is a German graphic designer and cartoonist. Life Kleist studied graphic design at the Fachhochschule Münster. There he created his albums "Lovecraft," "Dorian" and as a thesis "Abenteur ...

*International manga/manhwa: ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to M ...

'' by

Takeshi Obata is a Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained international attention for '' Hikaru no Go'' (1998–2003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for '' Death Note'' (2003–2006) ...

and Tsugumi Ōba *Domestic manga: ''Gothic Sports'' by Anike Hage *Cartoon: ''Shit happens!'' by

*Newcomer 2007: Dirk Schwieger *Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Rattelschneck ('' Stulli, das Pausenbrot'')

Recipients 2008

*International comic: ''Prinz Eisenherz'' by

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship ...

*Domestic comic: ''Die Sache mit Sorge'' by Isabel Kreitz *International manga/manhwa: Volume 44 of ''

'' by

*Domestic manga: ''Stupid Story 1'' by Anna Hollmann *Cartoon: ''Shit happens!'' by

*Newcomer 2008: Barbara Yelin *Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Stephan Rürup

Recipients 2009

*International comic: ''Der Dunkle Turm'' by Jae Lee et al. (illustration),

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

and

Robin Furth Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance'', which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006. It is a compilation of her two previous encyclopedic ...

(text), based on The Dark Tower by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

*Domestic comic: ''Prototyp'' by

Ralf König Ralf König (born 8 August 1960) is one of the best known and most commercially successful German comic book creators. His books have been translated into many languages. He has resided in Soest, Dortmund and Berlin and now lives in Cologne. ...

*International manga/manhwa: Volume 48 of ''

'' by

*Domestic manga: ''Stupid Story 2'' by Anna Hollmann *Cartoon: ''Nichtlustig 4'' by Joscha Sauer *Newcomer 2009:

Michael Meier Michael Meier (19 October 1928 – 3 April 2022) was a German Roman Catholic prelate. Meier was born in Germany and was ordained to the priesthood in 1957. He served as coadjutor archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mount Hagen ...

*Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Kamagurka

Recipients 2010

* Comic: ''

Asterix and Obelix's Birthday ''Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book'' is the thirty-fourth album of the Asterix comic book series, designed and written by Albert Uderzo. The book also includes Asterix stories which were created jointly with René Goscinny. The alb ...

'' by

and

, Egmont Ehapa * Manga/Manhwa: ''

Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-release ...

1'' by Akira Himekawa, Tokyopop * Cartoon: ''Das schwarze Buch'' by

Uli Stein Ulrich "Uli" Stein (born 23 October 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Between 1978 and 1997, made 512 appearances in the German Bundesliga. He began his career in 1978 with Arminia Bielefeld. After tw ...

, Lappan * Webcomic (endowed with 1,000 Euro): ''Beetlebum'' by Johannes Kretzschmar. * Newcomer 2010: Felix Mertikat and Benjamin Schreuder (''Jakob'') * Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Ari Plikat

Recipients 2011

* Comic international: ''Das Leben von Anne Frank'' von Ernie Colón (drawings) and Sid Jacobson (text), Carlsen * Domestic comic (national): ''Haarmann'' von Isabel Kreitz (drawings) and Peer Meter (text), Carlsen * Manga international: ''

Fairy Tail ''Fairy Tail'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 ' ...

'', 4th part, by Hiro Mashima, Carlsen * Domestic manga (national): ''Die Wolke'' by Anike Hage, after

Die Wolke ''Die Wolke'' () is a German novel for young adults by German author Gudrun Pausewang, published in 1987. The story was written after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, with a 14-year-old girl having to deal with the consequences o ...

von

Gudrun Pausewang Gudrun Pausewang (3 March 1928 – 23 January 2020), less commonly known by her married name, Gudrun Wilcke, was a German author of children's and young adult literature. She was known for books such as '' The Last Children of Schewenborn'' and ...

, Tokyopop * Webcomic (endowed with 1,000 Euro): ''Entoman'' von David Füleki * Newcomer 2011: Asja Wiegand * Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Eugen Egner

Recipients 2012

* Comic international: ''Habibi'' von Craig Thompson, Reprodukt * Domestic comic (national): '' Steam Noir'' von Felix Mertikat (drawings) und Benjamin Schreuder (text), Cross Cult * Manga international: ''

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The serie ...

'' von

Naoko Takeuchi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the author of ''Sailor Moon'', one of the most popular manga series of all time. She has won several awards, including the 1993 Kodansha Manga Award for ''Sailor Moon''. Takeuchi is married to ...

, EMA * Domestic manga (national): '' Stupid Story 3'' von Anna Hollmann, Tokyopop * Webcomic (endowed with 1,000 Euro): '' Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof'' von Sarah Burrini * Newcomer 2012:

Aisha Franz Aisha Franz (born 1984) is a German illustrator and comic book artist based in Berlin. Her work lays in the convergence of daily life routine and the existential inquiries around them, highlighting the absurdity of human reality. Aisha Franz ha ...

* Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art:

Christoph Niemann Christoph Niemann (born 1970) is an illustrator, graphic designer, and children's book author. Since July 2008, Niemann has been writing and illustrating '' The New York Times'' blog Abstract City, renamed Abstract Sunday in 2011, when the blog ...

Recipients 2013

* Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Hilke Raddatz * Sponsorship award: Katharina Greve

Recipients 2014

* Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Ernst Kahl * Sponsorship award: Sebastian Lörscher * Scholarship: Leonard Riegel

Recipients 2015

* Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art:

Michael Sowa Michael Sowa (born 1945) is a German artist known mainly for his paintings, which are variously whimsical, surreal, or stunning. His paintings often feature animals and are titled in English and German. His art is widely available as posters, notec ...

* Sponsorship award: Leonard Riegel * Scholarship: Ella Carina Werner

Recipients 2016

* Bernd-Pfarr-special-prize for comical art: Thomas Kapielski * Sponsorship award: Jan Böhmermann * Scholarship: Fabian Lichter

Recipients 2017

* Sondermann-Preis für Komische Kunst: Hans Traxler * Sponsorship award: Kathrin Fricke * Scholarship: Daniel Sibbe

Recipients 2018

* Sondermann-Preis für Komische Kunst:

Otto Waalkes Otto Gerhard Waalkes (born 22 July 1948) is a German comedian, actor, and musician. He became famous in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany with his shows, books and films. His best known trademark are the 'Ottifanten' ('Ottiphants'), elephant-like c ...

for life work * Sponsorship award: Anna Haifisch * Scholarship: Paula Irmschler

Recipients 2019

* Sondermann-Preis für Komische Kunst:

Nicolas Mahler Nicolas Mahler (born 1969) is an Austrian cartoonist and illustrator. ''Die Zeit'', '' NZZ am Sonntag'', ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' and ''Titanic'' print his comics. He is known for his comics ''Flaschko'' and ''Kratochvil'' and ...

for his comics based on masterpieces of world literature * Sponsorship award: Stefanie Sargnagel * Scholarship: Adrian Schulz

References

{{Reflist German comic strips German comics characters Fictional German people German comics titles 1987 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1987 2004 comics endings Satirical comics Comics awards Fiction about God