Whenever I write about comic stuff I also include links and I always extend the offer for a link exchange. On one side I want to give other comic fans more exposure ( this is a community after all ) but I´m also always pimpin my own blog. So I´m trying to get links on as many other websites as possible.
Most websites don´t take me up on that offer. Apparently there is a certain time when all the link exchanges are done and - it´s past. Whenever the call went out to change links for blogs I certainly missed it. Or you have to be already famous to be put in the link section. Which means that it only happens when you can´t benefit from it. Weird system. Anyway, I thought I should write something about the new links because I don´t know for how long it will stay in the link section.
You see, the thing about a link exchamge is that it is supposed to be mutual. And while I have put the link for Geierheim in my permanent link section I haven´t found a link to my blog on Geierheim. It may be that someone as busy as Geier has just forgot to put it up. So I´m keeping the link till the end of this month which means that next year it won´t be there. Well, you can still go to the website from here.
Okay, what is Geierheim ? It´s the new blog of Geier a.k.a. Jürgen Speh one of the few german comic stars.
Geier is one the creme de la creme of german comic artists which for me means one of the best. He is often said to be a bit difficult but I have to say that I never got this impression. In fact whenever we meet he treats me like " one of the boys " although my adventures a s a comic professional were rather short. We pretty much crashed and burned with POWER FREAKS and although my days of a comic creator may well be over we still have a connection like we´re in the same club.
Not like we´re in the same league. More like he´s in Major League and I´m in Little League but still in the same club. Not that I think I could ever be in the same league because quite frankly he´s a league of his own.
The facts of his bio are contradictory. On one website it says that Geier was born in Glarus, Switzerland to German parents in 1965. Soon, they moved back to Germany and settled in Stuttgart, where Geier studied Graphic Design and became a comic artist. On another site it is said that he´s the son of an anonymous ambassador and a native shaman from Mongolia which may not be true but would explain a lot of things.
The first comics of him I read were the LENA WOMBAT comics in the german cult comic magazine MENSCHENBLUT which began a relationship with the independent german comic publisher SCHWARZER TURM.
I have mentioned them a few times on this blog. While Lena Wombat was clearly influenced by Jamie Hewlett´s TANK GIRL it was more than a carbon copy with a charme of his own. And while you could already see his crafty artsmanship in theses stories he really showed what he was capable of in DER RING DES MEISTERS ( The master´s ring ) a story that was published in MENSCHENBLUT and won the ICOM Independent Award in 2000.
While Lena Wombat was written by himself DER RING DES MEISTERS was written by Robi ( like most of the stuff in Menschenblut ) which was the start of a long relationship. After doing KRIEGSFUNNIES ( WAR FUNNIES ) for GRINGO COMICS, which is a oneshot that features funny animal characters in a grim and gritty war story, he started HORST one of Germany´s most successful independent series for SCHWARZER TURM.
HORST is of course written once again by Robi with beautiful covers by Toni Greis in the beginning. Since he´s working on LUNA now the last covers have been done by Geier himself but that´s alright since it´s almost the same as replacing Adam Hughes with Frank Cho. Both of them are top notch artists.
Horst is a funny animal comic and I doubt that the series would work in another format. The stories are slice of life stories that are highly autobiographical which is part of the charm. The main character Horst is a rabbit who´s kind of a sex addict and the comic has been accused of being sexist and degrading women. Which is not true. It´s right that a lot of the stories take place in certain etablissements and there are many prostitutes in the cast. But it´s always told in a realistic way and not just as a masturbation aid.
In fact many of the stories are such downers that I doubt anyone could get an erection out of it. The truth is that Horst is a sad little rabbit always looking for love but always ending up alone. Even when he can find happiness for a few fleeting moments it doesn´t last long. And he always has to pay for it - most times in hard cash. The reason why you keep reading is that Horst is honest. You can see that someone is sharing things he really experienced and thought a few things may have been changed here and there truth is always stranger than fiction.
And of course the really interesting stuff is when we can witness his adventures of Horst Brack, Der Bestrafer, one of the presenters of Germany´s best wrestling tv show ever CATCH UP.
Another Robi / Geier collaboration from SCHWARZER TURM is ARSINOE an erotic comic that has taken up the legacy of the smash hit ALRAUNE. The story involves archeology, mystical artefacts, time travel and of course lot of naked people doing naughty stuff.
So what can I find on Geierheim ? Of course art by Geier but also posts about other art stuff, comments about movies and comics like SQUEAK THE MOUSE or potato chips. You can check out the link in the link section or right here :
Of course it´s all in german. What do you expect ? Most people in Germany write their blogs in german.
the usual link section
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No ! You´re not the real Bruce Wayne - - and the real Bruce Wayne is not Batman !
