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 publishing since 1984. He first became known for cartoon-like comics that were marked by an ironic view of the world and a conscious violation of political correctness. Many of his works first appeared in the satirical magazine Titanic. Although he doesn't contribute to the magazine anymore, he's still listed as contributor. His last work published in 'Titanic' was the Superhero-Parody 'Deadman' (not to be confused with the DC-Comics Superhero of the same name, Moers' character was just a dead man lying in a coffin for three pages without a word or any change in the pictures).

His best-known comic characters are:

• Das kleine Arschloch (The little arsehole), a precocious and irreverent little boy who constantly gets one over on the adults.
• Der alte Sack (The old curmudgeon), a terminally ill old man in a wheel chair who makes sarcastic comments on what he sees.
• Adolf, die Nazisau (Adolf, the Nazi pig), an absurd interpretation of Adolf Hitler in today's world.
• Käpt'n Blaubär (Capt'n Bluebear), an old sea-faring bear with blue fur, who spins ridiculous pirate yarns, all of which, he claims, are true.

In addition to these comics clearly intended for an adult audience, Moers also writes stories and books that he has been publishing since 1985. In 1988, his first "Käpt'n Blaubär" story was published, a character that has since been popular on TV, in books, and on audio cassettes. Starting in 1999 with The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, Moers has more recently become known for his novels, especially the Zamonia series.

Moers wrote both the script and the song lyrics for the movie Kleines Arschloch (1997) and the script for the movie Käpt'n Blaubär (1999).

Zamonia series

The first novel of the Zamonia series, Die 13½ Leben des Käpt’n Blaubär, was originally published in 1999. The Captain Bluebear appearing in this novel is very distinct from the one portrayed in a popular German children's series Sendung mit der Maus. Whereas there, Capain Bluebear appears as a grandfather, he is still a youngster in the novel. The book is written for adolescents and adults rather than for children. It introduces the reader to the fictive world of Zamonia by providing among other things a detailed map and various descriptions of its inhabitants.

The second Zamonia novel is Ensel und Krete which has not been published in English. Even though the title intentionally misspells Hansel and Gretel, the plot of Walter Moers' shows only remote parallels to it.

After Ensel und Krete, the Zamonia series continue with Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, The City of Dreaming Books, The Alchemaster’s Apprentice and The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books. All of these novels but Captain Bluebear include a preface that explains to the readers that the fictional character Hildegunst von Mythenmetz is the actual author and that Walter Moers only translated the books from the Zamonian language to German.

In the Zamonia series each book contains detailed illustrations drawn by Moers; many portray the creatures Moers invented himself. Apart from these drawings, neologisms, anagrams and intertextuality play a key role to the style of Moers' novels.

Works available in English translation

• Little asshole, 1991 (English Edn)
• The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, 2000 (UK) / 2005 (US)
• A Wild Ride Through the Night, 2004
• Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures : a novel in two books, 2004
• The City of Dreaming Books, 2006. ISBN 0-436-20609-9
• The Alchemaster’s Apprentice, 2009 (English Edn). 978-1-846-55222-9
• The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books, 2012 (English Edn)

Works

References

External links

• Walter Moers in the German National Library catalogue