Deutscher Comicverein e.V. – Gegründet 2014

Welcome to the German Comics Association

The German Comics Association, which is headquartered in Berlin, is the go-to association for anyone interested in comics and graphic novels. We are dedicated to the recognition and reinforcement of comics as a stand-alone artistic and cultural form. The association explicitly incorporates the entire spectrum of contemporary comics into its activities.

Projects and Events

Hamburg Comics Festival 2019

The 13th Hamburg Comics Festival took place from the 27th to the 29th of September 2019.

→ Weiterlesen

Comics Translation Seminar

The seminar took place from the 9th to the 13th of September 2019 in the Berlin Literary Colloquium. A project in cooperation with the German Translators’ Fund.

→ Weiterlesen

Reading with Ileana Surducan and Roma Gavrilă

On the 11th of September, Ileana Surducan and Roma Gavrilă presented their comics at Modern Graphics.

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Comic Reportages from Berlin

In July of 2019, we organised a comics-journalism workshop in the Museum for Communication Berlin.

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“Zeich(n)en der Zeit” in Berlin

The exhibition “Zeich(n)en der Zeit” will be on show at the Museum for Communication until August 25.

→ Weiterlesen

Presentation of Comics Scholarships

The comics scholarship recipients were presented at the Museum for Communication on May 11 at 12 o’clock.

→ Weiterlesen

About us

The German Comics Association was founded in Berlin in September 2013. It emerged out of an initiative created by comic artists, researchers, producers and academics, who, as part of the International Literature Festival Berlin 2013, published the Comics Manifesto. It was signed by more than 800 creative artists, journalists, and scholars, among others. Significant goals therein include the reinforcing of the comics culture in German through the creation of an institute as well as the general reinforcement of the medium itself. With the establishment of the non-profit association, an instrument was created that would be able to actualize these goals in a number of ways.

The German Comics Association seeks to:

bring the German comic scene closer together

make German comics, graphic novels and manga more well known both at the national and international levels

promote the recognition of comics as a stand-alone artistic and cultural form

make available information for anyone interested in comics and, in the long term, to found a comics institute

The association’s offering is directed at:

comic creators

teachers

scholars and researchers

publishers

anyone interested who also supports the goals of the German Comics Association

Board of the German Comics Association

Stefan Neuhaus

Chairman

Holds a degree in arts education from Berlin, director emeritus of studies, former supervisor of the arts at a Berlin high-school, long-time chairman of the BDK in Berlin. Numerous comic projects with students and teachers.

Axel Halling

Vice Chairman

Holds degrees in Eastern European studies, Hungarian studies and Eastern and Southern European History from Berlin, Paris and Budapest. Cultural manager of German-Hungarian cultural exchanges, freelancer for a comics publisher, currently project coordinator and foundation advisor for the Federal Association of German Foundations.

Katharina-Sofie Naujoks

Treasurer

Holds a degree in Cultural Studies, German Studies and Philosophy from Bremen. Completed a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management in Hanover. Previously worked as a Press Officer for the Bremen Theatre and for the Hanover State Theatre’s Artistic Management Offices, and as an Assistant to the Management of an Environmental Education Association in Hamburg. Chairman of the Board at the Hamburg Comics Festival until the end of 2018.

Lilian Pithan

Committee Member

Holds degrees in Comparative Literature, Romance Studies, and English Studies from Tübingen and Paris. Since 2013, she has worked as a freelance journalist in Berlin, where she has run projects on intercultural and graphic journalism. She also translates literary and journalistic texts from French and English into German.

Our goals

Pursuing the goals of the association is made possible through the promotion of the arts and culture, such as through the organisation and hosting of cultural events (exhibitions, presentations, etc.), the promotion of the artistic handling of, for example, topics related to society, politics, history or culture through the comic medium, the promotion of political-aesthetic education (through publications, support and implementation of research projects, educational events, conferences).

We are committed to promoting comics as an element of cultural education in scholastic as well as civic life (through consultations, organisation and implementation of comic workshops and similar events, among others), promoting research projects in the form of scholarly work, but also through conferences or workshops.

An important goal is the establishment of a German institute for comics geared toward an international audience. As a centre of excellence, the institute is intended to support the production of comics as well as scholarly and educational activities through the medium. (The work of the institute of the Finnish Comics Society serves as a role model in this regard).

You can find the complete bylaws of the German Comics Association (in German) here.