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Nichtlustig[edit]
Nichtlustig ("Notfunny") is a German comic strip written and illustrated by Joscha Sauer. Most of Sauer's comic illustrations are available on his website, joscha.com, along with other additional content. The series have also been published in 6 separate books including exclusive artwork, beginning in 2003.[1]
Description[edit]
The comics feature a variety of characters in differing scenarios. Generally, the plot for the strips are a dramatization of everyday life, picking fun at the mundane by blowing it out of proportion. The humor often becomes morbid.
There are many recurring characters that appear across strips and across books, such as the stupid yetis, the suicidal lemmings, Herr Riebmann living in the wall, the mad scientists, the anthropomorphic animals, Death himself, and Death's poodle. Sauer plays with their distinct personalities and forms plots around them whose punchlines often end in dark jokes, relatable circumstances, or puns. Even though specific characters appear multiple times throughout the comics, each strip is a self-complete story and does not tie back into the other plots. However, the books contain exclusive, larger strips that fill multiple pages.
In 2015, Sauer started a project on Kickstarter in order to publish his comics as a TV series. Many German channels rejected Sauer's pitches or left his emails unanswered. In some cases, the issue stemmed from channels being unwilling to invest money in a new series that could become a financial risk. In other cases, there was a lack of interest for the content entirely.[2]
The series never aired. Instead, Sauer started uploading short animated clips on his YouTube channel.
Characters and tropes[edit]
The lemmings: The lemmings are recurring characters who are constantly running off the edge of a cliff or dying otherwise. They are obsessed with Death.
The yetis: The yetis are constantly engaging in activities that are not appropriate for their environment. They often melt their own homes and surrounding snow by accident.
Death: Death is a cloaked figure with a scythe that has a pink poodle.
Death's poodle: Death's poodle lives with death and acts like an assistant.
Mr. Riebmann: Mr. Riebmann is the man who lives in the wall. He is insane and pesters his neighbor (or roommate) constantly.
The scientists: The scientists constantly invent useless machines and generally do not seem qualified for their jobs.
Santa Claus: Santa Claus tries to organize Christmas with his very difficult reindeer who have bad work ethics.
Anthropomorphic animals: The comics feature many animals that are placed in human environments (often alongside other humans). They often work office or customer service jobs.
Aliens: The aliens often bicker and are bad at operating their UFO. They are equally bad at abducting people/animals.
About the author[edit]
Joscha Sauer was born on May 9, 1978 in Frankfurt, where he still lives today.[3]
Sauer started uploading daily cartoons in the year 2000 to his website previously known as nichtlustig.de. In 2020, he started a new page, joscha.com, where he uploads cartoons, runs a shop, and posts updates. The site also includes a personal blog, where Sauer shares his plans and his personal opinions. Here, Sauer explained that he will not be publishing more Nichtlustig books for the time being. He is, however, selling a single book that contains all of his new comic strips from 2020-2021. If the sale is successful, more Nichtlustig book series might be published in the future.[4]
Sauer also offers bonus content and panels to readers who support him on Steady, a German crowdfunding site. The bonus panels are drawn for both new and old comics and are uncolored.[5]
In addition to featuring his own Nichtober art challenge and selling his own Nichtlustig-themed board game, Sauer also uses his platform to discuss the issues of diversity and racism in comics and why it is a problem.
Sauer actively posts on his social media accounts and continues to sell calendars, comic collections, and merchandise themed after his Nichtlustig comics.
Nichtlustig books[edit]
- Nichtlustig 1 (2003)
- Nichtlustig 2 (2004)
- Nichtlustig 3 (2005)
- Nichtlustig 4 (2008)
- Nichtlustig 5 (2010)
- Nichtlustig 6 (2014)
References[edit]
- ^ "Joscha Sauer", Wikipedia (in German), 2022-06-30, retrieved 2022-10-16
- ^ "Uuuuuh, Cartoons für Erwachsene… Der (vorerst) gescheiterte Versuch, „Nichtlustig" ins Fernsehen zu bringen – Stefan Niggemeier" (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-16.
- ^ "Künstler". 2004.comic-salon.de. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
- ^ "joscha.com: Ich habe ein neues Buch gemacht!". joscha.com (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-18.
- ^ "Joscha Sauer", Wikipedia (in German), 2022-06-30, retrieved 2022-10-18