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.
Biography
After attending a German Hauptschule, König completed an apprenticeship, learning the trade of a joiner.
In 1979, he came out as a gay man, and about this time he created short comics stories that appeared in the Munich underground magazine Zomix and the gay periodical Rosa Flieder.[1] He returned to school from 1981 to 1986, attending the public Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and pursuing a major in free art (Freie Kunst). Also in 1981, his early collected comics were published by the gay publishing house Verlag rosa Winkel as SchwulComix (GayComix). In 1987, he wrote The Killer Condom (Kondom des Grauens), his first comic with a continuous story, which was later produced as a film.
In the German-speaking world, König's comics have a vast homosexual fan base. Despite initial skepticism about the prospect of a broader audience due to his works' frequent setting within the gay milieu, his comics have achieved considerable popularity among heterosexual readers as well.[2] A few of his comics have been adapted into films, and several have translated into other languages. By 2008, his total publications exceeded 5 million copies.[3]
Since November 2017, König is an Ambassador of intaktiv e.V., an association against ritual circumcision of male children.[4][5]
Works
Mural in Brussels, disfigured with the words transphobia and racism
König's stories are drawn in an expressive cartoon style. Consistently written with humour, they occasionally deal with serious themes such as the tension between sexual freedom and the risk of AIDS infection. His work has repeatedly portrayed daily routines of gay life, often based on personal experiences of himself and his friends. He has also written works that deal centrally with heterosexuals (Der bewegte Mann, Hempels Sofa) and with religious themes, criticizing literalist readings of the bible (Prototyp and Archetyp) as well as Islamic fundamentalism (Dschinn Dschinn) .
Comics
Sarius, 1981
Das sensationelle Comic-Book, 1981
SchwulComix (Gay Comics), 1981
SchwulComix 2 (Gay Comics 2), 1984
Macho Comix (Macho Comix), 1984
SchwulComix 3 (Gay Comics 3), 1985
SchwulComix 4 (Gay Comics 4), 1986
Kondom des Grauens (The Killer Condom), 1987
Der bewegte Mann (Maybe...Maybe Not), 1987
Lysistrata, 1987
Pretty Baby, 1988 (Maybe...Maybe Not Again!, sequel to Der bewegte Mann)
Comics, Cartoons, Critzeleien, 1988
Safere Zeiten (Safer Times), 1988
Beach Boys, 1989
Prall aus dem Leben (Life to the Full), 1989
Bis auf die Knochen (To the Bones), 1990 (sequel to Kondom des Grauens)
Some of König's books have been translated into English. First was Kondom des Grauens, published as The Killer Condom (1991, reprint 2009). The two-part book Der bewegte Mann/Pretty Baby appeared as Maybe... Maybe Not (1998)/Maybe... Maybe Not Again! (1999). Later translations include Bullenklöten as Bull's Balls (2002), Roy und Al as Roy & Al (2006) and Down to the Bone (2011).
Documentary
A 2012 German documentary film directed by Rosa von Praunheim named König des Comics follows König's life and work. Besides König, those interviewed include Hella von Sinnen, Ralph Morgenstern, Joachim Król as well as friends and admirers of the cartoonist, like a Swiss fan who visits his beloved writer, a couple of friends who played important roles during König's youth, a comic book seller etc. The film also includes clips from König's comic public readings. It was screened at various festivals such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, and San Sebastian. It reached a wider audience than most of von Praunheim's documentaries and it is available for streaming on digital platforms.[6]
