News

moderation: Andreas Platthaus (FAZ)

I'm very proud to announce my latest project.

Together with the design-agency freybeuter I created a 7 by 40 meter long picture with scenes from the peaceful revolution in former East-Germany. The Panorama is printed on huge glass plates which are installed on a big cube. The cube is part of the memorial place Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Andreasstraße which is located in a former Stasi prison in Erfurt.

An official opening ceremony will take place on december 3. 

A first press-review can be found right here.

Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Andreasstraße

Andreasstraße 37a

99084 Erfurt

For the new issue of the tradition-steeped literature magazine "Neue Rundschau" I made an adaptation of the poem "ausgerottete augn" by Thomas Kling. The new issue is about comics and includes artwork by Anke Feuchtenberger, Sascha Hommer, Judith Mall, Martin Tom Dieck and many others.

I'm very happy, honored and thankful to announce that my new graphic-novel "Packeis" has won the prestigious "Max and Moritz Prize" as the "Best German-language Comic" at the "Comic-Salon Erlangen 2012".

Laudatio:

This year, the best comic by a German-speaking comics artist comes from the cold. From the terrors of ice and darkness, to quote Christoph Ransmayr. In his second book, “Packeis”, Simon Schwartz leads us to the North Pole – just as Commander Peary leads the protagonist of the story there, the young black ship’s boy Matthew Henson. There is good reason to believe that Henson was the first person at the Pole, but no one was allowed to know that in 1909, since Peary was white and there was no way that a black person could be allowed to have beaten him in the perpetual whiteness. Henson was definitely one of Peary’s most important aides and even that seemed defamatory at the time. To this day, more than 100 years after the then groundbreaking event, the concealment of Henson’s achievement continues.
Therefore “Packeis” is a doubly deserving winner: in terms of quality in any case, because the ingenuity with which Simon Schwartz combines American reality and the mythology of the Inuit narratively as well as aesthetically is admirable. But also because he has chosen a topic that is, sadly, still of undiminished interest: selfishness and arrogance. Simon Schwartz brings all of this together in an adventure story in the classical sense that you don’t want to put down. At the end, you sit there, educated, and don’t know what happened to you. Now, Simon Schwartz stands here, bestowed. But he knows why.

More information can be found right here.

On june 11 at 6:30 p.m. I will lecture about my graphic-novels "drüben!" and "Packeis" at the "Mathematikum Gießen" as part of the "Geschichts-Lese-Sommer für Jugendliche 2012" which is organized by the "Literarisches Zentrum Gießen e.V.". More information can be found right here.

"Geschichts-Lese-Sommer für Jugendliche 2012"

Mathematikum Gießen

Liebigstr. 8

35390 Gießen

From june 7 to june 10 I will at the "Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen 2012" and sign my my graphic-novels "drüben!" and "Packeis" at the booth of the avant-verlag (booth 46; hall B). Also my new book "Packeis" got nominated for the prestigious "Max and Moritz Prize". The award-ceremony will  take place on june 8 at the Markgrafentheater in Erlangen.

I'm very exited to meet some of my readers at the festival!

"Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen 2012"

Kongresszentrum Heinrich-Lades-Halle

Rathausplatz 1

91052 Erlangen

On may 12 at 9:30 p.m. I will read from my new graphic-novel "Packeis" at the INA.Kindergarten in Berlin organized by "Modern Graphics" as part of the "14. Lange Buchnacht in der Oranienstraße" and the "Gratis-Comic-Tag 2012". Subsequently there will be a panel discussion with me and journalist Lars von Törne (Der Tagesspiegel).

"14. Langen Buchnacht in der Oranienstraße"

Modern Graphics

INA.Kindergarten

Dresdener Straße 128

10999 Berlin

On may 6 the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" will include a new illustration of mine about the election in Greece and the wish by some greeks for a politician like turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.          

I'm very happy to announce that my new book "Packeis" got nominated for the prestigious "Max and Moritz Prize". The award-ceremony will  take place on june 8 as part of the "Comic-Salon Erlangen 2012" at the Markgrafentheater in Erlangen.

"Ein deutscher Comic, der ästhetische Anleihen bei Chris Ware, David B. und Seth macht – kann das mehr sein als eine eklektische Arbeit? Allemal, wie „Packeis“ beweist, mit dem der Berliner Zeichner Simon Schwartz nach seinem autobiografischen Debüt „drüben!“ ganz neue Wege einschlägt. Denn „Packeis“ blickt hinaus in die Welt und zurück in die Vergangenheit. Der voluminöse Band erzählt die Geschichte der ersten Reise zum Nordpol, Rechtfertigung für die kühle blaue Zusatzfarbe, die den Band prägt. Er erzählt aber noch viel mehr: von Mythen der Inuit, von Betrügereien der Entdeckungsreisenden und vom alltäglichen Rassismus an der Wende vom 19. zum 20. Jahrhundert, der Matthew Henson, den afroamerikanischen Helden von „Packeis“, um die Früchte seines Muts und seiner Mühe betrügt. Simon Schwartz hat in diesem Comic Abenteuer, Geschichtsdokumentation und Vision zu einem Amalgam verknüpft, das erzählerisch eine ganz eigene Handschrift zeigt – ein seltenes Glück im deutschen Comic."

More Informations can be found here.

On april 20 you will find the new episode of my comicstrip "Vita Obscura" in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag". This time it will tell the sad story of Lady Jane Grey who owned the crown of England for only nine days.

Like last year I did an illustration of an easter egg for the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" which you will find on the cover of the newspaper's cover on april 8.

On april 4 the tv-station NDR showed a short special about me an my new graphic-novel "Packeis". You can find more reviews from newspapers and radio on my press-page.

Since autumn 2011 I am teaching illustration together with Tobias Krejtschi at the HAW Hamburg. On march 28 our students are presenting their amazing work at the "LOKAL e.V." in Hamburg in an exhibition named "9+1". Come by and party with them!

"9+1"

March 28, at 7 p.m.

LOKAL e.V.
Konsumkulturhaus
Max-Brauer Allee 207
22765 Hamburg

On march 23 you will find a new episode from my comicstrip "Vita Obscura" in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag". This time it will tell the story of entrepreneur Robert McCulloch who bought the famous London Bridge in the 1960's.

After over two years of work this month my new graphic-novel "Packeis" finally get's released by the avant-verlag. It tells the story of the afro-american explorer Matthew Henson who discovered the north pole but got neglected by his contemporaries and time. Because of the release a lot of special events will take place this month and I would love to meet some my reader there.

More information about the production of the book can be found right here.

Packeis

EUR 19,95

Softcover: 176 Pages

ISBN: 978-3-939080-52-7

Publisher: avant-verlag

Event: "Leipziger Buchmesse"

On march 16 at 3 p.m. I will be signing my new book "Packeis" at the "Leipziger Buchmesse" in hall 2, booth G403.

Event: "Exhibition"

On march 17 at 8 p.m. starts a releaseparty and exhibition for "Packeis" in Leipzig at the galerie "mzin" including an artist forum with me and Martin Jurgeit. There you can also see some of my original artwork and I will sign my books too. 

m z i n

Paul-Gruner-Strasse 64

04107 Leipzig

Event: "Exhibition"

On march 23 at 8 p.m. starts another releaseparty and exhibition for my new graphic-novel "Packeis" in Hamburg at the galerie "Linda" in cooperation with "Strips and Stories". There you can see some of my original artwork and I will sign my books too.

Kunstverein LINDA

Seilerstr. 36

20359 Hamburg

I did several illustrations for the magazine "journalist" about the personal success of different types of german journalists.

On february 24 you will find a new episode from my comicstrip "Vita Obscura" in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag". This time it will tell the story of Dr. Thomas Harvey who stole Einstein's brain in 1955.

The new issues of the magazines "GEO Saison Extra" and "Brigitte Special" cooperate for a holiday special. I did a comic about traveling with children, that you will find in both magazins.

This february the Friedrich-Oetinger-Verlag is going to release a new children's book of mine which is named "Krickel-Krakel-Bastelbuch". Again I created this book together with a group of other illustrators named the Krickelkrakels which also relaunched their homepage.

"Krickel-Krakel-Bastelbuch: Mit Schere, Stift und Kleber tolle Welten bauen"

EUR 12,00

Hardcover: 80 Pages

ISBN: 978-3789185342

Publisher: Friedrich-Oetinger-Verlag

On january 27 a new monthly comicstrip of mine named "Vita Obscura" starts in the weekly newspaper "Der Freitag". Each episode will tell the biography of an eccentric or strange historic person starting with Joshua Norton the first and only Emperor of the United States of America.

On january 15 the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" will include several illustrations of mine about descendants of the last emperor of china Aisin Gioro Pǔ Yí.

This month on the magazine "Comix" will have the second part of a fourpart prepublication of my upcoming graphic-novel "Packeis" which is going to be released by the avant-verlag in march 2012.