Abrafaxe

The Abrafaxe are the heroes of the monthly comic magazine MOSAIK . They consist of the three goblin-like characters Abrax , Brabax and Califax , who endure adventures in world history in the course of extensive frameworks. Since issue 200 they have had a rat as a companion. The Abrafaxe are creations by Lothar Dräger and Lona Rietschel . In 1976 they replaced the Digedags previously represented in the mosaic . The Abrafaxe are in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest serial comic in the world .

Properties of the Abrafaxe

In the January 1976 mosaic booklet, the Abfraxe and their special properties are presented to the reader. Outwardly, they are quite similar in their short figure, but they can be clearly distinguished on the hair, and the character is also individual. Abrax has blond hair with a sporty hairstyle, he's bold and daring. He was introduced to the mosaic as a former mercenary , but his oversized musket was lost in the course of the second adventure. However, he retained a preference for combat operations. It's a little bigger than the other two Abrafaxe. The red-haired Brabax with a mushroom hairstyle prefers to approach the challenges to be solved scientifically and rationally, whereby he has a high level of education. At times he appears precocious and unromantic. Despite his deliberation, the unfathomable thirst for knowledge drives him to new adventures again and again. Califax is a bit smaller and thicker than the other two. His sparse black hair sits in a tuft on his head. He's the cozy, extremely peaceful guy who gets rascals out of a desire for food or clumsiness. He has excellent cooking skills. He also has an exceptionally powerful rosemary extract with him, which he usually uses for the quick recovery of sick people. In contrast to Abrax and Brabax, Califax is always emotionally open-minded and approachable, but at times he also reveals a pronounced naivety. The Abrafaxes have a strong sense of justice in common.

Characteristics of the adventure

The stories of the Abrafaxe take place in different eras, countries and continents. The Europe of the Middle Ages , the Renaissance or the Baroque is often the background of the actions. However, the Abrafaxe also experience adventures in many other regions. Antarctica is the only continent that has not yet been visited. In terms of contemporary history, the Abrafaxes go back the furthest in volumes 216 and 217, here they enter the Mesozoic . The latest action is set in 1929 (America series, issues 300 to 322).

The general plot of each adventure is extensive and often extends over more than 20 individual issues. Even the transitions to a new story usually take place in a continuous narrative flow. Jumps in time and the start of new adventures are often triggered by finding magical objects. Compared to other comics, the stories of the Abrafaxe are embedded in a remarkably well-researched historical context. Not least because of this, the booklets are also read by adults, according to the publisher, more than half of the readers are older than 30 years. The action within the adventure is mostly fictional, whereby unreal things also happen, but a certain closeness to reality is always maintained. The Abrafaxe hardly ever take on the role of deliberately bad-acting, malicious protagonists. However, sometimes they have friends or companions who go astray morally. In the first adventures, the Abrafaxe are accompanied by jokers, some of whom move far into the foreground of the plot. The Abrafaxe's archenemy is Don Ferrando - a vile but educated crook who, like the Abrafaxe, is capable of time travel and can therefore reappear regardless of adventure. He had his most extensive appearances so far in the Don Ferrando series and in the El Dorado series. A special feature in the mosaic is the frequent formation of speaking names , for example a Chinese cook is called “Su Pe”, a Mongolian soldier is called “Me Dscher” or a baker is called “Mürbet Haik”.

Drawing implementation

The drawings are strikingly detailed compared to other comics. This is particularly true for the issues of recent years. From the beginning, double-sided panorama pictures of lively or impressive scenes have been part of the character of the Abrafaxe mosaic. In these pictures there are often funny scenes or Easter eggs hidden, which also appear in other places in the magazine. Potentially offensive content such as the depiction of eroticism or brute force cannot be found in the mosaic. The strong exaggeration of effects, emotions and the like, which is otherwise widespread in comics, is also rather reserved in the Abrafaxe mosaic.

Development and changes

The creation of the Abrafaxe did not take place without a history. This was preceded by a rift between Hannes Hegen and the then publishing house of Mosaik Junge Welt , which resulted in Hegen's termination of the collaboration. Since Hegen retained the rights to the then protagonists in the mosaic, the Digedags, it was necessary to design new main characters for the mosaic. Lona Rietschel's design prevailed and the Abrafaxe were born. Lothar Dräger took over the artistic direction .

The mosaic was very popular in the GDR . Although the Central Council of the FDJ acted as the publisher and the Abrafaxe often sided with the common people in order to rebel against feudal rulers, there was no explicit ideological polemisation in the mosaic. The circulation was more than half a million issues and increased to almost one million copies per issue due to the switch from sheet-fed offset press to web offset printing technology in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the mosaic at the kiosk was usually sold out shortly after it was published. This was not least due to the very low price of 60 pfennigs. Sometimes the mosaic could only be obtained with good relationships with retail employees. A subscription to the mosaic was possible, but difficult to take out. The number of copies also depended on the amount of paper allocated. At that time a booklet consisted of 20 pages. The woody paper, which for many fans is an authentic, likeable part of the mosaic, was striking, while the colorists in particular were anything but enthusiastic about the mediocre paper quality.

The turning point in 1989/90 developed into a situation threatening the very existence of the mosaic, which was so popular up to now. Interest in the Abrafaxes had suddenly waned. From issue 5/1990, the paper quality improved, and the issue price increased gradually in the period that followed. The previous publishing house Junge Welt was wound up by the Treuhand . The continuation of the mosaic was made possible through the initiative of Klaus D. Schleiter, managing director of an advertising agency. He secured the rights to the Ost-Comic, in 1991 the Mosaik Steinchen für Steinchen Verlag was founded . The number of copies of the mosaic soon stabilized again at around 100,000 issues. From 1992 the Abrafaxe booklets were numbered consecutively, the January 1992 booklet corresponding to the number 193.

The volume of the booklets increased gradually and is now 36 pages of comics. There is also an editorial middle section in which letters to the editor, background information on the story, merchandising and advertising are published. This part now comprises a further 16 pages. The current issue price is € 2.95 (with the exception of individual sales) and € 34.90 for subscribers for 12 issues per year (including delivery by post). The monthly frequency of publication, however, remained unchanged. In contrast to many other comics and print media in general, the number of copies of the Abrafaxe mosaic could be kept stable even with the spread of the Internet.

There were also some major changes conceptually in the early 1990s: the previous artistic director Lothar Dräger retired. The concept of fun-makers was finally abandoned. Since then, an anonymous narrator has led through the story, and the Abrafaxe are even more prominent in the plot. They experimented with short adventures, but from the mid-1990s came back to narratives with an extensive framework. A rat has been a constant companion of the Abrafaxe since issue 200. It often lingers in the background but occasionally emerges and has acted as a last resort on several occasions when the Abrafaxe got into serious trouble. In terms of drawing, there was an important change in issue 283: From then on, each figure was drawn by a very specific draftsman instead of, as was previously the case, often with the alternating participation of different draftsmen.

Series in the Abrafaxe mosaic

Issues 1 to 24 (1/1976 to 12/1977): In Dalmatia and Venice (On the Adriatic; 17th century)

Issues 1 to 12: Dalmatia

In the first chapter of the series, the first main companion Harlequin explains to the reader who the Abrafaxe are and that from now on they will accompany the jokers of the world. After meeting clever comedians, the Abrafaxe help a Dalmatian village to rebel against a few troubled Venetian occupiers. In the confusion against the Italians, there is a spectacular marine race, which is the climax of the first storyline. A "mill ship" devised by the Abrafaxes wins the race against a Turkish galley. In the very nearby Ottoman border area , the adventurers later free a group of slaves from custody.

Issues 13 to 24: Venice

In the second part they try in vain to achieve the independence of the village in Venice by interfering in the Doge's election .

Harlequin , her first partner , works alongside the Abrafaxe in parallel for the further development of Italian comedy. A number of other characters from the Commedia dell'arte ( Il Capitano , Scaramuccio , Brighella , Pantalone and others) are cleverly woven into the plot.

Issues 25 to 48 (1/1978 to 12/1979): Austria and Hungary (1704/1705)

At the side of Hans Wurst and Ludas Matyi , the Abrafaxe take part in the main part of the series in the Kuruzen's struggle for freedom in Hungary . Califax is separated from Abrax and Brabax for a long time. He is believed to be the son of a prince and his main concern is that the regiment he leads does not cause any damage in Hungary. Until they are reunified, the Abrafaxe experience adventures in all corners of Eastern Central Europe: in the Salzburg area , at the archducal court, in the Vienna Prater , in the Puszta and finally in the fortresses of Spielberg ( Brno ) in Moravia and Munkacz in Transcarpathia . The Abrafaxe and Hans Wurst help the elector Ferenc Rákóczi to conquer the latter castle. The adventure comes to an end with a retelling of the story of Ludas Matyi.

Issues 49 to 60: (1/1980 to 12/1980) In the Empire of the Sun King (Bavaria and France; 1705)

Issues 49 to 56: Knödelfanny

Here the Abrafaxe go via the Duchy of Kloßberg (read: Bavaria ) to Paris , where they want to win the support of Louis XIV for the Kuruzen cause . That goes wrong, but you can still outsmart some unpleasant contemporaries (especially Baron Arminius von Blechreder). The dumpling cook Fanny and the Marquis de la Vermotte-Toupee act by the side of the three wights.

Issues 57 to 60: Pyrenees

In the last issues of the series, the Abrafaxe take part in the battle of a southern French town on the edge of the Pyrenees against the machinations of an evil tax farmer . They are supported by Pierrot and his group of French comedians. In the end, however, they have to flee to Spain before the authorities .

Original plans by the writer Lothar Dräger, from the 1980s onwards, to tell broad-based military outfits against the background of the War of the Spanish Succession and to allow the Abrafaxe to experience long adventures throughout Western Europe, failed due to the resistance of the mosaic collective.

Issues 61 to 96 (1/1981 to 12/1983): Don Ferrando (Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq; 1578 and 1278)

When they cross the Pyrenees, the Abrafaxe find themselves in a crystal cave, which turns out to be a time lock and transports them to the time of Philip II . As soon as they arrived in Spain , they met the Marchese Ferrando Esteban Carotto Ruinez Totales en des Tillas Randales Festos, or Don Ferrando for short , who over the years should develop into their opponent. He shows himself to be an intelligent and sophisticated opponent.

Issues 61 to 73: Don Alfonso's Treasure

In the first part of the series, they free a cousin of the Don from his clutches and find the treasure he brought back from Peru . The path leads them - always rushed by Don Ferrando - from Catalonia across the Mediterranean to today's Algeria . They find support in the Spanish national owl par excellence, Don Quixote de la Mancha , his loyal servant Sancho Pansa , an exotic Inca princess and the noble Berber sheikh from the Habikhjebikh tribe.

Issues 74 to 84: Fatima

In the following adventure they go on a search for Fatima, a kidnapped Hakim daughter . Don Ferrando makes life difficult for them more than once by first becoming a robber captain and in the meantime even becoming the Dei of Tunis . But the Abrafaxe can free Fatima and blow up the last lair of the Don, a pirate island. Your main companion this year is the Arab jester Juha .

Issues 85 to 96: Hunt for the Bottle

At the beginning of the next chapter, the three adventurers find a sealed bottle that contains a desert spirit. Improper treatment of the Djinn results in the Abrafaxe and Don Ferrando being moved three hundred years into the past (to 1278?). Now a par force hunt is developing through Palestine , Egypt and Mesopotamia , sometimes after the wrong, sometimes the right bottle. The Abrafaxe, which are once again separated for several issues, meet another traditional jester, the wise Hodscha Nasreddin . In the end, the Don and the bottle disappear into a collapsing tower in the Mesopotamian desert.

Issues 97 to 144 (1/1984 to 12/1988): In India (Alexander Papatentos; around 1280)

In a departure from the previously pursued “fun-maker concept”, the main companion of Abrafaxe in the coming years will be a purely fictional, but all the more powerfully designed figure named Alexander Papatentos (short: Alex). This descendant of a general Alexander the Great is originally from the wildest Kurdistan . He is an unbearable braggart and clumsy, a prevented inventor and slogan, in short, a congenial companion for the somewhat precocious Abrafaxe.

Issues 97 to 120: Shield of Poros

In the main part of the series, the quartet embarks on a search for a diamond, originally in the shield of King Poros emblazoned Alex and two mendicant friars was stolen. They get to India , where they get caught up in the conflict between an Amazon kingdom and the neighboring Maharajanate of Rattabumpur. In the end everything turns out well: The evil but stubborn Maharajah is defeated, Alex inherits Rattabumpur and frees the Amazon queen Roxane.

Issues 121 to 132: Little Wonder Man

In the adventure that follows, the Abrafaxe separate from Alex for the time being and travel from the slopes of the Himalayas to the Kingdom of Orissa on the Bay of Bengal . Califax is once again separated from his friends and experiences solo adventures as the "little wonder man". Abrax and Brabax now work as assistants to Vidusaka , an Indian juggler. The new adversary of the three goblins is the devious trader Krishna Ghaunar.

Issues 133 to 144: Golden Column

The next year in 1987 sees the Abrafaxe continue to be in the Kingdom of Orissa, where they take part in the fight against the Islamic invaders. The central motif is the search for a golden column, which Krishna Ghaunar also had an eye on. Without the reappeared Alexander Papatentos everything would have gone wrong, but this is how the Muslims are expelled from Orissa and the golden pillar is reintegrated into the state treasury. Krishna Ghaunar, on the other hand, is going mad.

Issues 145 to 156 (1/1988 to 12/1988): Among the Orang Laut (Malaysia; around 1280)

In 1988 the adventure with the Orang Laut followed . The Abrafaxe and Alex rescue an Orissan princess, promised to the Prince of Srivijaya , from the hands of these Malay pirates . The only functioning invention of the Greeks, a diving boat, is of great help . At the Orang Laut, the Abrafaxe meet for the last time a traditional jester, the slightly overgrown but lovable Indonesian owl Semar .

Issue 8/1988 of the Orang Laut series is considered by many fan sites to be the lowest point in the history of Abrafaxe. The content can be summarized: The evil Bobo, who was already defeated by the Abrafaxes in the fight in issue 7/1988, is first pushed into the water and then saved from drowning. That's all that happens in the booklet. The scene continues in issue 9/1988.

Issues 157 to 180 (1/1989 to 12/1990): In the Japanese Middle Ages (Japan I; 1281)

Issues 157 to 168: Swords of the Samurai

In the first part, the Abrafaxe are kidnapped from Srivijaya to Japan , where the Coast Commander Ruki Suzuki considers them to be Mongolian spies and has Ichikama and Ichiyama pursue them by his captors. At the same time, the three wights help their new friend Onoe to bring the effeminate court poet Yamato back onto the path of the samurai .

Issues 169 to 180: Kamikaze

In the following year, the Abrafaxe clash with a real Mongolian reconnaissance party who is supposed to spy on the Japanese coastal fortifications. They are still chased by the two Ichis, but now they have a strong partner in Yamato. In the end, the second Mongolian attempt at invasion of Japan must take place without any intelligence information. In addition, the fleet was destroyed by a cyclone ( kamikaze ) in 1281 .

Issues 181 to 192 (1/1991 to 12/1991): In China (1281)

After their stay in Japan , the Abrafaxe will travel to China . There they are active on the side of the oppressed Chinese against the Mongol occupiers. Her friends are the painter Ping Sel and the young Li, who argues with the local Mongolian governor Matscho about the love of the beautiful Lu, whereby private and political disputes form a unit. The Abrafaxe are working successfully with the rebel organization “Black Wind” and inflicting sensitive slips on the Mongols. Finally, Marco Polo , the envoy of the Great Khan Kublai Khan , ensures order and a happy ending: Li becomes the new governor and is allowed to marry Lu, who had led the "black wind" without being recognized. At the wedding, the Abrafaxe accidentally put their hands on top of each other and disappear.

With this series comes an end of a big story arc that led the Abrafaxe from Spain to East Asia.

Issues 193 to 217 (1/1992 to 1/1994): In medieval Germany (Barbarossa; 1175/1176, 919, 1181 and in the Mesozoic era)

From this year the consecutive numbering of the Abrafaxe mosaics was (re) introduced. In addition, one broke away from the rigid scheme of the twelve-booklet-long adventures and experimented with shorter stories. Innovations are also daring stylistically. For the last time the Abrafaxe is presented on page 2. In the future there will be an introduction to the respective series of actions. The strict Helvetica font has now also changed to a more relaxed comic version. The booklet is expanded by four comic pages over the course of the story arc, and the inner section with the historical explanations, letters to the editor and advertising grows to today's standard. There are attempts with stickers or posters distributed over several booklets, but these will not be continued.

Issues 193 to 207: Book with the seven seals

The Abrafaxe land after a leap in time in the German High Middle Ages . In the main part of the series (issues 193 to 207) Abrax first experiences adventures with his new friend, the young Count Floribert von Wackerstein, who, according to his mother's wishes, should go to the monastery. In this environment, the church's claim to power and its methods of enrichment are critically questioned. Brabax learns of the existence of the book with the seven seals, in which he hopes to find information about their time travel ability. But the evil Count Hetzel is also on the hunt for the book; it is said to have been brought to Italy . On the journey there, Brabax and Califax meet their friends Abrax and Flori again, who want to join the army of Emperor Barbarossa . On this trip, a rat joins Califax, which from now on is a constant companion of the Abrafaxe. After the Battle of Legnano on May 29, 1176 and a short imprisonment, our friends return across the Alps when they learn that the mysterious book is in a German monastery . Hetzel snatches it from under their noses, but the Abrafaxe can drive him out of his intrigues; the book with the seven seals is almost completely destroyed in the process. Thanks to Barbarossa, the Abrafaxe are appointed the new owners of the castle, now known as the grinding stone, but they are not happy with the castle. Abrax is knighted.

Issues 208 to 210: Short Stories

This larger adventure is followed by smaller episodes in which the Abrafaxe get to know Duke Henry the Lion , among other things .

Issues 211 and 212: Vikings

Having just escaped him and his captors, they jump back in time by the laying on of hands and land in the year 919. They experience adventures with the Vikings , Erik the Red and discover America .

Issues 213 and 214: Barbarossa

They travel back to Germany in 1181 with a handshake. They end up in the dungeons of Lübeck , five years after their last escape from the Middle Ages. This is followed by other short episodes in issues 213 to 215 (for example, they settle the dispute between Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and the Hanseatic city of Lübeck). The importance of cities for the empire is dealt with in great detail. In booklet 214 they help an alleged witch to escape, but are later accused of witchcraft themselves.

Issues 215 to 217: Dinosaurs

Another hand-overlapping time leap saves the Abrafaxe from the Inquisition and transports the Abrafaxe, her friend Flori and her companion Karoline von baking tray and the old adversary Hetzel into the age of the dinosaurs . They can barely snatch Flori's lady from Hetzel's claws, who is already provoking a volcanic eruption in which he himself perishes (issues 216 and 217). The Abrafaxe and their friends fly through the air on a rock ejected by the volcano and lose each other. Flori and Karoline find each other and set off for their home. Due to the leaps in time, they arrived there 1000 years before their birth and founded the noble family of the von Wackerstein. The Abrafaxe continue the leap in time and land in ancient Greece .

Issues 218 to 233 (2/1994 to 5/1995): Greece (438 BC)

In Greece eingetrudelt of the fifth century BC, the Abrafaxe experience first - as before in the Middle Ages - shorter adventure. Only gradually does a red thread emerge around the seer Sibylla and the ex-priest Skrotonos.

Issues 218 to 221: The Building of the Parthenon

In the first episode, the Abrafaxe are separated: while Brabax and Califax are hospitable in the house of Philemon and Baucis in Athens and become friends with Socrates and his young student Alkibiades , Abrax has to work as a slave on the Parthenon construction site and in the silver mines of Laurion . He comes across the nasty slave Phisimachus. Reunited, the Abrafaxe help the builder Phidias ; the wealthy Kleon accused him of embezzlement in order to harm his patron Perikles .

Issues 222 to 224: The Stone of Athena

In the next story, the Abrafaxe solve the case of a stolen diamond, the stone of Athena . Phisimachus had stolen it and the Abrafaxe pursued it as far as the Peloponnese , where they briefly fell into the hands of the Spartans . The "stone" itself is destroyed in the process.

Booklets 225 and 226: Short Adventures in Athens

Here the Abrafaxe help their hosts Philemon and Baucis to wash away suspicions of theft and support a young poet in staging his first comedy ; you will also get to know the famous Sophocles . Again Alkibiades ' enemy Kleon and his slave Phisimachus are their opponents.

Issues 227 to 230: Delphi and Olympia

The Abrafaxe go to the Oracle of Delphi to receive news about Odyssos, the missing son of their hosts Philemon and Baucis . Kleon (and with him Phisimachus) is also on the way there to find out how he can usurp power over Greece. The young Odyssos is found quickly, but new entanglements are looming. On the one hand, the high priest shows the Abrafaxes a 1000 year old black obelisk depicting their involvement in the fall of the Egyptian cult of Aton . On the other hand, they learn about the plan of the renegade Delphi priest Skrotonos to incite Athenians and Spartans against each other at the Olympic Games in order to then - as referee - take over the rule of Hellas . While Phisimachos leaves his old master and joins Scrotonos, the Abrafaxe find help in their new friend, the former Pythia Sibylla. Together they manage to thwart Skrotonos' plans and prevent the threatening escalation in Olympia .

Issues 231 to 233: Crete

In the last episode of Greece, Skrotonos decides to seek his fortune in the land of the pharaohs . In order to be transported to Egypt by a group of Phoenician pirates , he plays Sibylla into their hands as a reward. The Abrafaxe follow separately to help their friend. During a stopover in Crete , Sibylla can be freed from the power of the Phoenicians (and the Minotaur ). But since the pirates instead capture Califax and sail with him - as well as Scrotonos and Phisimachos - to Egypt, his friends only have to follow them there.

Issues 234 to 254 (6/1995 to 2/1997): In Egypt (1334 BC)

In Egypt, the Abrafaxe are transported back a thousand years to the time of Queen Nefertiti in a pyramid , together with ex-Pythia Sibylla, who (to the chagrin of Brabax) meets her future husband Jadu, an Aton priest. But the country is on the verge of collapse: the priesthood is divided among followers of the Amun and Aton cults, the military grumbles and the queen is isolated in the middle of her court. Scrotonos and Phisimachus usurp the throne of Nefertiti in a large-scale intrigue - a circumstance that the Abrafaxe could not prevent. Abrax especially tried his hand at a dispute with Brabax as an amateur military leader, but his troops rebelled and defected to Skrotonos, which opened his way to the throne. In the misfortune, the Abrafaxe got together again and were able to turn the tide, but the cult of Aton was lost: Sibylla and Jadu left the country, together with the above-mentioned black obelisk - a small paradox of time.

Issues 255 to 282 (3/1997 to 6/1999): Hunt for Eldorado (crystal skull; Wido Wexelgelt; Spain, South America; 1578)

Back in Philip II's Spain , Don Ferrando reappears. It goes to America, where the Don is looking for the gold country Eldorado . However, he cannot bring a team together for the search and therefore “kidnaps” a group of tourists with whom he is sailing to the New World. One of his victims is Wido Wexelgelt, a would-be businessman and rhymer whom the Abrafaxe now reluctantly protect from the dangers of this journey. The legendary gold country, however, also arouses the interest of the English, who incited an opponent (similar in character) on the Don's neck: Doña Ferrentes, who is supposed to pass the gold to the pirate Francis Drake . But Eldorado turns out to be a mirage and all pirates and soldiers get nothing. The winners are dispersed groups of the Chimoche people who are brought together again through the course of events.

After the expedition failed, the Abrafaxe travel home with Francis Drake, experience his pirate adventure and the unsuccessful search for the Northwest Passage . In England the arc to an earlier story closed: Wido Wexelgeld had received a crystal skull from the Chimoche in the gold town , which in England turned out to be the key to the time, coveted by Francis Bacon and Don , among others . Together with the resurfaced sealed bottle (see: 1/83 to 12/83) the jinn was freed again and the Abrafaxe now traveled 300 years into the future.

Issues 283 to 299 (7/1999 to 11/2000): On the Orient Express (Europe, Turkey; 1896)

In Victorian London, the Abrafaxe are initially unemployed and make their way through life as porters. Califax remedies this and becomes a cook on the legendary Orient Express that takes you to Istanbul . An illustrious company is gathered on the train, so a new adventure is not long in coming: This time it's about the secret of a professor named Jakob Loftus, an oil discovery site where his wife is being held prisoner. The opponents are the dangerous Ömer Yeralti, an agent of the Turkish sultan Abdülhamid II , and his assistant Vefasiz, and later several other agents. The plot is told episodically, this time not without a few swipes with political reference: in the Balkans, for example, the train is attacked - a parody of the Kosovo conflict - and in Anatolia arrogant Prussian engineers are building the Baghdad railway , with a clear contrast to the friendly Turkish workers. From Istanbul it goes on to (today's) Iraq, where the story is heading for its climax: the Turkish army marches up and everyone involved makes off.

Issues 300 to 322 (12/2000 to 10/2002): In Amerika (USA, 1929)

In America the Prohibition era it goes again once about making money: Abrax is frivolous a Mafioso who analytically gifted Brabrax is detective and Califax founded a successful fast-food company. Due to the different activities of the three heroes, this time the story breaks up into several storylines, which ultimately come together to form an overall picture: the Abrafaxe get in the way of a criminal diamond dealer and his daughter and involuntarily sabotage his biggest business: the sale of a huge one Diamonds on unmapped land at De Beers . The story is similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "A Diamond As Big As The Ritz". At the end of the American series, the Abrafaxe are back where they started: Califax loses its money in the stock market crisis of 1929 , the Abrax alcohol smuggling gang is exposed and Brabrax's riddle is all solved: the Abrafaxe are broke again.

Issues 323 to 343 (11/2002 to 7/2004): In Japan during the Meiji period (Japan II; 1872)

This time the Abrafaxe land in the Meiji period and are accompanied by the jobless samurai Toru and his daughter Toshiko. The background to the plot is the struggle between tradition and modernity in Japan at that time. Toru allegedly travels to his brother in the south, where he was promised a job as estate manager, but actually he wants to take part in the fight of the samurai (robbed of their feudal privileges) against the emperor. Soon two ninjas appear who are looking for a symbol of power from Queen Himiko on behalf of a feudal lord . Himikos' mirror is supposed to legitimize one of the two sides, and of course the Abrafaxe will not stand idly by in their search. Ultimately, Toru becomes a producer of calculating machines, Toshiko is allowed to marry and, strangely enough, the mirror is from Sibylla from ancient Egypt: the Abrafaxe change time and space again.

Issues 344 to 357 (8/2004 to 9/2005): On a world tour (1894/1895)

In Tsarist Russia, the Abrafaxe meet a group of wealthy adventurers who start a race around the world. In contrast to Jules Verne's “ Around the World in 80 Days ” , this involves several rival teams whose characters reflect some of the peculiarities of Western nations: the highly elegant Briton, the self-made millionaire from the USA, the colorless German Militarist, a rough, but familiar and ultimately cozy Russian with his clever niece, the chaotic and a little haphazard Italians and a French couple of a special kind (he is in love with a master thief). Although the Abrafaxes are the last to reach the starting point, it turns out that in the end all teams except the Abrafaxes have cheated. The Abrafaxe win, but that is not important: everyone gained something from the trip around the world.

Issues 358 to 381 (10/2005 to 9/2007): In the labyrinth of time (Templars; France, Italy, Byzantium, Israel; 1119)

This time the time jump is different: The Abrafaxe discover a “labyrinth of time”, and one can assume that the reader will encounter it again for a while.

In Paris in the early 12th century, the Abrafaxe meet Hugo von Payns , who has just returned from the Holy Land. Hugo is sent to the Count of Anjou by the mysterious Andreas von Montbard to bring him a bag that is also highly sought after by a group of black riders. From this a hunt for the “treasure” of the priest-king Johannes develops, which turns out to be fiction in Constantinople. Montbard had invented history to reunite divided and lawless Christianity on the path of faith. More and more people join the tour group, in the end even their three opponents. When they arrived in Jerusalem , the 13 travelers found the order of the Knights Templar .

Issues 382 to 405 (10/2007 to 9/2009): The Philosopher's Stone (Johanna; Germany; around 1290)

After a leap in time into 13th century Germany, the Abrafaxe accompany a young orphan named Johanna, who later became Gertrud von Helfta , on her search for the Philosopher's Stone . They meet Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas . But also the Count von Wolfenstein and Count Fennrich von Rabenhorst follow the Abrafaxe and Johanna across Germany. Wolfenstein wants to kill Johanna to get her inheritance, Rabenhorst wants to marry her with the same goal. In search of the Philosopher's Stone, they pass through important cities such as Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Cologne. After an unsuccessful search and knowing that Johanna is a countess, they return to Helfta. Here the story ends and the Abrafaxe make a leap in time again.

Issues 406 to 429 (10/2009 to 9/2011): Gold and Great Spirits (Baroque; France, Germany, England; around 1700)

The Abrafaxe are separated and come together again. Brabax travels through Europe as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's secretary , Abrax and Califax as a vagabond together with her companion Baldo. You meet Peter the Great , Louis XIV , Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke .

Issues 430 to 446 (10/2011 to 2/2013): The first circumnavigation of Australia (Flinders; 1802/1803)

The series is based on the actual first circumnavigation of Australia by Matthew Flinders with the HMS Investigator in the years 1801-1803. Fittingly, at the beginning of issue 430, spring 1802 is mentioned as the beginning of the plot. The events described in this booklet actually took place at this time: In April 1802, the investigator met the French ship Le Géographe under Nicolas Baudin in the bay named Encounter Bay after this incident , and in May she reached Port Jackson , the port of Sydney . The most important historical figures on board are the captain Matthew Flinders, the young midshipman John Franklin , the painter Ferdinand Bauer , the botanist Robert Brown and the Aboriginal Bungaree .

Issues 447 to 458 (3/2013 to 2/2014): The Hunt for Sinclair's Treasure (Australia; around 1847)

The Abrafaxe find themselves after another time jump in Sydney 44 years, 2 months and 27 days after the end of the previous events, i.e. in November of the year 1847. There they meet three months later, i.e. in February 1848, in search of a gold pot the Prussian researcher Ludwig Leichhardt , who was the first person to cross Australia by land. You are helping an impoverished sheep farmer who is about to be driven out of his land by a shrewd businessman in order to go into mining there. The last resort would be a fabulous treasure that the Abrafaxe find.

Issues 459 to 482 (3/2014 to 2/2016): The Abrafaxe conquer ancient Rome (100 AD)

The Abrafaxe are located in the ancient Roman Empire during the imperial period under the rule of Emperor Trajan . They accompany two Germanic chief children to Rome, who are to receive an education there. A senator instructs a slave to murder the children, but it fails. The Abrafaxe join a circus that focuses on dressage numbers and not on gladiator fights and animal chasing. They are shipwrecked and Abrax leads a slave revolt in Libya.

Issues 483 to 506 (3/2016 to 2/2018): The end of the Middle Ages (Reformation; Luther; Germany; 1517)

The Abrafaxe return to German soil shortly before Martin Luther's theses were posted , the beginning of the Reformation. Together with 15-year-old Michael, they met the painter Lucas Cranach in Wittenberg and also came to Worms and the Wartburg .

Issues 507 to 531 (3/2018 to 3/2020): Hanse (Germany; around 1431)

The Abrafaxe stay in Germany. You experience the heyday of the Hanseatic League , look for the treasure of the Likedeelers , 30 years after Störtebeker's execution , and come from Auenhain near Leipzig via Rostock and Gotland to Reval . They are separated from each other and only meet again at the Hanseatic Day in Stralsund .

Issues from 532 (4/2020): Oceania (Papua New Guinea; around the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century)

The Abrafaxe come to the islands of Mussau and Mioko with the schooner Heiderose, which brings copra to Europe .

Special editions

The publishing house Mosaik Steinchen für Steinchen Verlag , which is also responsible for the regular series, published a special issue on the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 in cooperation with the Leipzig Museum of City History .

In October 2019, a special issue entitled The Chocolate Expedition - With the Abrafaxes around the world was published in cooperation with the BMEL . Publisher: MOSAIK Steinchen für Steinchen, Berlin 2019. The booklet is available free of charge from the BMEL.

Other Abrafaxe media

The Abrafaxe are the heroes of the comic magazine "The Abrafaxe", published from 1998 to 2002, as well as numerous special albums and smaller comic strips.

In 2001 there was an Abrafaxe movie , The Abrafaxe - Under the Black Flag , which, however, did not meet expectations. The same applies to the radio plays published by Karussell , which could not match the quality of the comic model.

Since 2001, the issues of the Abrafaxe series have been published every two months in chronological order, also as an anthology, with each volume comprising four issues of the original series. These are supplemented in an editorial section with further articles that shed light on the historical context of the adventures described and the background to the creation of the respective issues.

Since 2008 there has been another series of the mosaic in which Anna, Bella and Caramella are the heroes, who are obviously derived directly from the Abrafaxes, both externally and in character. Since then, these female doppelgangers have also appeared occasionally in the Abrafaxe stories.

The mosaic collective

The following copywriters, draftsmen, colorists, etc. have been involved in the Abrafaxe mosaic since 1975:

• Artistic directors: Lothar Dräger (until 1990), Jörg Reuter (since 1990)
• Authors: Lothar Dräger (until 1990), Walter Hackel (†, 1991 to 1996), Yousif Al-Chalabi (1999 to 2000), Hubertus Rufledt (2001 to 2004), Stefan Zeidenitz (co-author 2002 to 2004), Jens- Uwe Schubert (1991 to 1999, 2001 to 2002, since 2004)
• Former draftsmen: Lona Rietschel (until 1999), Irmtraut Winkler-Wittig (until 1993), Horst Boche (†, until 1990), Heidi Jäger (formerly Sott, until 1990), Egon Reitzl (until 1989), Gisela Zimmermann (†, to 1978), Jörg Reuter (1982 to 1984, 1987 to 1990), Jens-Uwe Schubert (1986 to 1990), Michael Schröter (1987 to 1989, 1997 to 1999), Thorsten Kiecker (1993 to 1999), Steffen Jähde (1989 to 2004), Ulf S. Graupner (1993 to 1999), Conny Geppert (2000 and 2001), Marcus Koch (1996 and 1997), Konstantin Kryssow (1995 to 1998), Sascha Wüstefeld (1997 to 2002), Matthias Thieme (2005 until 2007), Jens Fischer (at times also co-author, 1995 to 2013)
• Current illustrators: Andreas Pasda (since 1990), Thomas Schiewer (since 1998), Andreas Schulze (since 1998), Niels Bülow (since 2001), Ulrich Nitzsche (since 2008), Sally Lin (since 2009), Clemens Eckert (since 2014 )
• Coloring: Jochen Arfert (until 1995), Ingrid Behm (until 2003), Ullrich Stephans (†, until 1991), Brigitte Schendel (formerly Lehmann, until 1995), Sieglinde Zahl (formerly Borkner, until 1990), Maja Berg (1987 until 1994), Erik Grünberg (1997 to 2000), André Kurzawe (since 1995)
• Layout: Christian Goguet

Web links

• MOSAIK Steinchen for Steinchen Verlag GmbH
• Abrafaxe on Mosapedia.de

literature

• Thomas Kramer : Micky, Marx and Manitu. Contemporary and cultural history as reflected in a GDR comic 1955–1990: “Mosaic” as the focus of media experiences in NS and in the GDR . Dissertation . Weidler, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89693-195-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Experience history up close - With the Abrafaxes into Luther's time. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: www.pv-mzh.de. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016 ; accessed on February 15, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Sophia-Caroline Kosel: Abrafaxe are the edition kings . In: Free Press . February 27, 2018, p. 8 .
3. ↑ Abrafaxe in Leipzig: Mosaic special edition on the Battle of the Nations and the construction of the monument. ( Memento from July 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) In: Leipziger Volkszeitung online. September 12, 2011, accessed October 15, 2011.
4. ↑ Brochure access