The Hammlets
The cartoon series Die Hammlets was created in 1978 and first appeared in Hessian in the regional newspaper Dieburger Anzeiger . Its inventor is the draftsman Hans Peter Murmann, who lives in Dieburg.
The appearance of the cartoons was the classic one for the time, i. H. in black and white, and the stories were divided into four pictures (comparable to the Peanuts , Hägar , Mafalda or similar). In terms of content, they dealt with situations from the general human environment such as relationships, work, leisure and comparable topics. The main characters in the cartoons are mostly unspecified sheep who take on the role of human actors. A large part of the comic strips represents misunderstandings through incorrect word associations (puns).
The first national publications were to be seen in 1978 in the satirical monthly magazine Pardon . In 1980 the series of characters made the leap into the first national daily newspaper, the former Abendpost / Nachtausgabe (Frankfurt), where it appeared weekly in the Saturday edition (with Willy Wacker ) in the entertainment section. By 1984 publications followed in Mannheimer Morgen , Rheinische Post , Freund . In 1983 a review of the Hammlets appeared in the Italian comic magazine Linus .
The first book We Recommend Sheep Today was published in 1985, and by 1990 it had sold 20,000 copies. Another three books followed by 1986: You forgot your bag , Far too much salt and Aamool in Joar (in Hessian dialect). To date, a total of 15 books have been published.