The 13th Erlangen International Comic Salon, the most important festival of comics culture in the German-speaking world, opens its doors at noon on 22 May. Exhibitions, a comics trade show, collectors’ market, comic artists live, the Max and Moritz Award, Comic Film Festival, Comic Podium, Young Forum, Family Sunday, readings, theater and workshops will fill more than 15,000 square meters with the “ninth art” for four days. Around 150 exhibitors will present themselves and their programs at the Erlangen Congress Center, more than 300 comic artists from around the world will draw at publishers’ stands and sign their books, and over 2,000 exhibits will be displayed in 20 exhibitions, some elaborately staged.
Twenty Solo Exhibitions
The exhibition “Manhua – Comics in China Today” will show work by 17 Chinese comic artists in the Congress Center’s Great Hall as they set out to conquer the comics world. Erlangen City Museum will present a major exhibition on the life and work of Wilhelm Busch, along with “Wilhelm Busch and His Legacy,” featuring tributes by leading contemporary German artists. Erlangen Municipal Gallery will present the first major retrospective of German artist and comics teacher Hendrik Dorgathen. Other exhibitions are dedicated to Christophe Blain, the young Italian scene, Reinhard Kleist, Ho Che Anderson, Guy Delisle, Line Hoven and pioneering artist Hansrudi Wäscher, who recently turned 80.
Around the Entire World
A striking online project will launch alongside the 13th International Comic Salon. At http://www.strip-around-the-world.de, anyone—fan or professional artist—can upload original comic drawings. The comics will be joined visually and are intended to stretch around the world in two years, by the 14th Erlangen International Comic Salon from 3 to 6 June 2010, connecting countries and cultures and promoting communication through the language of images. The International Comic Salon project is supported and implemented by communications agency Publicis Erlangen.
Max and Moritz Award
On the evening of 23 May at 9:00 p.m., the Max and Moritz Award, the most important comics distinction in the German-speaking world, will be presented at Erlangen’s Markgrafentheater. Sponsored by Bulls Press of Frankfurt, it includes the categories Best German-Language Comic Artist, Best Comic Strip, Best German-Language Comic, Best International Comic, Best Manga, Best Comic for Children, Best Writer, Special Jury Prize and Special Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement. Literary critic and Max and Moritz Award juror Denis Scheck will host the evening.
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The Smurfs Celebrate Their 50th Birthday
The Smurfs created by Belgian artist Peyo turn 50 this year. Selected European cities are celebrating the milestone with a large open-air exhibition and numerous Smurf-themed surprises. To mark the 13th International Comic Salon, Erlangen will be the only German city to take part. With the help of numerous partners, the Smurfs will conquer every corner of Erlangen for four days.
The International Comic Salon is complemented by an extensive supporting program of presentations, discussions, films, readings and performances—more than 200 events at numerous venues throughout the city. A free shuttle bus connects the most important locations.
The detailed program booklet, issued as a special edition of the trade magazine Comixene, is available nationwide from specialist comics retailers and railway-station bookshops. A special edition of Wieselflink, the salon’s official comic magazine, is also being published for the 13th International Comic Salon and can be ordered at http://www.wieselflink.de.
Main Venues
Heinrich-Lades-Halle Congress Center and Town Hall (Rathausplatz 1, 91052 Erlangen)
Museumswinkel and Erlangen Municipal Gallery (Gebbertstrasse 1 / Luitpoldstrasse 47, 91052 Erlangen)
Erlangen City Museum (Martin-Luther-Platz 9, 91054 Erlangen)
Additional Venues
Kunstmuseum Erlangen e.V. (Nürnberger Strasse 9, 91052 Erlangen)
Galerie Kunstraum Sutter-Kress (Theaterstrasse 1, 91054 Erlangen)
Publicis KommunikationsAgentur (Nägelsbachstrasse 33, 91052 Erlangen)
Markgrafentheater (Theaterplatz 2, 91054 Erlangen)
Theater in der Garage (Theaterstrasse 5, 91054 Erlangen)
CineStar – Der Filmpalast (Nürnberger Strasse 31, 91052 Erlangen)
Manhattan-Kinos (Güterhallenstrasse 4, 91054 Erlangen)
Lamm-Lichtspiele (Hauptstrasse 86, 91054 Erlangen)
Neustädter Kirche (Neustädter Kirchenplatz, 91054 Erlangen)
Neuer Markt shopping center (atrium and Rathausplatz, 91052 Erlangen)
and others
Tickets
Advance sales are available at http://www.comic-salon.de, through Ticket Online advance-sales outlets in the greater Erlangen, Nuremberg, Fürth and Bamberg area, with advance-sales fees, and from 22 to 25 May 2008 at the daily box office at Heinrich-Lades-Halle Congress Center and other venues.
Admission to Trade Show and Exhibitions
Day ticket: EUR 8; reduced EUR 5
Family Sunday day ticket: EUR 8; reduced EUR 1, with reduced tickets available only at the daily box office
Full-event ticket: EUR 22; reduced EUR 14
Reduced prices apply to children and young people up to age 14.
Separate admission prices apply to evening events and the cinema program.
Opening Hours
Thursday, 22 May 2008: noon–7:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 23 and 24 May 2008: 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Sunday, 25 May 2008: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Further Links:
- Further information
