Birgit Weyhe was awarded the Max and Moritz Prize in Erlangen as the best German-language comic artist. The Munich-born illustrator and author receives the award, which is endowed with 7,500 euros and is presented at international comic salons. The prize is considered the most important award for comic art and graphic literature in the German-speaking world. Weyhe’s stories are always human, it said in the laudatory speech, because she is interested in what worries people, “regardless of what culture they come from, what skin color they have or how old they are”. In her current comic “Rude Girl” Weyhe tells the story of Priscilla Layne, a black American from a humble background who becomes a German professor.
The award for the best non-fiction comic went to “Im Spiegelsaal” by Liv Strömquist, the best German-language comic was “Work-Life-Balance” by Aisha Franz, and the best international comic is “Dragman” by Steven Appleby. The Max and Moritz Prize for the best comic for children goes to “Trip mit Tropf” by Josephine Mark, the special prize for the best German-language comic debut goes to three titles: “Melek + Ich” by Lina Ehrentraut “Pfostenloch” by Daniela Heller and “Who’s the Scatman?” by Jeff Chi. A Max and Moritz audience prize was awarded for the seventh time this year. The winner in this category is “Lisa and Lio” by Daniela Schreiter.