When the tents close at midnight at the Oktoberfest, it’s that time again. A horde of swaying figures leaves the Theresienwiese and descends on the city. A scene from a zombie movie. At least that’s what we thought from time to time. In an exhibition in the Munich City Library in HP8 now you can see it the same way. That means: the drunks as monsters with spooky grimaces who stagger from the marquee in the direction of Bavaria. The Munich draftsman Frank Schmolke depicted them like this in his great comic “Nights in Paradise”. Selected pages and scenes from this can be seen in the exhibition, as well as from Schmolke’s last work: an adaptation of Sebastian Fitzek’s thriller “Der Augensammler”.
“Broken People and a Broken Hero” is the title of Michael Khambekar’s Munich Comic Festival curated show that brings together Schmolke’s most important comic and his most successful to date with “Nights in Paradise” and “Der Augensammler”. The former gave the draftsman, who was born in Munich in 1967, his breakthrough three years ago and is currently being filmed as a series by the Starzplay streaming service. In the lead role of the taxi driver Vincent: Jürgen Vogel. The screenplay was written by Matthias Glasner (“Free Will”, “Das Boot”) and Hannah Schopf (“Tiger Girl”). In addition to Vogel, Lea Drinda and Birgit Minichmayr can be seen in the series, the first season of which is scheduled to run next year.
While Schmolke distilled his experiences from 30 years of driving a taxi in “Nights in Paradise” and combined them with a fictional crime story, “Der Augensammler” was a commissioned work. The style is also slightly different. The neo-noir taxi driver ballad is characterized by strong black and white, looks rougher and rougher. Much of this is based on spontaneous sketches, five of which can be seen in the exhibition: three miniatures of a “vixen”, a “ferret” and a “helmeted cassowary” sitting in a taxi. A smoking woman. And a previously unpublished sketch of Vincent with a taxi in front of a Ferris wheel. With the “Eye Collector” there are also bright colors with blue, yellow, red, the whole thing looks more opulent, but also quite dark.
Frank Schmolke at the opening of the exhibition in HP8.
(Photo: Marcus Anritter)
When the Splitter-Verlag asked for a Fitzek adaptation, he initially “thought for a long time”. Schmolke learned this during an artist talk at the opening. He knew Fitzek’s name, but not his books, and when he read them he “had a hard time” with them either. After all, it was his daughter who said: “Are you crazy, you have to do it, he has so many fans.” This was followed by a tough “ride”, Schmolke revealed that he only worked and even slept in the studio. But the nice thing: “Splitter gave me all the freedom”. And in the end even Fitzek only made “two small corrections”.
Schmolke is currently working for the Archaeological State Collection
With “Trabanten” and “Freaks” it was also about two other comics. Schmolke said that he “crammed along” as a draftsman and illustrator for years and can hardly believe his current success. This includes another Fitzek adaptation, “Der Augenjäger”, which he has promised Splitter-Verlag. Which he has currently postponed because of another order. Because until next May Schmolke will be the permanent exhibition of the currently closed due to general renovation Archaeological State Collection shape. Its manager, Rupert Gebhard, is a comic fan, said Schmolke. He has already painted a large “battle scene” and otherwise the series “Once upon a time…man” taken as a loose model. “It’s crazy,” says Schmolke about the work, the result of which one can be curious about.
Broken People and a Broken Hero, until Oct. 3, Munich City Library at HP8, Hans-Preißinger-Str. 8th