RRAAH! online presents:
Frankfurt Book Fair 2000

Meeting-place will be the Comics Centre (Comic-Zentrum) in Hall 4.1, where visitors will be offered an interesting programme of lectures, autographing sessions, and exhibitions. More than thirty publishers and organisations have booked booths around the Comics Centre, among them the most important German comics publishers.

Programme

Comics Centre hall 4.1

Wednesday, Oktober 18th, 2000

13.00 Hrs.	Presentation of the "OCX-Award" Supported by the Frankfurt Book Fair, this first-time official online comics award worth a total of 7,500 DM is being presented by Dino-entertainment AG, ComicRadioShow.com and WEB.DE AG. The winning entries can be admired at their booth during the fair.
15.00 Hrs.	Panel discussion: The future of comics in Germany Chaired by: Andreas Platthaus, FAZ, Frankfurt Panellists: Paul Derouet, Agentur Contour, Hamburg; Jutta Harms, Verlag Reprodukt, Berlin; Dr. Joachim Kaps, Carlsen, Hamburg; Max Mü ller, Dino Entertainment, Stuttgart; Dr. Eckart Sackmann, RRAAH!, Hamburg, Michael Walz, Egmont Ehapa, Stuttgart The trash and smut campaigns of the 1950s failed to stop comics from becoming part of our popular culture. Modern graphic novels were even regarded as sophisticated literature. Today, at the beginning of the third millennium, the comics market in Germany is dominated by superheroes and mangas. Where will this all end?
17.00 Hrs.	Official opening of the Comics Centre followed by reception Speakers: Lorenzo A. Rudolf, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair; Paul Levitz, Executive Vice President & Publisher DC Comics

Thursday, Oktober 19th, 2000

12.00 Hrs.	Lecture: Merchandising as demonstrated by "Das kleine Arschloch" and "Kä pt' n Blaubä r" Horst Preuss, Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt/Main Walter Moers' two best-known characters are marketed by Eichborn Verlag. Horst Preuss explains why there is much more involved than one might think.
13.00 Hrs.	Discussion: Wow! That' s expensive! Chaired by: Marius Kessler, former bookseller, former publisher' s rep, now publishing director (Infinity Verlag), Rastatt. Panellists: Matthias Bischoff, Chief Editor, Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main; David Frey, bookseller (Prinz), Mannheim; Isabel Kreitz, illustrator, Hamburg Why does a 45-page comic that may take half an hour to look at and read, cost as much as 25 marks? Who makes how much from a four-colour publication? And as a bookseller, how can I persuade my sceptical customers that it is still worth buying? The panel will deal with these and similar questions and come up with some answers.
14.00 Hrs.	Slide show: Long-running successes and bestsellers Wolfgang Strzyz, Frankfurt/Main One of the most frequently heard comments from interested booksellers goes: "We would like to stock comics, but - apart from the classics that everyone knows - what else sells well?" Wolfgang Strzyz who runs the Comics Group at the "German Book Trade Colleges" in Frankfurt-Seckbach and holds careers training seminars on the subject of "comics in bookshops", will pick up on this problem and use his slide presentation to provide some concrete help.
15.00 Hrs.	Slide show and discussion: Censorship in comics Dr. Bettina Brockhorst-Reetz, Deputy Head of the "Government Control Board for Writings Liable to Corrupt the Young", Bonn; Paul Derout, Agentur Contour, Hamburg; Achim Schnurrer, Edition Kunst der Comics, Heroldsbach The history of censorship and comics is as old as the medium itself. Even Wilhelm Busch had already experienced the problem. Dr. Brockhorst-Reetz will talk about the routine work of the Control Board and discuss with two of the people "affected" the aim and object of protecting the young.
followed by film "Making of Abrafaxe"

Friday, Oktober 20th, 2000

11.30 Hrs.	Workshops for young artists Bjö rn Pertoft (Kä pt' n Blaubä r and others), Darmstadt - advance registration only -
13.00 Hrs.	Workshops for young artists Bjö rn Pertoft (Kä pt' n Blaubä r and others), Darmstadt - advance registration only -
14.30 Hrs.	Lecture (in English): The Marketing of Comics on the Internet Chuck Rozanski, managing director, Mile High Comics, USA What opportunities and dangers does the worldwide net represent for the world of colour pictures?
15.30 Hrs.	Slide show: The history of comics in Germany Wolfgang Strzyz, Frankfurt/Main A journey through time, from "Max und Moritz" to "Vater und Sohn", from "Sigurd" and "Nick Knatterton to Asterix' incredible journey to the region of the Ostrogoths, from underground publications in the vein of "Fritz the cat" to Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus".
followed by film "Making of Abrafaxe"

Saturday, Oktober 21st, 2000

12.00 Hrs.	Slide show and discussion: Marcel Proust as a comic book Professor Achim Hö lter, Mü nster University Andreas Platthaus, FAZ, Frankfurt Presentation and discussion of the project for the French comics adaptation of Marcel Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu".
13.00 Hrs.	Lecture (with slide show): The history of post-war comics in Poland Adam Rusek, National Library, Warsaw Poland, Guest of Honour at this year' s Book Fair, has a long tradition of publishing comics, particularly in the tense years of the East-West conflict. Adam Rusek from Warsaw grasps the nettle.
14.00 Hrs.	Lecture and discussion: Why Son-Goku has a monkey' s tail Fosanosuke Natsume, literary critic and manga expert, Tokyo; Dr. Susanne Phillipps, Japanese studies scholar, Berlin; Junko Iwamoto-Seebeck, translator (incl. "Akira", "Dragonball"), Hamburg; Stefan Zeidenitz, Japanese studies scholar, Vice-President of the German-Japanese Society, Frankfurt/Main Japanese comics such as "Sailor Moon" and "Dragonball" are categorised in Germany as "children' s comics". But what is the role of cultural and historical backgrounds in the so-called "mangas"?
15.00 Hrs.	Lecture: All Nippon Airways flies "Pokémon" around the world Ana Kozjak, Key Account Corporate Sales Since 1998, the fleet of ANA All Nippon Airways, Asia' s biggest airline, has included planes decorated with Pokémon images, adding a creative and light-hearted touch to the flying experience. This has been so popular that the Pokémon jets cause a stir not just on the Japanese home market but on international routes as well.
16.00 Hrs.	Panel discussion: The Comics Quartet Chaired by: Dr. Eckart Sackmann, RRAAH!, Hamburg Panellists: Petra Lakner, comics expert, Hamburg; Frank Neubauer, translator, Hanover; Andreas Platthaus, FAZ, Frankfurt/Main Along the lines of the famous "Literary Quartet", four comics are introduced and discussed by four experts.
followed by film "Making of Abrafaxe"

Sunday, Oktober 22nd, 2000

12.00 Hrs.	Lecture (in French): Nouvelles tendances dans la BD franco- belge Thierry Groensteen, director CNBDI (Comics Museum Angoulême), Angoulême France and Belgium have always been the most important impulse of comics in Europe. As one of the most high-profile connoisseurs of the scene, Thierry Groensteen talks about the latest developments.
13.30 Hrs.	Slide show: Gourmet mangas are used to demonstrate the use of comics as how-to guides Dr. Susanne Phillipps, Japanese studies scholar, Berlin; Stefan Zeidenitz, Japanese studies scholar, Vide-President of the German-Japanese Society, Frankfurt/Main Cookery books with a difference - recipes as comic-strips. Followed by the live presentation of a recipe by the Japanese Consul-General Akio Tanaka, Frankfurt.
15.00 Hrs.	Demonstration: Drawing comics online with "Bloody Circus" as an example Jü rgen Seebeck, manga illustrator, Hamburg
18.00 Hrs.	Taking stock and looking to the future Happy Hour with the Frankfurt Book Fair, exhibitors and comics creators

Exhibitions

Charles M. Schulz and his "Peanuts"

With the death of Charles M. Schulz at the beginning of the year, the world lost one of the best-known and most influential comic-strip creators ever. This exhibition recalls the lifework of the American whose "Peanuts" is among the most successful series of all time.

Curator: Dr. Bernd Dolle-Weinkauff, Institute for Research on Books for Children & Young People, Frankfurt University

Mabuse

Featuring the new six-part comic by Isabel Kreitz, Stefan Dinter and Eckart Breitschuh, based on a legendary figure in the history of literature and the cinema.

Isabel Kreitz and Stefan Dinter will be present from Friday to Sunday, answering questions and drawing live.

Avantgarde and Experiments

What' s the position of comics at the beginning of the third millennium? What sort of visions are inspiring young omic artists? What developments are still possible for a medium that is already more than a hundred years old? Four young up-and-coming French comic artists demonstrate that the subject of "comics" is by no means exhausted.

The Berlin Tabletop Affair

Berlin artists decorate the tabletops in the Comic Café

Curator: Jutta Harms, Verlag Reprodukt, Berlin

Markus Müller, aka WON, the graffiti artist whose talents have in the past enhanced German Rail carriage by carriage, is at the Book Fair spraying live out on the grounds.

Electronic Media Center Halle 4.0

Lecture (in English):

New media bring new career opportunities for comics creators

Chuck Rozanski, managing director Mile High Comics, USA