Comic "Mosaic": Abrafaxe on the road for the 600th time

The Abrafaxe reach the "Golden City" of Prague in the year 1600 - and celebrate several anniversaries at once: it is the 600th issue of the comic magazine "Mosaik" with the heroes Abrax, Brabax and Califax. The trio with the bulbous noses is also celebrating its 50th birthday - and the magazine itself is turning 70. The anniversary issue marks the start of a new, longer Abrafaxe adventure, as announced brick by brick by Berlin publisher Mosaik.

"Mosaik" was launched in the GDR in 1955 and is now the oldest German comic still in publication. Back then, graphic artist Hannes Hegen created Dig, Dag and Digedag - the Digedags. They traveled to different countries and through different times. Hegen left the company in 1975 after a dispute with the GDR publisher Junge Welt.

Start 1975

In the fall of 1975, the Abrafaxe took their first steps into the public eye - on the back cover of the magazine. The first complete issue with them appeared in January 1976 and was called "Das Geheimnis der Grotte".

Who are the three protagonists who, unlike many other GDR creations, survived the fall of the Berlin Wall? Blonde Abrax is a real go-getter who sometimes doesn't think about the consequences. Clever Brabax knows almost everything and always has a good plan at the ready. Cozy Califax, on the other hand, would often prefer to laze around. His main job: he is the Abrafaxe's cook.

The trio has been to Ancient Greece, met Nefertiti in Ancient Egypt, traveled through the Middle Ages and met countless great adventurers and famous personalities from history.

Diplomats and soldiers of fortune

So now it's off to Prague in the November 26 edition. Publishing spokesman Robert Löffler: "Emperor Rudolf II resided in Prague Castle on the Hradčany Hill, as he had elevated the city to the center of his empire. Diplomats, soldiers of fortune, scientists and artists crowded the picturesque alleyways."

And in the midst of this bubbling cauldron, the Abrafaxe meet, for example, the landlord of the "Zur Schwarzen Katze" pub, the court astronomer Tycho Brahe and the mathematician Johannes Kepler.

Also readers in Australia

According to the publisher, "Mosaik" has a circulation of around 110,0000 issues - 40,000 of which are subscriptions. The new issue was designed by one author, eight illustrators and one colorist - in Berlin. According to the information, the subscribers also include East Germans who have emigrated to Australia and Norway, for example.

The first "Mosaik" with the Abrafaxen was published in January 1976 with a print run of 705,000 copies, according to the publisher. The magazines always sold out quickly.