Self-portrait.
Ralf König had his coming-out as a cartoonist in the late 1970s, when he published his 'Schwulcomix', comics about the gay scene, in various underground comic magazines, such as Zomix (in Munich) and Rosa Flieder. Starting in 1981, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, and in that same year, he brought his politically gay comix to publisher Rosa Winkel, who collected them in books.
'Bullenklöten' (Spanish-language version: 'Lluvia Dorada').
Among his early book collections are 'Sarius', 'Das sensationelle Comic-Book', 'SchwulComix' (several volumes) and 'Kondom des Grauens'. In 1983, he was hired to make 'Bodo und Heinz' for the magazine Arbeit und Sicherheit im Deutschen Bergbau, which he continued until 1986. It was a prelude to his later series 'Konrad und Paul'.
'Kondom des Grauens'. Dutch-language version.
Eventually, in 1987, König made his mainstream breakthrough with 'Der Bewegte Man' (published in English as 'Pretty Baby'), which was adapted into a succesful movie in 1994. His comic 'Kondom des Grauens' was also turned into a movie in 1997. In 1988, he had another hit with 'Pretty Baby'. In 1990, he developed his characters 'Konrad und Paul' for the magazine Magnus. König has additionally made satirical adaptations of classics by Aristotle ('Lysistrata', 1987) and Shakespeare ('Jago', 1998).
'Greek Lessons'.
König paid homage to gay comic pioneer Tom of Finland with 'Safere Zeiten' (1988), a series through which he also promotes safe sex. He has also dealt with themes like Aids ('Super Paradise', 1999) and gay marriage ('Sie Dürfen Sich Jetzt Küssen', 2003). He started the series about the dogs 'Roy & Al' in 2004, and he commented on radical Islamism in the diptych 'Dschinn Dschinn' (2004-2005).
König's comics have been translated into fourteen languages, and appear in seventeen countries. Over five million copies of his work have been published.
In 2012, he was interviewed for the documentary 'Sex in the Comics' (2012). He drew a homage to Robert Crumb in the collective book 'A Tribute to Robert Crumb' (Éditions 52, 2013).
On 1 May 2015, König and Fotini Tikkou designed a comic book mural in Brussels, namely in the Rue de la Chaufferette / Lollepotstraat 1000, as part of the Brussels' Comic Book Route, despite the fact that they are respectively born in Germany and Greece. The project, 'Out in the Street', celebrates the LGBT movement.
Ralf König was a strong graphic influence on Flix and also received admiration from veteran artist Wolinski.
Artwork by Ralf König.
www.ralfkoenig.de
(in English and Deutsch)