'Pablo und Rosalia' in Felix #540.
The Atelier Reindl Dachsel was a collaboration between the former Kauka editors Max Reindl and Josef Dachsel. Together with a group of additional artists and writers, they were responsible for the content of a couple of 1960s West German comic magazines, including Max + Molly, Felix, Plop! and Tom Berry.
Kauka editors
Born in the second half of the 1930s, Josef Maria Dachsel began his career as an apprentice with a Munich press agency. In his spare time, he was active as a jazz musician, and it was in the local music scene where he met a fellow jazz fanatic, Werner Hierl. The latter was a comic artist with Rolf Kauka's Fix und Foxi magazine, and shortly after their first introduction, the 23-year old Josef Dachsel was hired as the magazine's editor. In January 1962 (issue #316), his name first appeared in the magazine's colophon. Within a couple of months, the editorial team was expanded with Max Reindl, Elisabeth Helmrich and Jolan Sohn. During this period, the 'Fix und Foxi' story production was professionalized, with the editors taking care of the scripts, before the artists were set to work. Prior to this, the artists improvised the stories as they went along. In issue #180 of the West German comic news magazine Die Sprechblase, publisher Rolf Kauka's leadership was described as paternal, authoritarian and unpredictable, but on the other hand the studio and editorial team remained largely unaffected. Under the Reindl-Dachsel leadership, the tone was relaxed and pleasant.
Lupo visiting the Fix und Foxi editorial offices, drawn for Fix und Foxi #361 (1962) by Florian Julino. Appearing in this sequence are Josef Dachsel (with trumpet), Elisabeth Helmrich, Florian Julino and Max Reindl.
Atelier Reindl Dachsel
While the Kauka artists felt dissatisfied regarding their financial rewarding, they had not many alternatives to go elsewhere, since Kauka was market leader in comic production. In November 1963, Max Reindl and Josef Dachsel resigned from their positions as Fix und Foxi editors, and set up their own studio, Atelier Reindl Dachsel. Shortly after leaving Kauka, they teamed up with another former Kauka advisor, Dr. Anton Maria Kirchdürfer, and made plans for a new comic magazine. Its publisher was Libro-Verlag in Düsseldorf, its editorial offices were installed at Clemensstrasse 23 in Munich.
There, Reindl served as editor and writer, while Dachsel was responsible for the editorial production, planning and administration. Even though several websites have attributed specific features and original art pages to the two creators, it is unsure if Reindl and Dachsel were also artists themselves. For the artwork, they hired away many of the Kauka production staff. Vlado Magdic, Branco Karabajic, Mehmet Gülergün, Franz Roscher and Nikol Dimitriadis were among the first to join, later came Werner Hierl, Paul Jendruschewitz and Heinz Körner.
'Max + Molly' and 'Felix'.
Max + Molly
In April 1964, the first weekly issue of Max + Molly appeared, strangely enough with issue number #20. The title characters were two skinny teenagers, created by Werner Hierl, but initially drawn by a female artist from Strasbourg, known as "M. Becker". Since most of the art staff came from Kauka, several of the features had a strong Kauka vibe, for instance 'Plop' by Franz Roscher and 'Hasi' by Branco Karabajic. Reindl and Dachsel themselves are credited with the feature 'Pablo und Rosalia', about a smart Mexican and his quirky mare. When the first issue of Max + Molly appeared, Kauka was fully surprised and, to say the least, not amused. Especially since the early issues also contained material by Walter Neugebauer, one of his most loyal co-workers, who was still working for him. As it turned out, the latter was unaware of the inclusion of his work, and it is believed the original pages were taken from the Kauka offices by Dr. Kirchdürfer. With the remaining staff he had left, Kauka desperately tried to fill his new Fix und Foxi issues, but his lawyers assured him that he could not take action against his former artists, saying: "They're freelane artists... and not serfs! Make them better offers, and get them back!"
However, the Max + Molly adventure didn't last long. After a couple of issues, the magazine's large format was reduced, and already in December 1962, the final issue rolled off the presses. For many of the artists, there was no other option than to return to Kauka with the tail between their legs. In the meantime, the Atelier Reindl Dachsel continued with other projects.
Bastei Verlag
In the second half of the 1960s, Reindl Dachsel became prolific suppliers to the magazines of Bastei Verlag. In Felix magazine, they continued their earlier 'Pablo und Rosalia' feature, and provided several stories of magazine's title comic, which was based on the Joe Oriolo design of Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer's cartoon cat Felix. Under their Atelier's supervision, Heinz Körner developed the characters of the funny animal feature 'Wups und Waldi' (1966-1968), which was subsequently drawn for Felix by Franz Roscher for two years.
'Felix the Cat' story art for Felix #640 (1971), attributed to Reindl & Dachsel.
Moewig-Verlag
In 1968 and 1969, the Atelier Reindl Dachsel was the production company for the new comic magazine PLOP! by Moewig-Verlag, based on an extraterrestrial creature created in 1964 by Franz Roscher for Max + Molly. Together with Roscher, the Reindl Dachsel team was responsible for features like 'PLOP!' and the funny animal series 'Die Kiste'. Appearing every two weeks, PLOP! magazine came to an end after 22 issues. In 1969, stories with the 'Plop' character also appeared in Moewig's 'Popeye' comic book.
'Plop' and 'Tom Berry'.
Pabel-Verlag
For Pabel-Verlag, Max Reindl and Josef Dachsel were part of the early production team of the humorous western comic 'Tom Berry - Der pfiffige Vagabund mit Herz und Colt' (1968-1972). Initially, the issues were produced alternately in West Germany (Reindl-Dachsel) and Spain (Carlos Giménez). After a while, full production was handled by Studio Ortega in Spain, which employed artists like Carlos Gimenéz, Francisco Díaz Rojo, José Castillo, Alfonso Borillo, Jaime Mainou and Jesús Blasco. Eventually, the 'Tom Berry' series was restyled by the Belgian artist Karel Verschuere and his studio, who gave the character a more realistic appearance. By the request of readers, this was later rectified again.
Later career
By the time the 'Tom Berry' comic came to an end, Max Reindl and Josef Dachsel had already left the comic industry. Reindl's further whereabouts are unknown. For 30 years, Josef Dachsel worked as the press spokesperson for the German Association of Insurance Professionals. He also remained active in the jazz world. Together with his wife, author and dramaturge Annelie Knoblauch, he organized several jazz concerts and festivals in the Munich region through the KulturKontor organization.
'Die Kiste', from PLOP! #1 (1968).