Nicolas Mahler


Nicolas Mahler is an Austrian cartoonist and illustrator. Die Zeit, NZZ am Sonntag, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung and Titanic print his comics. He is known for his comics Flaschko and Kratochvil and for his literary adaptations in comic form. His comics have been adapted into films and theatre plays. He was awarded the Max & Moritz Prize and the Preis der Literaturhäuser.

Life and career

Mahler was born in Vienna. He is an autodidact, and started working as an illustrator soon after leaving school. Mahler draws for Austrian, German and Swiss newspapers, magazines and anthologies. He has published over twenty books, including in France and Canada. His Flaschko-comics were adapted as animated films and screened at various short film festivals in Europe. His comic Kratochvil was performed as a puppet play in Switzerland, Austria and France. In 2003, together with and, he founded the Kabinett für Wort und Bild in Vienna Museumsquartier.
Mahler produced several literary adaptations in comic form, including Alte Meister, Alice in Sussex and Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften as well as adaptations in 2020 of James Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. In addition to his fictional stories, Mahler published Kunsttheorie versus Frau Goldgruber, Die Zumutungen der Moderne, Pornographie und Selbstmord, as well as Franz Kafkas Nonstop Lachmaschine, as autobiographical comics in which he processes his sometimes absurd experiences in everyday life and in the comic scene.
Mahler has been known to German readers through his publications in the satirical magazine Titanic. From 2014 to 2016, he also published in the monthly magazine Chrismon.
Mahler lives in Vienna. He is married and has a son.

Style

Mahler's style is characterised by an extremely reduced stroke with which he captures cranky characters. The award citation for the Max & Moritz Prize states:

Awards

  • 1999: – Special prize
  • 2006: Max & Moritz Prize for the best comic in German
  • 2007:, "Geflügelter Bleistift" in Silver
  • 2008: Max & Moritz Prize for the best comic-strip
  • 2010: Max & Moritz Prize for the best comic-artist in German
  • 2013: in Goldegg
  • 2015: Preis der Literaturhäuser
  • 2019: Sondermann Award

    Publications

Cartoon collections

  • Das Unbehagen. Humor-Zeichnungen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2005,.
  • Die Herrenwitz-Variationen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2008,
  • Was fehlt uns denn?. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2011,.
  • Mein Therapeut ist ein Psycho. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2013,.
  • Die Smalltalkhölle. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2014,.
  • Der Urknall. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2015,.
  • In Zukunft werden wir alle alt aussehen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2017,.
  • Wir müssen reden. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2019,.

    Comics

  • TNT: Eine Boxerstory..
  • Lone racer. 1999, .
  • Lame ryder. 2001,.
  • Das Raupenbuch. Edition 52, 2002, 20 pages,.
  • leicht beschädigte tiere. 2002,.
  • Kunsttheorie versus Frau Goldgruber. 2003,.
  • Kratochvil. Edition Selene, Wien 2004,.
  • Die Zumutungen der Moderne. Reprodukt, Berlin 2007.
  • Van Helsing macht blau. 2008, .
  • Längen und Kürzen. Luftschacht, Vienna 2009.
  • SPAM. Reprodukt, Berlin 2009.
  • Engelmann: Der gefallene Engel. Carlsen Verlag, Hamburg 2010.
  • Pornografie und Selbstmord. Reprodukt, Berlin 2010.
  • Franz Kafkas nonstop Lachmaschine. Reprodukt, Berlin 2014.
  • Partyspaß mit Kant. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2015..
  • Das kleine Einschlafbuch für Große. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2016..
  • Die Goldgruber-Chroniken. Reprodukt, Berlin 2017.
  • Das Ritual. Reprodukt, Berlin 2018,.
  • Der Fremde. Carlsen, Hamburg 2018.
  • Das kleine Überlebens-ABC. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2018..
  • Thomas Bernhard. Die unkorrekte Biografie. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2021,.
  • Schwarze Spiegel. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2021,.
  • Nachtgestalten Luchterhand, Munich 2021,.

    Flaschko

  • Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Dämon Damenlikör. 2002,.
  • Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Die Staublunge. 2007,.
  • Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Die Müllsekte. 2009,.

    Illustrations

  • Die kleine Unbildung. Liessmann für Analphabeten. Zsolnay, Vienna 2018,.

    Literary adaptations

  • Alte Meister. Comedy by Thomas Bernhard, : Suhrkamp, Berlin 2011,.
  • Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften. Graphic novel after Robert Musil. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2013,.
  • Alice in Sussex. Suhrkamp 2013,.
  • * Previously as: Alice in Sussex. in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, since 6 November 2012.
  • Lulu und das schwarze Quadrat. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2014..
  • Comic adaptation after Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2017,.
  • Nicolas Mahler, James Joyce: Ulysses. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2020,.
  • Nicolas Mahler, James Joyce: Finnegans Wake. Grafiskie stāsti, Riga 2020,

    Poetry (with illustrations)

  • Gedichte. With an afterword by Raimund Fellinger . Insel Verlag, Berlin 2013,.
  • Dachbodenfund. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2015,.
  • In der Isolierzelle. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2017,.
  • Solar Plexy. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2018.

    Scenarios

  • Molch. Luftschacht, Wien 2008.