Tässä muutama kysymys ekasta albumista.
Where do Chris and Marty live? Frankfurt or some other West German city?
There are lots of characters whose faces seem to be based on real people. But in my case they do not ring any bell. Are they mostly friends of the writers/artists? Are there German celebrities that are may be less known outside of the borders?
Is Chris and Marty the first comics series that you have been working on? Are you big comics fans? Who are your favorite artists?
A lot of people seem to have been involved in the making of the album. It is almost like the end credits of a movie. Who did what? Was somebody specialized in the backgrounds or motorcycles? Were all characters drawn by the same artist? Did somebody take care of the inking and so on? Is the same team also working on the second album?
You seem to be following plot line of the movie Easy Rider quite closely. But at one point the continuity oddly breaks: in the album the diner scene (Morganza, Louisiana in the movie) takes place before the parade scene (Las Vegas, New Mexico in the movie). Furthermore, in the album both scenes take place in Big Dust, Texas (which seems to be a fictitious place, not mentioned in the movie). What was the reasoning behind this?
At LAX Marty is selling cans of Rhein Riesling. Is this an actual German brand of cheapo white wine?
Thanks in advance 
Dear pappa-sami,
Thanks for the interest in our comic. Chris and Marty live in Mainz, which is on the Rhine – River about 40 Km West of Frankfurt. It is in the heart of Germany and between to wine – regions. You are correct in guessing, that a lot of the characters are based on real people. Some of them are friends of us, others are local politicians, who we make fun of. The reason for taking living people is the fact, that the figure in the comic becomes more lively.
Chris & Marty is our first comic – project. It started with me, trying to teach Marty, how to ride a motorcycle. I wrote down all the funny stories, which happened with him and developed one-page-cartoons, which where published in the German Motorcycle – magazine REISE MOTORRAD and the Croatian magazine MOTO PULS. As I am a comic fan of the French – Belgian style, like Tin-Tin, Michel Vaillant, Spirou & Fantasia, Asterix, Lucien and Joe Bar –Team, I wanted to create my own comic. We took the film Easy Rider as basic story, as in my generation this film was cult and we all dreamt of riding through the States, as Billy and Wyatt did. I was lucky enough and could do a similar trip in 1978 on a Triumph 750 Tiger, together with a Norwegian friend of mine and it felt like the greatest freedom in the world. We were riding for 6 month from New York to Chicago, then on the old Route 66 to Los Angeles – on highway 1 to San Francisco, which was still in the ‘Flower-Power-Spirit’. We continued to Vancouver, then back to San Francisco on on the Northern route back to Chicago. I am sure that now you understand the reason, why we have chosen Easy Rider as the basic theme for our Comic. For your information, I love riding motorcycle out there so much, that I am a co-owner of a motorcycle-rental shop in San Francisco. As I also lived a long time in France, I put in the ride to Burgundy. The pub and people you see there really exist.
Indeed our comic is made by many people. I had the idea with Marty. I wrote the story-board and had the vision how the comic should look like. As I didn’t find one artist, who could draw what my vision was, I took several, who are working together- Michael Apitz is doing the persons and animals. Bernhard Speh is doing the technical parts like bikes, cars, plans and ships, as well as the landscape and backgrounds. Peter Beckhaus is doing the colouring and Björn Pertoft (a Swedish guy) is doing the page development. Michael and I are doing the final text together, which is a lot of fun, as this is like role-playing. Most of the time, we are inspired by a good bottle of wine.
Indeed, we tried to stay close to the story-line of Easy Rider. We couldn’t put in all scenes, as otherwise the comic would have been too long, and we also wanted to create our own story. We called the village Big Dust, as we didn’t want to take a real place and to discriminate it. When you ride through America, a lot of villages are plain and dusty, so we called it Big Dust.
Rhine Riesling is not a cheap German wine. Riesling is an old traditional grape, which is used since many Centuries to make wine in the Rhine, Mosel and Alsace region. To put it in cans, was an idea of us, so that a biker could also put it in to his saddle bags.
We published our second album, which is a collection of Chris & Marty one-page-cartoons, which were published in magazines and newspapers. We are currently working on CHRIS & MARTY – In the service of her Majesty -. This album is making fun of all the James Bond movies. You will find them all in there, such as Sean Connery, Roger Moore etc. They all get kidnapped and Chris & Marty are appointed to safe the world! This album should be published in Germany in May 2008. In Finnland it will depend on our Finish friends, if and when they wish to publish it. If there are more people like you, who enjoy this comic, I am sure they will do it.
All the best
Chris – December 2007
Aihe: Chris & Marty - laadukas prätkäsarjis saksasta (Luettu 15000 kertaa)