Life in Hell
Life in Hell (English Life in Hell ) was a weekly comic strip by the U.S. cartoonist Matt Groening, has been published in numerous international newspapers. Since 2007, the title of the Strip Life is Swell was (English Life is great).
Production and publication history
Matt Groening Life in Hell invented in 1977. Originally, the cartoons were intended only for his friends, whom he wanted to get closer in this way his life in Los Angeles. Later he sold copies of the comics in a corner of the record store, where he worked at the time.
In September 1978, Life in Hell was published for the first time in a newspaper, the avant-garde Wet magazine. Soon enjoyed the absurd and bizarre stories of a great popularity in the underground scene and artist from Los Angeles. From 1980, the comic was published in the alternative weekly newspaper Los Angeles Reader.
1984 suggested Deborah Caplan, Groening's then girlfriend, before to bring Life in Hell in a book on the market. From the first band, Love is Hell ( 1986), a collection of comic strips about love, is sold around 22,000 copies.
A year later, the Hollywood producer James L. Brooks became aware of the cartoon and asked Groening to develop an animated series. Fearing a possible failure and the loss of his rights to the characters, however, Groening decided against an animated version of Life in Hell and created instead the Simpsons.
The comic was printed in up to 380 newspapers around the world, however it has recently in less than 40 On June 15, 2012 appeared with the 1669th Strip the time being last in the series.
So far, only four comic books from the 1980s have been translated into German, as the very special wit of the series can be difficult to translate ( according to current state no longer available for purchase, but be borrowed, for example, in the Dresden library). Title: Work is Hell, being young is hell, love is hell, life in hell.
Characters
- The embittered rabbit Binky
- The doe Sheba, Binky's girlfriend (since 1981)
- The one-eared rabbit Bongo, Binky's illegitimate son (since 1983)
- The twins Akbar and Jeff, a homosexual couple (since 1984)
- Gooey, Screwy and Ratatouille, Akbar and Jeff's nephew
Even Matt Groening and his sons Will and Abe are frequently used in the stories before ( in rabbit form ).
Style and content
The comics are drawn very simple and abstracted and style but most likely with Groening's later creation, the Simpsons compare. Life in Hell covers a very wide range of topics (love, loneliness, school, work, etc.) that are often treated in the form of a monologue. The cartoons are very text heavy, while the plot hardly matters. Many of the stories are based on an autobiographical background.
The humor of the comic is black, sarcastic and socially critical. Frequently Groening refers to current events ( such as the 1991 Gulf War ) position or criticized policy makers (especially Ronald Reagan, George Bush and the Republican Party in general). Every now and then also flow elements of Surrealism and Dada in the cartoons with a.