Rolf Kauka

Rolf (actually Paul Rudolf) Caucasus ( born April 9, 1917 in Markranstadt; † 13 September 2000 in Thomasville, Georgia ) was a German comic book producer and publisher. He was considered by many as the " German Walt Disney ".

Life

Caucasus was born the son of a blacksmith. He grew up in Saxony and recorded already in secondary school cartoons for the Leipzig Latest news and Weißenfelser Tageblatt. After graduation, he began a study of business, but was soon drafted into the army and took part as a career officer in the Second World War.

Publishers activities

In 1945, he wrote with his friend Norbert Pohl the "Elements of Law ", a short textbook series for law students. The acquaintance with Heinz Ullsteinhaus and Harry Schulze -Wilde 1949 led to the founding of Heinz- Ullsteinhaus -Verlag.

In the early 1950s, the first U.S. comics conquered the West German market, Rolf Caucasus recognized the opportunities offered for Germany this new mass medium. However, it was lacking in the young Federal Republic of suitable cartoonists. So Caucasus began to develop his own cartoon characters, founded in 1951 the Caucasus Verlag in Munich and committed experienced illustrators in Yugoslavia, Italy and Spain. The illustrator Walter Neugebauer, later draftsman of the Haribo Gold Bears, Kaukas gave previously realistic fox characters anthropomorphic features and was art director of the publishing house. About the comics moved beyond the Caucasus -Verlag as of January 1951, the magazine ER - the magazine for the Lord. In May 1953 appeared Kaukas first comic book Till Eulenspiegel, whose characters were inspired by figures of the German fairy tale, fable and folk tales. In Issue 6 for the first time in a short story published the foxes Fix and Foxi, the advanced public favorites soon. After spending several large pointed on the front page to Fix and Foxi from issue 10, the series was renamed from # 29 in Fix and Foxi. The series, which has sold over 750 million books and times reached a weekly circulation of over 400,000 copies, became the largest German comic success.

Rolf Caucasus recruited for the mass production of his characters including Germany, the artist Werner Hierl, Ludwig Fischer, Helmut Murek and Kurt Italiaander. From neighboring European countries, the artist Walter Neugebauer, Branco Karabajić, Vlado Magdic and Vjekoslav Kostanjsek, Öktemer Koksal, Mehmet Gülergün, Giuseppe De Facendis, Massimo Fecchi, Arthur Berckmanns and Charilaos Theodoro be mentioned.

In his comic magazine Lupo ( Lupo later modern, then Tip Top ) published Caucasus from 1964 controversial German adaptations of Franco-Belgian comics. Asterix and Obelix were in the Caucasus to Siggi and Babarras, where the famous Gauls Germanic tribes and the political situation in Germany went into its 1960s into the action. However, the low faithfulness and the accumulation of anti-communist political allusions met with considerable opposition of the French author René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the Caucasus then in dispute deprived of their rights.

In its magazines Caucasus and his team also published more Franco- Belgian comic series, such as " Pit and piccolo " ( Spirou and Fantasio ), Tintin ( Tintin ), the Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs ), Lucky Luke, as well as other comics mainly came from the Belgian publishing house Dupuis. Criticism of the Caucasus versions of these figures of today is based on the then practiced by almost all publishers translation technology. Instead of a most faithful translation a " text matching " of the German editors was invented.

Among the large and long-lasting success of Fix and Foxi wore last but not least also the partnership with the Erich Pabel publisher. Another successful product of Rolf Caucasus is the pre Magazine Bussi Bear, which appears in ten languages.

1973 Rolf Caucasus sold his publishing to the English publisher, IPC Media and the Dutch publishing group VNU. He reserved the right to have a say. Caucasus retired from active publishing business and founded in Munich in 1975, the " Caucasus Comic Academy ", to devote himself to the education and training of authors and illustrators. In the late 1970s the publishing consortium broke up, and the Bauer Verlag under the leadership of its subsidiary Pabel Moewig took Fix and Foxi. In 1982, Rolf Caucasus moved for health reasons back on a plantation in Georgia ( USA).

SF novels

Rolf Caucasus also published two science fiction novels:

Rolf Kaukas comeback

Mid- 1994, VPM Fix and Foxi from weekly to monthly publication and marginalized on the already heavily discounted comic share. Apparently, the publisher wanted to overcome the former edition crisis especially with a highly -developed editorial content with many pop culture elements. Rolf Caucasus withdrew the publishing rights and then let set the comic book. Thus, the production of Cauca- comics came to a complete standstill.

With the 1982 from the Caucasus Publisher emerged Promedia, Inc. founded Caucasus, a management company for his comics and he dedicated himself to the implementation of Fix and Foxi in an animated series, the first time in February 2000 ran on TV, first in German, later in KiKa. Together with his fourth wife Alexandra Caucasus and the Ravensburger AG, he also developed the " Fix & Foxi Adventure Land " in the Ravensburger Playland, which opened in spring 2000. 1998 Rolf Caucasus was honored for his work with the Order of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Caucasus Promedia, Inc. he led until the end of 1999 and even then handed over the management to Alexandra Caucasus.

As for the comics, so the re-introduction of a new FF- issue in 2000 failed when Ehapa -Verlag both qualitative and sales-wise after only three issues. Not much better it was previously issued series of albums Rolf Caucasus Classics ( 1997-1999). On 13 September 2000 Rolf Caucasus died age of 83 on his plantation in Thomasville in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Development after the death Kaukas

In 2003 appeared a great anniversary book for the 50th anniversary of the comic book heroes, followed by a special issue in 2004 (Fix and Foxi and missile flash). 2003 was Alexandra Caucasus, as successor of Rolf Caucasus in the company, a joint venture with the Andromeda Central Community Media GmbH Michael Semrad from Kerken at a Dusseldorf. The operating business was subsequently shifted to the Andromeda Central Community Media GmbH and has since been shared by Promedia (Alexandra Caucasus ) and Andromeda Central Community Medien GmbH (Michael Semrad ) marketed under the label Caucasus Promedia. At the request of Alexandra Caucasus took place in June 2008, the renaming of the joint venture Caucasus Promedia in Rolf Caucasus comics. This is more the creator of the Caucasus series, Rolf Caucasus, will become a focal point.

In 2005, Alexandra Caucasus awarded the license for "Fix and Foxi " Print Magazine at Hamburg Tiger Press Verlag GmbH under the direction of Jan Wickmann, son of the Plenipotentiary at Gruner and Jahr, Rolf Wickmann, Lutz Mathesdorf as chief draftsman ( previously u a best-selling author Rowohlt and Carlsen ) and Michael Hopp, the editor in chief of Vienna, TV, TV Movie and TV Today was totally before. At the same time comic production of Caucasus Comics was resumed. The first new "Fix and Foxi " comics magazine was published on 25 October 2005 back regularly to the publisher Tiger Press announced the setting of the magazine Fix and Foxi due to low number of copies on 16 June 2009. Thus, the future of the Caucasus cartoon characters is open again.

Since October 2005, there appear incidental expenses, such as the " Fix and Foxi " book in collaboration with the Weltbild Verlag and the Bild newspaper, as well as a "Fix and Foxi " albums series and the Fix & Foxi piñata. Since late 2007, also a " Lupo " comic book, which is dedicated to the anti-hero Lupo from the Fix & Foxi comics appear regularly. In collaboration with the publisher Cross Cult Caucasus Promedia launched in the fall of the successor to the "Primo " books as a series of books under the name Primo comics. In the Primo stapling 1971-1974 comics like Andrax, Capitan terror, etc. Kuma appeared in the Caucasus publisher. Cross Cult started this book series with the hero Andrax. Since May 2008, a new preschool magazine with the Cauca- character " Pauli " appears in Hamburg Tiger Press publisher. Simultaneously, the Caucasus series Pauli from Hamburg's production company ASL Studios ( WinneToons, The Little Polar Bear ) is being filmed for television.

Moreover, Fix and Foxi on audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs, video, merchandising and as present as a television series in 30 countries. In Germany the "Fix and Foxi " television series can be seen in the ARD and KI.KA.

Since mid-2006 the magnussoft Germany GmbH owns the licensing rights to Fix & Foxi for computer games and has brought the beginning of 2007 the games on the market.

In June 2007, the Munich Comic Festival Rolf Caucasus posthumously awarded with the comic price PENG! for his life's work. Alexandra Caucasus accepted the award for Rolf Caucasus. Concomitant extensive exhibition of the works of Rolf Caucasus framed the award.