The Kin-der-Kids
The Kin -der- Kids was a comic strip by Lyonel Feininger, which appeared in 1906 for only half a year in the Chicago Sunday Tribune.
Formation
The success of the comic strip The Yellow Kid and The Katzenjammer Kids in the beginning of the 20th century also brought protests with it. Women's organizations and religious groups made these comics with their rude and partly offensive representations, with stories about children who recognized no authority, responsible for the cultural decline of youth and protested publicly against this " trash ".
James Keely, editor of the Chicago Sunday Tribune, wanted to respond to these protests with serious, artistic comics. He traveled to Berlin and closed contracts with the German signatories Hans Horina, Lothar Meggendorfer, Karl Pommerhanz, Victor Schramm and Lyonel Feininger. He hoped thereby to bind the German -born Chicago residents to the journal. Feininger's contract included two books, The Kin -der- Kids and Wee Willie Winkie 's World. He moved to Paris and recorded there, the episodes that he sent by mail to Chicago.
Content
The characters of the comic are three children of German immigrants, who live with her aunt Jim - Jam. The children Daniel Webster, Strenuous Teddy and Piemouth decide one day, her aunt, who constantly wants to give them cod liver oil to run away and start with her dog Sherlock Bones and the wind-up Japanese Japanski, the Clockwork Water Baby, a trip around the world in a large floating bathtub. With this they travel across the seas, constantly pursued by Aunt Jim -Jam and Cousin Gus in a hot air balloon. Help them learn from Mysterious Pete, who rescues her several times from threatening situations. They land in England and Czarist Russia, before the series is set.
Style and design
The drawings and the page layout Feininger differed greatly from the work of the American comic book artist. He used a full-page design For the first page, you will find many images large bold backgrounds. His drawings, however, as motionless snapshots were created, a visual language that speed, direction or movement conveys, does not exist. Feininger placed his little speech bubbles rather inconspicuous so as not to affect the overall visual impression of his drawings.
Through the motif of the chase, the story could develop in the sequels ever. This idea has also been consistently adopted and implemented by individual episodes were not complete at the end, but were picked up and retold until the next episode of Feininger. The Kin -der- Kids is therefore considered as the first true sequel series of comics.
Publication
The first episode was released on 29 April 1906. The series was canceled after half a year because the sales figures of the Chicago Sunday Tribune steadily declined, other magazines were not interested in a continuation of the comics. The characters of the comics were used by Feininger 1919 as templates for wooden figures.