Today I won’t talk about academia or archaeology, today I want to talk about comics. Every two years, the German city of Erlangen offers the Comic Salon. For four days the Bavarian city transforms into a cultural hub for comic lovers, cosplayers, and many more. I was there for two days and had a lot of impressions.

The comics

I have written before that I am a (very selective) collector of certain comics. But that already covers my knowledge about this medium. Still, it never hurts to widen the cultural horizon and so I did. It wasn’t actually my first time there, I already visited the Comic Salon two years ago. Both events were great. Large halls with people selling comics, graphic novels, art, and much more.

Throughout the city there were events, also for kids. Cosplayers were populating the city and there were also contests for them. In large halls, publishers and artists could show their work. Illustrators were giving autographs here and there and there even was a drawing battle between them, to the amusement of the visitors. The Comic Salon was well organised and in nearly every street within the central area, there was something else going on.

Still archaeology…

I wasn’t really searching, but there are also comics about archaeology/the past. One of the more famous ones are “Die Adler Roms” a series about two friends joining the Roman army published by the Carlsen Verlag. But there were also others. One book in German called “Pfostenloch” was particular amusing as it shows day to day situations on archaeological excavations. This was definitely written by someone that participated in excavations, because these situations are on point.

In “Trommelfels” two aging archaeologists get another chance of prooving themselves. Soon they discover traces of an underground civilisation and the story unfolds. It is an interesting read and the drawings are really beautiful. If you take your time and wander through these halls, you can actually spot something that is made just for you. The people are super nice and it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

Further impressions

I can also say that Erlangen is a nice city to visit. According to someone I know that lived there for a while, Erlangen is only exciting during the Comic Salon. But I don’t know. There are a lot of cafes, cultural institutions, places to eat… It is not that big, but it is quite nice. Unfortuntely the weather wasn’t that good this year, but I can tell you from two years ago, that a sunny Erlangen is even better. Nevertheless, the visit was an experience I do not want to miss.

• Comics
• Erlangen