Germany has it’s own King of Comics, and that man is Ralf König.
The 2012 documentary of König’s life is now streaming on digital platforms and is a wonderful exploration of cartooning dealing with sexuality, censorship, religion and König’s rise to popularity and his life today as a treasured hero to both the comic book and homosexual communities.
Filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim (The Einstein of Sex, I Am My Own Woman, Rent Boys) invades Ralf’s loft for some heartfelt interviews as well as connects with the important people in Ralf’s life.
König’s most infamous comic, The Most Desired Man, was made into a film in 1994 starring Til Schweiger. Der bewegte Mann (International title: The Most Desired Man, U.S. title: he Most Desired Man) is a highly regarded cult film in which König makes an appearance as a drag queen.
The 53 year-old Ralf König came to prominence after coming out in the early 80s by producing humorous cartoons about the gay lifestyle, dating, drag queens and gay fantasies.
In the past couple of decades, König has taken on religiosity, live-in relationships and even the radical Islam.
Many German homosexuals credit König for the bravery to come out, via his humorous and matter-of-fact take on gay stereotypes in his early comics. Of course König’s comics deal with 80s AIDS fear as well, encouraging safe sex and dealing with the death of his friends from the disease as well.
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