#18 - Sascha Hommer

Your first comic book (“Insekt”) was surreal and the next one (“Vier Augen”) had surreal moments. Why do you like to write about realistic things in surrealistic way?

I mostly enjoy narratives with imaginary parts in it.

What's easier for you - writing script about your life (like in “Vier Augen”) or about characters, that are not real (like in “Insekt”)?

I thought that it might be easy to make a book about my life before I started working on “Vier Augen”, but then realized that it is a real challenge. In my opinion, it is somehow easier to make up a fantastic story.

You are doing many short comics to various anthologies. And I think, that you are a big admirer of short stories. Why doing short stories is so important for you? And is it more important than making full-lenght comic books?

Making short stories can be important to try out certain aspects of style and narration. Making a book is different. I began with short stories, but only after finishing my first book in 2006, I started regarding myself as a “professional” comic author. Nowadays, I concentrate on my full-lenght comic books, though I read the short stories of other artists with pleasure and great interest.

You founded the comic-anthology Orang and the small publishing house Kiki Post. What's the difference between being published and publishing other artist's works?

Having this small publishing house, and also working for the small publishers Reprodukt (Berlin) and Edition Moderne (Zurich) helped me to understand many essential things a comic artist should know about the product he is creating – books. The way to think about the books is different when you are a publisher, and you can see a lot of misunderstanding between artists and publishers.

Cinema has movement and music has sound. And what – for you – distinguish and make comic books a different medium?

Comics are better.

Many critics say, that everything in art had already been said and done. If that’s true, what are the new solutions and horizons for comic books?

Who said that you have to do something “new” in arts? In my opinion that’s not an inevitable point for story tellers. I probably would have to face this problem if I were in fine arts.

Instant photography, like Polaroid, captures the evanescent moment. And what is evanescent for you?

Culture.

If you could take only one picture, what would you photograph?

I would not take a picture then.

You can also find Sascha Hommer here:

- Official Blog

- Reprodukt