Hannah Brinkmann: "Hermann"

There was once a time in the Federal Republic of Germany when the debate about compulsory military service made big waves. Today, the debates of the 1960s are almost forgotten, as are the harassments to which objectors were subjected, such as Hermann Brinkmann, who took his own life after his application was rejected. With its unconventional, only at first glance naïve drawings, this comic brings this important phase in Germany's history to life and reminds us of someone who died for his pacifist convictions.

- Dr. Thomas von Steinaecker

Nino Paula Bulling: "Triangles"

"Triangles" is an ambiguous title: on the one hand, it refers to three North African Resistance fighters whose fates Paula Bulling researched for her documentary comic, on the other hand, it refers to the pieces of fabric that made up the "angles" of the prisoners in the German concentration camps. With her pioneering work in this historical field, Bulling sheds new light on the relationship between the European and Arab worlds. To do so, she chooses a factual and schematic style of presentation that conveys facts rather than emotions.

- Andreas Platthaus

Kristina Gehrmann: "The Jungle"

Two have found each other here! A comic adaptation of Upton Sinclair's heavyweight "The Jungle" will only succeed if the line is light, but not frivolous, with a delight in drawing skill, and definitely with the gift of making images flow. All of this applies here, and raises high expectations for the end result, which demonstrates courage and passion in its choice of template. "The Jungle" is not just any novel, and this comic artist is exactly the right person to reintroduce Upton Sinclair to the next generation.

- Dr. Brigitte Helbling

Thomas Gilke: "Ali - Hard to be humble"

For his comic book about Muhammad Ali, which aims to shed light on the boxer's biography in episodes and highlights, Thomas Gilke has developed an individual drawing style. The strong images, which are all the more effective due to their formal and color reduction, are composed with a sure hand and form a unity with the texts in terms of content and visuals. They create atmosphere with simple means. These work samples suggest an exciting, appealing result, and their author deserves encouragement and recognition.

- Professor Dr. Frank Druffner

Serpentina Hagner: "The fairytale painter from Zurich"

In the stories of the "evil Miggeli", known throughout the city as the "fairytale painter of Zurich", a shrill family panopticon unfolds at the beginning of the last century. Serpentina Hagner, Miggeli's daughter, has drawn a portrait of Swiss society from these memories: Oral history of a different, ninth kind.

- Dr. Florian Höllerer

Julia Hoße: "In my memory there was more string orchestra"

In suggestive, powerful and at the same time delicate images, Timelines tells of remembered family history, of closeness, longing and (in)transience. At the same time, the time-bound nature of the memories reveals a timelessness in which the linear moment of the passing of time seems to dissolve. Her own memories of everyday childhood experiences are interwoven with intergenerational family stories of flight and expulsion and life in the former GDR to create an expressive pictorial essay.

- Dr. Stefanie Stegmann

Marijpol: "MÄANDERN"

"Using the example of three unusual women who live in an alternative reality in a shared flat, "Meandering" deals with fundamental themes. With great empathy for the characters and a subtle sense of humor, it deals with the connection between body and identity, the meaning of friendship and work or the conflict between freedom and responsibility that arises from the three main characters' encounter with a group of neglected children. The body builder, the snake woman and the giantess each deal intensively with their own physicality in their own way - a theme that Marijpol's grey, pastel-colored and slightly washed-out images also convey in a visually appropriate way."

- Lars von Törne

Frank Schmolke: "At night in paradise"

"A powerful, expressively drawn graphic novel about cab driving in Munich. The work impresses with its believable protagonists and the authentic depiction of the milieu."

- David Basler

Sebastian Stamm: "The Stüffens - the impossible ingredient"

"Against the backdrop of a search mission to a distant planet, Sebastian Stamm presents a kaleidoscope of bizarre characters and settings in "The Stüffens - The Impossible Ingredient". The staff of his science fiction adventure, conceived as a series, consists of satirically exaggerated hybrids of various genre archetypes, while the panels, in their combination of geometric elements with organic-looking structures, quote classics of science fiction comics and computer games as well as paintings of abstract art and cubism. The plot combines surrealism with very human challenges that the protagonists, who mostly speak in symbols, have to face - adventurous, absurd and often very funny."

- Lars von Törne