Nicolas Mahler

Nicolas Mahler (born 1969) is an Austrian cartoonist and illustrator. Die Zeit, NZZ am Sonntag, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung and Titanic print his comics. He is known for his comics Flaschko and Kratochvil and for his literary adaptations in comic form. His comics have been adapted into films and theatre plays. He was awarded the Max & Moritz Prize and the Preis der Literaturhäuser.

Life and career Mahler was born in Vienna. Mahler draws for Austrian, German and Swiss newspapers, magazines and anthologies. His Flaschko-comics were adapted as animated films and screened at various short film festivals in Europe. His comic Kratochvil was performed as a puppet play in Switzerland, Austria and France. In 2003, together with and , he founded the Kabinett für Wort und Bild in Vienna Museumsquartier.

Mahler produced several literary adaptations in comic form, including Alte Meister (after Thomas Bernhard's novel), and Finnegans Wake.

Mahler has been known to German readers through his publications in the satirical magazine Titanic.

Mahler lives in Vienna. He is married and has a son. with which he captures cranky characters. The award citation for the Max & Moritz Prize states:

Die Figuren von Nicolas Mahler haben keine Augen, keine Ohren, keine Münder – aber sie haben zweifellos Charakter. Stets gelingt es Mahler, mit minimalistischen Zeichnungen und maximalem Humor seine wenigen Striche auf den Punkt zu bringen. Dabei pendelt er virtuos zwischen banal, absurd und kafkaesk.

(Nicolas Mahler's figures have no eyes, no ears, no mouths – but they undoubtedly have character. Mahler always succeeds in getting to the heart of his few strokes with minimalist drawings and maximal humour. In doing so, he virtuously oscillates between banal, absurd and kafkaesque.)

Awards 1999: – Special prize (Flaschko – Der Mann in der Heizdecke and TNT: Eine Boxerstory) 2006: Max & Moritz Prize for the best comic in German (Das Unbehagen) 2007: , "Geflügelter Bleistift" in Silver 2008: Max & Moritz Prize for the best comic-strip (Flaschko – Der Mann in der Heizdecke) 2013: (scholarship) in Goldegg 2015: Preis der Literaturhäuser 2019: Sondermann Award

Publications Cartoon collections Das Unbehagen. Humor-Zeichnungen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2005. Die Herrenwitz-Variationen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2008, Was fehlt uns denn?. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2011. Mein Therapeut ist ein Psycho. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2013. Die Smalltalkhölle. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2014. Der Urknall. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2015. In Zukunft werden wir alle alt aussehen. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2017. Wir müssen reden. Edition Moderne, Zürich 2019.

Comics TNT: Eine Boxerstory. . Lone racer. 1999, (French first edition L'Association; In English at Top Shelf 2006; in German at Reprodukt 2012). Lame ryder. 2001. Das Raupenbuch. Edition 52, 2002, 20 pages. leicht beschädigte tiere. 2002. Kunsttheorie versus Frau Goldgruber. 2003. Kratochvil. Edition Selene, Wien 2004. Die Zumutungen der Moderne. Reprodukt, Berlin 2007. Van Helsing macht blau. 2008, (German version of Van Helsing's Night Off. ). Längen und Kürzen. Luftschacht, Vienna 2009. SPAM. Reprodukt, Berlin 2009. Engelmann: Der gefallene Engel. Carlsen Verlag, Hamburg 2010. Pornografie und Selbstmord. Reprodukt, Berlin 2010. Franz Kafkas nonstop Lachmaschine. Reprodukt, Berlin 2014. Das kleine Einschlafbuch für Große. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2016. . Die Goldgruber-Chroniken. Reprodukt, Berlin 2017. Das Ritual. Reprodukt, Berlin 2018. Der Fremde. Carlsen, Hamburg 2018. Das kleine Überlebens-ABC. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2018. . Thomas Bernhard. Die unkorrekte Biografie. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2021. Schwarze Spiegel. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2021. Nachtgestalten (with Jaroslav Rudiš) Luchterhand, Munich 2021.

Flaschko Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Dämon Damenlikör. 2002. Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Die Staublunge. 2007. Flaschko, der Mann in der Heizdecke. Die Müllsekte. 2009.

Illustrations Die kleine Unbildung. Liessmann für Analphabeten (with Konrad Paul Liessmann). Zsolnay, Vienna 2018.

Literary adaptations Alte Meister. Comedy by Thomas Bernhard, (ed.): Suhrkamp, Berlin 2011. Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften. Graphic novel after Robert Musil. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2013. Alice in Sussex. Suhrkamp 2013. Previously as: Alice in Sussex. in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, since 6 November 2012. Lulu und das schwarze Quadrat. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2014. . Comic adaptation after Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2017. Nicolas Mahler, James Joyce: Ulysses. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2020. Nicolas Mahler, James Joyce: Finnegans Wake (series mini kuš! Nr. 92). Grafiskie stāsti, Riga 2020,

Poetry (with illustrations) Gedichte. With an afterword by Raimund Fellinger (. 1385). Insel Verlag, Berlin 2013. Dachbodenfund. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2015. In der Isolierzelle. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2017. Solar Plexy. Gedichte. Luftschacht Verlag, Vienna 2018.

Scenarios Molch. Luftschacht, Wien 2008 (Illustrator: Heinz Wolf).