“Hell is other people.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

What should North American readers expect when they crack the cover of Röhner, the first English language publication of German comics maker, Max Baitinger’s work?  Well… maybe something along the lines of a mash-up of Chris Ware and Patrick Kyle (Michael DeForge and Jason)?  The formal focus here is on the clear line, while the content is the involuted nature of interpersonal relations.  And coffee plays a central role, always a plus (the title page image is an exploded view of an electric coffee percolator and the line of text that starts the book off is ”I get up and prepare coffee”).  The story centers on the character of Röhner, a somewhat obtuse houseguest whose mere presence disturbs the strictly ordered life of his host, the protagonist/narrator.  The fact that the personality of this protagonist/narrator is expressed through the artwork conveying the story makes for a successful marriage of form and content and is this work’s particular mark of distinction (which is further strengthened by the nice package it arrives in courtesy it's American publisher, 2dcloud).

Sound interesting?  Here’s Max’s website, and here’s a brief preview of Röhner.