Apitz and Kunkel’s Karl: A German Historical Comic between Adventure, Satire – and Viniculture

Michael Apitz, Eberhard Kunkel and Patrick Kunkel’s Karl der Spätlesereiter took Goscinny and Uderzo’s Astérix as its model. Karl, however, is set in Germany’s Rhine valley vineyards during the late 1700s. The impoverished hero Karl woos Maria, whose father favours Karl’s well-born rival Ferdinand. Chosen to ride to the prince-bishop for permission to begin harvesting, Karl is waylaid and imprisoned by Ferdinand’s henchmen to discredit him. When he escapes weeks later, the crop has largely rotted on the vine. The remaining grapes yield a single cask of wine, but of such high quality that Karl has inadvertently discovered the Spätlese, or late harvest dessert wine. Ferdinand’s machinations are exposed, and Karl is henceforth known as “the late harvest rider.”

Over twelve albums, Karl thwarted Ferdinand’s schemes, despite Ferdinand’s frequent alliances with the villainous French. Karl was aided by his mentor Pater Anselm, his obtuse friend Oskar and his dog Grandpatte, a Grand Gascon Blue hound who represents the positive side of French culture—that is, good wine and cordon bleu cuisine, which Grandpatte obsessively seeks out.

While the plots offered wordplay, caricatures of historical and modern celebrities, oenological trivia, and mild political satire, at their core they were focussed on the lore and secrets of winemaking and the competition to excel gastronomically. Despite its narrow regional appeal—which suited the albums’ purpose as public relations vessels—Karl’s longevity on the tiny German market makes it one of Germany’s most successful comic series, with a legacy that continues over twenty years after the final album appeared.