Tobias Seicherl
Encyclopedia
Tobias Seicherl is the title character of a comic drawn by Viennese
caricaturist and cartoonist
Ladislaus Kmoch (alias Ludwig Kmoch, 1897–1971). The comic appeared as the daily strip
in the Austria
n tabloid 'Das Kleine Blatt' published by Vorwärts from October 5, 1930. Tobias Seicherl can be regarded as the first continental Europe
an daily comic strip.
The comic strip has been written in Viennese
. ‘Seicherl’ has two meanings in Viennese, which are semantically connected. The original meaning of ‘small sieve’ later gave rise to the second meaning of ‘weakling
’; someone who lacks moral character
- letting everything ‘sieve straight through’ them.
. However, from 1934 onwards, with the introduction of the Austro-fascist dictatorship, Seicherl inevitably became unpolitical. Tobias Seicherl was so popular that special edition volumes were being published as early as 1933.
After the closing days of WWII
attempts were made to revive the comic strip. From 1958 to 1961, the Seicherl series appeared in a variety of different Viennese newspapers yet was unable to once again achieve the high point of its earlier success.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
caricaturist and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Ladislaus Kmoch (alias Ludwig Kmoch, 1897–1971). The comic appeared as the daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n tabloid 'Das Kleine Blatt' published by Vorwärts from October 5, 1930. Tobias Seicherl can be regarded as the first continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an daily comic strip.
The comic strip has been written in Viennese
Viennese German
Viennese German is the city dialect spoken in Vienna, the capital of Austria and is counted among the Bavarian dialects. Even in Lower Austria, the state surrounding the city, many of its expressions are not used, while farther to the west they are often not even understood.- Linguistic...
. ‘Seicherl’ has two meanings in Viennese, which are semantically connected. The original meaning of ‘small sieve’ later gave rise to the second meaning of ‘weakling
Weakling
Weakling was a progressive/black metal band from San Francisco. The band never toured and released only one album, Dead As Dreams, recorded in 1998 and released on Tumult Records in 2000.-History:...
’; someone who lacks moral character
Moral character
Moral character or character is an evaluation of a particular individual's durable moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits...
- letting everything ‘sieve straight through’ them.
Main characters
Tobias Seicherl, a typical petit bourgeois, was drunk on many occasions and often took to strolling through the streets of Vienna with his walking stick, pipe and dog named Struppi. It's somewhat ironic that the dog was the voice of reason in this strip. Little was known or discussed about Seicherl’s career or his living conditions, which made him the ideal person with which social-democratic readers could identify themselves, helping to vent their frustrations toward the bourgeois of the time.History
Between 1930 and 1939, the comic was published on a daily basis in ‘Das Kleine Blatt’, although sporadically so into the first part of 1940. The series was politically orientated between the years 1930–1934, in which Tobias Seicherl was seen to sympathize with Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. However, from 1934 onwards, with the introduction of the Austro-fascist dictatorship, Seicherl inevitably became unpolitical. Tobias Seicherl was so popular that special edition volumes were being published as early as 1933.
After the closing days of WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
attempts were made to revive the comic strip. From 1958 to 1961, the Seicherl series appeared in a variety of different Viennese newspapers yet was unable to once again achieve the high point of its earlier success.
Sources
- Most of the material in this article is from the Bavarian Wikipedia article Tobias Seicherl
Further reading
- Bernhard Denscher, Humor vor dem Untergang. Tobias Seicherl - Comics zur Zeitgeschichte (1930-1933). ISBN 978-3215051272
- Gerhard Habarta, Harald Havas: Comic Welten. Geschichte und Struktur der neunten Kunst. Edition Comic Forum Wien, 1992, ISBN 3-900390-61-4
- N.N.: Tobias Seicherl, RRAAH! Magazin, Nr. 54, volume 15, february 2001, p. 44-45
- Andreas C. Knigge: Comic Lexikon, Ullstein, 1988, ISBN 3-548-36554-X