Jakob Neyder

Unspoken tensions and conflict avoidance are a recurring theme in Jakob’s network of relationships. Through subtle observations, Franz Suess depicts the world of a young man who has neither a goal nor any money. He still lives with his mother, even though she’s constantly nagging him. That sounds bleak – and yet “Jakob Neyder” is one of Franz Suess’s more cheerful comics. After all, Jakob does have a mate with whom he goes to the summer house. Franz Suess depicts this life with finely hatched pencil strokes that make the people look distorted. It is only with the trip to the summer house that the comic shifts to such vibrant colours, as if great freedom were now beginning. But hope is nipped in the bud, not only because the food in the house is full of maggots. Jakob also seems to be involved in an act of violence. The comic shows how the world can collapse in the face of unforeseeable challenges because fundamental skills for getting along with one another have been lost. Another piece in the mosaic of Franz Suess’s comic universe exploring the diversity of personal failure.