6

This question is present as a matter of historical interest. While you are encouraged to help maintain its answers, please understand that "big list" questions are not generally allowed on German Language and Usage and will be closed per the FAQ.

I have just started learning German. I was thinking of reading some easy comic books
which might help my vocab and daily usage of words.
But, I have very little idea as to what will be suitable for beginners.

Any recommendations in comics section for newbies would help me get going.

3
  • 1
    I have no special recommendation, but you could test some Webcomics and check if you find something you like. And if you don't understand it, you can ask here fore explanations ;)
    – knut
    Sep 9, 2012 at 20:19
  • 2
    When I taught myself Greek, my first reading material was a bunch of Disney comic books. I find them quite suitable for beginners, because they use simple language (common words), and usually use very good grammar.
    – waldrumpus
    Sep 10, 2012 at 9:51
  • One main idea of comics is, to avoid language and replace it with as much images as possible. That makes comics not the best learning material. On the other hand, there are so many translated comics on the market, that you can pick your favorite ones and buy their german translation. The answers will be opinion based 'me too' postings from Donald Duck to Art Spiegelmans Maus, from Werner to Moebius.
    – user unknown
    Oct 30, 2015 at 4:50

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
6

I don't know if there are any comic books created specifically for learners of German as a foreign language. But of course there are comic books (just as there are books and other media in general) that are created specifically for readers with a beginner level of the language: children. Media for children often have a more limited vocabulary and less complex grammar compared to media for (educated) adults.

So if you are open for or even interested in reading comics for kids, you will find some at each level of language skills. Just go to amazon.de, browse for comics or movies (pronunciation!) or whatever you want, and pick the adequate age group. Here's the direct link. (You don't have to limit yourself to original German works. Translations into German from other languages are usually as good as original works, linguistically. Also, I don't mean that you need to buy from Amazon, just that they list many comics and give you the best selection on the web including reviews. You should note though, that if you are truly interested in comics, a dedicated comic store has much that is not sold through Amazon, but I have yet to find a website that presents what Amazon does not have.)

On the other hand, I myself have learned English from reading Science Fiction in English since I was 14 years old. At first I needed a dictionary to get by, but after some time many of the words repeated themselves, because the themes and objects repeated themselves, so that I did not need the dictionary as much anymore. And many of the more common and non-science-fiction words I learned in the same way that children learn a language: by understanding them from their context.

So actually I believe that as soon as you had about two years of German at school (or the equivalent of two years with four hours or so per week), just grab any book you are interested in and work your way through it. Your interest will keep you reading and after a handful of books you will see how it gets easier very quickly. Movies are great, by the way, because with German subtitles and the ability to switch to English you have a full language course there.

In sum, I wouldn't recommend specific books (or comic books), but that you get books that you find interesting and actually want to read, because being interested will help you a lot with the frustration that you will definitely encounter.

If you specifically want to read comics by German authors, the most popular authors (among critic and readers alike) are:

  • Ralf König
  • Flix
  • Walter Moers
  • Peter Puck

Good publishers are:

There are many more publishers, of course, but most publish both German and international authors and it will be difficult for you to discern who is who. A list of some publishers with some of their German authors is given on the website of the Goethe Institut.

If you like reading comics online, there is a comprehensive list of German language webcomics at Webcomic-Verzeichnis. The comics listed range from professional (by people who earn a living making comics like Flix) to amateur, with an equally wide range in quality, so you'll have to browse and see what you like. Don't give up too quickly, if the first few comics are not to your liking, there are true pearls there (and some dead links).

And beware! Not all German comics feature correct language! Sometimes their authors write slang intentionally, and sometimes they simply weren't good in school :-)

Improve this answer
1
  • “Translations into German from other languages are usually as good as original works, linguistically.” Depends on the skills of the translator. There are translations in which the original languages shines through, sometimes quite heavily so.
    – chirlu
    Oct 30, 2015 at 7:10
1

I recommend your usual comic books, in German.

There are also some 'Kinderbücher' or books for children that can be very useful. I personally recommend you the classical "Max und Moritz" (and, not to forget, every German will appreciate your knowledge of their culture if you know this book).

Improve this answer
3
  • 4
    I'm not sure if *Max und Moritz" is such a good recommendation. Nobody would talk like this today. Similar to poetry, the language is awesome if you already speak German, but not very helpful in learning modern German.
    – bitmask
    Sep 10, 2012 at 15:37
  • It's an old language and it might not be something to begin with, but you see some German forms which are always spoken, and you don't need to understand the whole grammar behind it, it just adds something to what you learn. It was very useful for me when I was learning German, (even if it was something else than the "ey alta, was geht" I heard among students), because it helped me see how German phrases were built, and it's easy to understand. But as I said, it is best to read comic books you already know.
    – Yves
    Sep 10, 2012 at 16:44
  • 1
    Anyway I don't know a lot of typical German comics. If you look on amazon.de, you will see Lucky Luke (French Belgian), Asterix (French), The Adventures of Tintin (Tim und Struppi) (Belgian), Batman (US), Walt Disney Comics, Spider Man (US), and Lieutenant Blueberry (French Belgian), and of course naruto, one piece, dragon ball, soul eater etc.
    – Yves
    Sep 10, 2012 at 16:50
1

I grew up in Switzerland (German part) and we read Globi and Asterix and Obelix.

Improve this answer
1
  • And is it good for learning german?
    – user unknown
    Oct 23, 2012 at 23:41
1

Asterix and obelix is great, i am learning german and asterix has simple language and it helps my pronunciation to read it out loud. Although I read it out loud to my husband (he is a native german speaker) and he corrects me when my pronunciation is wrong :)

Improve this answer
2
  • This strikes me more as a comment than an actual answer …
    – Jan
    Oct 30, 2015 at 11:12
  • @Jan imo it is a good suggestion, which I believe answers OP's question. I am a little biased perhaps because I am also re-reading Asterix series to improve my German.
    – braaains
    Mar 28, 2016 at 4:50

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.