Edited by members of the feature-page section of Süddeutsche Zeitung, this is a collection of humorous novels of all-time favorite pieces of literature that are dealing with humorous topics—from whimsical and satirical to morbid and bizarre to wry and wicked to just plain funny.

The collection of 20 books assembles many timeless classics written by authors that include Woody Allen, Fay Weldon, Heinrich Böll, Robert Gernhardt, Tom Robbins, T.C. Boyle, Roald Dahl, Peter Ustinov, and P.G. Wodehouse.

I have created the whimsical cover illustrations for all books in the collection. >MORE

TOP: These are all 20 books.
BOTTOM: The collection was advertised in this three-page special today.

Here’s another multilayered illustration that I created for Süddeutsche Zeitung for their SZ-Vinothek wine supplement. I again used warm colors and an intricate design for the piece. >MORE

This multilayered illustration was created for Süddeutsche Zeitung on the topic of sustainable energy. It’s pretty intricate, but you can spot a lighthouse, trees, the sea, a kite, wind generators, a power plant, the sun, and the like. >MORE

The Welt am Sonntag, a Sunday newspaper from Germany, has published some whimsical art of mine for a science infographic illustration on the dangers of drawing deseases in hospitals. The images appeared in their special “Titelthema” (main topic) section. Axel Springer is Europe’s largest publisher.

Photo above: At the book signing table. Counter clockwise from lower right: Oliver Weiss (Germany), Jiří Slíva (Czechia), Pol Leurs, François Didier (both Luxemburg), Klaus Pitter, Gerhard Gepp (both Austria), Florian Doru Crihana (Romania), Zygmunt Januszweski (Poland), Walter Hanel (Germany), and Riber Hansson (Sweden) (Photo (c) Karin Prignitz, Neue Westfälische).

This weekend was dedicated to an art show that took place in Oerlinghausen, a charming little town not far from Bielefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia that is celebrating its 975th birthday this year.

Curated by Gisela and Dieter Burkamp, legendary creators of art and cartoon exhibitions of all shapes and sizes, the Internationales Karikaturistentreffen (International Cartoon Exhibit) invited selected cartoonists from Germany and abroad to exhibit some of their work on the topic of Heimat (homeland/motherland). To be sure, the Burkamp’s world of cartoons isn’t about funny pictures, but about artistic graphic renditions instead.

Set in the spectacular art exhibition hall, the recently refurbished old Jewish synagogue, the show was a spectacular success, with an estimated 300 visitors attending the opening show alone. It was wonderful to meet old friends again, and to make new ones. Thank you, Gisela, Dieter, and the wicked Kunstverein Oerlinghausen for generating this unique event that will stay in our hearts for always.

All the works from the exhibition were assembled in this lavishly designed book from Kerber Verlag: “Dieter Burkamp, a long-time former journalist for the Neue Westfälische newspaper, has managed to pull together the crème de la crème of the world of graphic cartoons. The artists include Walter Hanel, Gerhard Gepp, Jiri Silva, and Pepsch Gottscheber, alongside with Oliver Weiss, Lex Drewinski, and Florian Doru Crihana.” (Stefan Brams, Neue Westfälische)

At the Book Signing Table

One of my all-time favorite artists, Jiří Slíva from Prague, signing away (Gerhard Gepp and Pol Leurs are in the back).

Zygmunt Januszweski, Florian Doru Crihana, Gerhard Gepp, Klaus Pitter, and Pol Leurs are busy signing the book accompanying the exhibition.  Zygmunt and Gerhard are also long-time favorite artists of mine. (Yes, this is my pen in the front, taking a break.)

The People Behind the Works

(Almost) all of us: Dieter Burkamp, Gerhard Gepp, Walter Hanel, Jiří Slíva, Florian Doru Crihana, Riber Hansson, Zygmunt Januszweski, Oliver Weiss, Branko Najhold, Klaus Pitter, François Didier, and Pol Leurs.

Wall with a view (Dieter Burkamp in the back).

Swedish artist Riber Hansson talking to curator Dieter Burkamp.

Curator Gisela Burkamp (Gerhard Gepp in the back)

I am Legend: Seasoned political cartoonist, Walter Hanel. (We were all shopping for hand-brewn bitters at the local pharmacy here. It worked wonders, allegedly.)

Me & Zygmunt Januszweski, all smiles.

Riber & Eva Hansson (Sweden)

Klaus Pitter (Austria)

Artist Fred Schierenbeck on the site of one of his giant wooden “chainsaw massacre” sculptures.

Me & Pol Leurs from Luxemburg.

Romanian artist Florian Doru Crihana, as WDR television is capturing some footage.

A Glance at the Exhibition

Gerhard Gepp worked his magic on the cover image for the exhibition poster.

The synagogue was crammed, and everybody wanted to get books signed. I felt like a rock star.

Doris & François Didier and Gaby Leurs, all from Luxemburg, in front of my painting (turning their backs, of course).

One of Mariusz Stawarski’s wonderful paintings.

A close-up view on my own entry showing a bunch of people that each have their own little views of the world.

Walter Hanel’s entry.

Striking work, as always – Polish poster artist Lex Drewinski’s entries.

One of Klaus Pitter’s works.

Jiří Slíva, exhibiting an air of skepticism.

Some more pictures from the exhibit.

The Opening Ceremony

Ute Schäfer, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Secretary of Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sports (yes, all that), delivering a passionate speech.

Gisela Burkamp in her cunning introduction of the show.

They seated me behind Frau Schäfer (Gisela Burkamp is in the back).

My Business Diary (Campus Verlag) carries business people through their days by means of challenges that encourage to leave trodden paths and take on routes not taken before.

With a linen wrap, round edges and slightly cream-colored paper, the book looks decidely stunning. I have created the overall design and a great many illustrations in vector graphic style. >more

Entitled, Corporate Madhouse (Unternehmen Wahnsinn by Theresia Volk), my jacket cover for a new book by Kösel Verlag (Random House) shows a shark gone crazy.

I provided both the cover art and the jacket design for the book that discusses the frenzy in today’s enterprises where psychopaths are making the rules, and where calls for restructuring the company, motivational rhetoric and endless meetings abound. >more

This my latest book for Sanssouci (Hanser Verlag) suggests doodling as an instant remedy to quit smoking – by keeping you busy sketching away.

The book (Lass stecken – Kritzeln statt Qualmen, which loosely translates to “Just Quit – Don’t Smoke, Doodle”) applies doodling to smoking-related topics and invites the reader to use his skills on completing unfinished drawings, colorizing images, filling in missing pieces, etc. – just the sort of thing that a doodler does for a living.

Warning – may be hazardous to your smoking habits. >more

“Don’t start your story with a strong hook!” This advice from a fiction writer and editor called for a cover  illustration that I created for The Writer magazine

The author explains why a popular but worn-out line of advice won’t reel in your readers, despite what you’ve been told, while my artwork plays with the idea of a fisherman reeling in a book on the end of the line that is too big for him to handle.

In this expansive four-page feature for Süddeutsche Zeitung, I created half a dozen whimsical-style illustrations for a special on derivatives. I decided to stick to black and dark blue for the artwork that includes an info-graphic design explaining what derivatives are. >MORE

These are some of my latest mixed-media installments that I created for Psychologie Heute, Germany’s leading psychology magazine. The article was on heroic behavior in times of egalitarianism.

The Greek edition of a bestselling book by Richard David Precht is using my cover illustration that I created for the German edition. The book is entitled Love-an unruly emotion, and elaborates on that very topic from a multitude of backgrounds in history, biology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

Written by author-journalist Richard David Precht, Germany’s number one bestselling nonfiction author (Who am I?—and if so, how many?, a book on philosophy which has sold over 1 mill. copies so far), my cover design employs a similar style which I created for Who am I?

Employing bold type, my whimsical illustration shows a tiny tightrope artist walking a rope which is connecting two oversized ladders set up amidst a vast landscape. The book has been an immediate bestseller following its release in Germany, selling 200,000 copies in a matter of weeks. >MORE

Here’s another multilayered illustration that I created for Süddeutsche Zeitung was for their SZ-Vinothek wine supplement. I again used warm colors and an intricate design for the piece. >MORE

Whew, just finished my judging duties for this year’s 3×3 Magazine Illustration Competition! Professional artists worldwide were invited to participate in the competition which assembles the best work of 2011 in an illustration annual that is mailed out to more than 6,000 art directors and art buyers in the US.

The jury consisted of Jason Treat, DD, The Atlantic; DJ Stout, Pentagram; Mark Reddy, AD, BBH, UK; Haika Hinze, AD, Die Zeit, Germany; Emiliano Ponzi, Illustrator, Italy; Andrea Innocent, Illustrator, Australia; Andrew Bannecker, Illustrator, USA; and yours truly.

It was fun seeing all that great work that is out there, thousands of fascinating samples from our wonderful and mysterious profession. Good luck to all participants!

Here’s an art I did for Psychologie Heute magazine, Germany’s largest psychology-related monthly. It was created on the topic of cleaning up a messie’s life.