Olivia Vieweg

Olivia Vieweg was born in Jena, Germany, in 1987 and created her first short comics as part of the »Germangaka« scene, a German comic-book style heavily influenced by Japanese manga.

While studying visual communications at Bauhaus University Weimar, she indulged her passion for drawing (cartoons of) Persian cats, which resulted in three anthologies, most recently »Warum Katzen keine Diäten machen« (2011; tr. Why cats don’t diet). In that same year, Vieweg received her degree and finished a zombie comic titled »Endzeit« (tr. End times), which was published in book form in 2012. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, some of which she edited herself, including Volumes 6 and 7 of the manga series »Paper Theatre« and the »Subway to Sally Storybooks 1 and 2«. Vieweg also worked as an illustrator on the children’s book series »Vampirinternat Schloss Schauerfels« (tr. Vampire boarding school at Gothic Rock Castle) and as a colorist on the comic series »Silberpfeil« (tr. Silver arrow). She also works for the advertising industry and designed a poster for the Jena Philharmonic while still in grade school. With regard to the look of her figures and the narrative pace of her work, Vieweg admits that she has always been highly influenced by manga. However, while completing her studies her style has evolved much further. Prior to university, she had rendered her work in pen and ink, but she soon went on to create larger works exclusively in pencil, followed by post-processing and computer coloring. In 2013, Suhrkamp asked her to adapt Tom Sawyer’s classic »The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn« for their new graphic novel series of works from their own backlist. In Vieweg’s »Huck Finn«, the author updates the classic tale with regard to time (the 21st century) and place (the Saale River in Germany). Indeed, the author has always preferred to draw on locations she knows personally rather than relying on research alone. The press unanimously agreed that Vieweg had modernized the social criticism contained in Twain’s original in expert fashion. »Spiegel Online« praised her drawing style as »original, warm-hearted« and »highly atmospheric«. In 2012, Vieweg received a comic stipend handed out for the first time by Ehapa, and used it to create the graphic novel »Antoinette kehrt zurück« (tr. Antoinette returns), which draws on Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s classic play »Besuch der alten Dame« (»The Visit«). The book explores the theme of bullying among adolescents, a matter close to the author’s heart. Berlin’s »Tagesspiegel« noted the work’s gripping narrative and described it as being full of surprises that combine to make an impressive reading experience in which deceptively appealing drawings are used to tell a dark story.

Vieweg lives in Weimar. She received the Independent Comic Preis in 2010.

Endzeit

Schwarzer Turm

Weimar, 2012

Huck Finn

Suhrkamp

Berlin, 2013

Antoinette kehrt zurück

Egmont Graphic Novel

Köln, 2014

Bin ich blöd, oder was?!

Schneiderbuch

Köln, 2014

Schwere See, mein Herz

Suhrkamp

Berlin, 2015