Has anyone read them? I think he only did two about World War 2, one of them is about the Battle of Kursk through the perspective of a German soldier (Kursk : tourmente d'acier) and the other had something to do with Pearl Harbor, I don't have the name on hand though. He publishes them under the name "Dimitri Lahache". The rest of his comics range from newspaper publishings to stuff done for magazines, they are pretty mature either in there tone or the content they show (boobs!). A example, http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1451/110405page085a.jpg (I love the art style used) I don't think any were translated to English so a "translator" might be needed.
Great find!!!...........I like the last frame where the T-34 is parked between the Tiger and the Panther. Too early to start drinking so I'll figure out the translation later. edit: I have no discipline. This is the text from the last frame: The writing style is certainly Sajer. The fourth box, the one with the German officer, is pretty sarcastic and unflattering of their leader. I even ran it through a translator and came up with the same translation:
Thanks for the translation formerjughead (and the salute as well ), I can't find any English translations of the comics either. The one about Kursk was published in 2000 I believe which makes it even stranger. You would think one of the most prominent authors of his time would be given a bit more credibility when it came to having his work published, especially with the re-release of The Forgotten Soldier in North America sometime in 2001. Here are examples of his other works, some of the drawings are a bit not safe for work so proceed with caution. Planches originales de bande dessinée de DIMITRI One of the comics references Gulags, the French Wikipedia entry has a good description of it. Google Translate Basically about a French worker in the Soviet Union who is mistaken for someone else and thrown in a Gulag and the various comedic things that happen to him. It also talks about the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Capitalism in Russia which sounds like a very interesting topic. I'm still not able to find the one about Pearl Harbor, I remember the first few frames had a Japanese officer talking to a woman in the rain, probably in the 40+ age range, the last panel had a naked woman on a bed and perhaps a American sailor beside her. Japanese planes heading towards what looked like Pearl Harbor were also in another panel. I wonder why he would write his comics under a pen name, the only reason I can think of is that perhaps conditions in post war Europe had gotten to a point where the safety of ex German soldiers could have been at risk. There were definitely cases where civilians would take justice into their own hands with a Molotov for instance. Although Sajer didn't do anything that would put doubt on his character like say Joachim Peiper who was killed by French partisans in the 70s, perhaps someone could "imply" or not agree with what Sajer had written and attempt to take revenge in a sense?
Sajer has been debated on the forum almost ad nauseum. His birth name is Mouminoux. His use of psuedonyms has lead to the confusion and mistrust of his work. I am sure that most French pepople of his generation would not support a former member of the Grossdeutchland Div. SO I am suspect that his motivation is purely monetary. Brad
I'd one up that and say the internet! Sajer was the name he used in the army so it kinda makes sense, according to the French Wiki for The Forgotten Solider the book was very well recieved and actually won awards. There were a few cases where authors or other people of interest especially those who had first hand experinces with the Eastern Front used different names because they feared they would be targeted. The KGB was known to "take trips" to the other side to bring people back. Clemens Forell, Marta Hillers, Erich Warsitz, etc all come to mind. (while Warsitz did not change his name, he was kidnapped by the KGB in West Berlin) Not sure why he used variations of Dimitri especially when he had built much respect for his work both written and drawn.
Once again, the French show they lead the artistic world in the medium of comic drawings. This type of serious subject matter can be introduced to the maximum number of modern people in the shortest space of time. It would be nice to think that computer animation is not far behind the print medium.
I don't think it has anything to do with nationality, Sajer is probably one of the few people with the b**ls to say anything!
He has always been pretty vocal about this stuff, especially the treatment of Wehrmacht veterans. The Forgotten Soldier makes not attempt to hide his feelings, in recent years he has also done various political endorsements.
I never heard of any Sajer Comics. They look great and I wouldnt mind having these. Anyone here familiar with Mobius and Jean Gerards: Lieutenant Blueberry? Those were great as well.
