Father and Son

Cartoons from the height of a promising career tragically cut short

E. O. Plauen created a rascally family strip in Father and Son. A gentle pantomime strip published in the German weekly Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung in pre–World War II Germany, Vater und Sohn was an immediate success and ran for three short but popular years, from 1934 to 1937. Plauen used a simple, clear cartooning style to tell his funny vignettes about a father who is just as much of a troublemaker as his little boy―a setup unique compared with the predictable scolding-father-versusunruly-scamp scenario seen in most humor strips of the time.Working against the stereotypical portrayal of a precocious kid and a doofus father, he expertly gave both titular characters their fair share of brilliance and clumsiness.

Plauen's own story ended tragically in 1944 when he took his life the day before he was scheduled to appear in the People's Court for expressing anti-Nazi views. In memory of him and his talent as a cartoonist, this Drawn & Quarterly edition of Father and Son presents a selection of his strips, placing Plauen's work alongside archival projects such as Frank King's Walt & Skeezix and Tove Jansson's Moomin, which bring these admirable repertoires to a new generation of readers.