The Uberfriends

The Uberfriends

"The Uberfriends" is a comic originally drawn in 1959 by Hans Kunstmaler detailing the adventures of a rag-tag group of German superheroes.

Early Origins

In 1972, Hans Kunstmaler began the preliminary drawings and character studies that eventually turned into Episode 1 of The Uberfriends, drawing on what he observed around him in his hometown of Leipzig, Germany. Kunstmaler was a representational artist influenced by the general unrest he observed around him in Leipzig. The general sense of dissatisfaction felt by Kunstmaler and his associates, as well as the large quantities of narcotics Kunstmaler consumed, led the artist to begin experimenting with the idea of a uniquely German group of superheroes.

The first incarnation of the Uberfriends is believed to be a sketch made on the back of a Braustensauufer wrapper, depicting a short, lithe man flying through space with a distinctly bored expression. While this sketch bares little resemblance to any final member of the Uberfriends, the overall style and sentiment reveal the themes Kunstmaler would later flesh out in the Uberfriends.

Characters

The Uberfriends, as they first appeared in Episode 1 in 1974, were a band of German citizens with unique powers. The ringleader and the moving force behind the heroes was Lars Offensafer. Lars was living a life of quiet desperation in Berlin, until he accidentally fell in a pool of toxic waste while attempting to collect materials for use in a piece of installation art. The encounter gave him the power to command the winds from a dead calm up to a brisk autumn breeze. He subsequently took on the name "Der Windmacher" and actively sought out other superheroes with a penchant for avant-garde installation pieces. Lars subsequently found the other Uberfriends, who were mildly pleased to join him in the occasional leisurely pursuit of justice.

The first individual to join Der Windmacher was the Rootmeister, born Klaus Vanderhassen of Dusseldorf. The Rootmeister had the power to slightly accelerate the rate of root growth in plants; for example, producing a fern, fully formed but invisible to the naked eye, from a seed in a week's time.

The second member of the team was also the only female member of the Uberfriends. Brunhilde von Assen, a large woman raised in the German farmlands of Trendelburg, took the superhero name HaarFrau, which roughly translates to Hair Lady. Brunhilde, drawn in singularly masculine lines, had the power to control the facial hair of others. Some individuals claim that Kunstmaler's use of the masculine and feminine in this character was a commentary on the 1936 Dora Ratjen Olympics scandal, and other rumors of gender cheating in modern sporting events. Others, however, point to pictures of Kunstmaler's mistress at the time, Helga Glunst and suggest that the artist simply appreciated dominant women.

The youngest of the Uberfriends, Jan Undermeyer, was relegated to an apprentice-like status for the first 8 episodes of the series. Known as "Storkboy" for his super-elastic neck flap, elongated limbs, and penchant for herring, Jan spent much of the series trying to convince the other Uberfriends that he could handle the role of full-fledged superhero. His enthusiasm merely showed that he didn't fully grasp the position of the Uberfriends. Experts suggest that Jan represented the expatriates in Kunstmaler's community — youths from outside Germany who claimed to understand the Deutschgeist (spirit of Germania) but lacked the necessary heritage and experience. Kunstmaler and his contemporaries were known for their dislike of the group, and many incidents in the series in which Jan is badly maimed suggest Kunstmaler was using the character as an analog for the outsiders.

Video Game Spinoff

In November 1979, Kunstmaler was approached by Bjørn Munk, Director of Game Development for Lubion Corporation, to license a video game based on the Uberfriends. According to Munk's offer, the game would be released as one of two launch titles (the other being the ill-fated Schmaxilla) for the upcoming Lubion Audio-Video Console (LAV-C). Accounts differ as to what transpired during that meeting, however Kunstmaler later claimed he did not understand the concept a home video game console, which were not widespread in Germany at that time, and that he was led to believe the LAV-C was some sort of elaborate installation art project that would be spread across unsuspecting households. Nonetheless Kunstmaler accepted the offer on the condition that he be consulted on creative matters.

Despite frequent delays and funding shortages associated with the launch of the LAV-C, not to mention bizarre sexual politics that plagued the fledgling Lubion Corporation, the game was released on March 24th, 1980 under the name "Uberfriends: Penultimate Decline Urban". It is believed that a typesetting error resulted in the transposition of the words "urban" and "decline," resulting in a title even more baffling than the intended one. However, Lubion's budget did not allow for quality control and the mistake was never corrected. The game was a commercial failure despite critical acclaim, and Lubion filed for bankruptcy just four months later.

Published under the terms of the CC BY 3.0 license.