Isabel Kreitz / Mathieu Sapin

The German illustrator Isabel Kreitz and the French illustrator Mathieu Sapin tell their readers the history of their countries from very different perspectives, but with similar means, the visual language of comics, which they master with virtuosity, whereby they both have a humorous and distanced approach to their subjects.
In Deutschland. Ein Bilderbuch, published in 2011, Isabel Kreitz depicts the major historical events that shaped Germany between 1949 and 2008, devoting an entire page to each of them. She chooses either incidents from everyday life ("Deutschland guckt Holocaust", 1979) or key historical moments ("Ish bin ein Bearleener!", 1963) that were significant for the country's social changes and political life.
In two albums, Le Château. Une année dans les coulisses de l'Élysée and Comédie française. Voyages dans l'antichambre du pouvoir (Comédie Française - Journeys to the Antechamber of Power), published in 2015 and 2020, Mathieu Sapin describes in detail the stage and backdrops of power in France. Following the tradition of the reporter Tim, he presents himself as a reporter