Between 1975 and 1977, the small West German Illu Press published five volumes of Schindel-Schwinger. With clear influences from American underground comics (particularly the work of Vaughn Bodē), the series tells the story of Flohheim, a commune populated by Proben: escaped “prototypes” of living creatures accidentally imbued with life by God in a drunken stupor. To maintain his reputation, God has charged his sons, Petrus and Luzifer, to compete to capture the Proben. The Proben themselves want to keep their free and easy lifestyle—including discreetly depicted drunkenness, greed and sexual license—and are repeatedly saved from their pursuers’ machinations by their champion: Schindel-Schwinger, a part-dragon, part-pony pugilist with unusual strength and more ego than brains. Hilarity ensues.

Unfortunately, Schindel-Schwinger fell apart in only two years. Tensions between the creators and the publisher, who wanted a more child-friendly product and spin-off merchandise, mounted until the fifth volume was produced in Italy behind Schulz’s and Ryba’s backs; they sued Illu Press and ended the series. Despite its failure to find (or even define) an audience, the now-dated Schindel-Schwinger remains one of the earliest and most successful attempts to publish a home-grown German comic.