Teacher by day, comic artist by night: Andreas’ secret

It’s the 70s, the bedroom belongs to Andreas Möller and his comic books are his greatest passion. Andreas isn’t only an avid reader, he also experiments with his own creations, that he then proudly shows to his family and friends.

Today, Andreas isn’t a child anymore and his art work isn't accessible only to his family now: thanks to WebSite X5 and to his website thelonercomics.de, in fact, it has become know outside Germany as well.

But how did Andreas Möller get where he is now? We directly asked him.

How true! I have been a comic artist for more than 12 years now, but I am “officially” an art teacher. My passion for comics dates back to the 70s, a decade in which this kind of art was really popular. I especially loved the typical graphic design of the comic artists of the time. During my student years and when I first began working, I put my passion aside: I studied Arts, German, Philosophy and Educational Theory, and I became a professor at an art high school. But right when my artistic vein seemed to have abandoned me forever, it came back to me stronger than ever. I then came up with the idea of showing my work online.

No, I initially posted my art work on the my-comics.de Community, a place for comics and graphic novel fans. Over time, I then discovered I needed my own space: to me, having a website means having the chance of presenting my work to the public with complete freedom of action, both as far as the definition of the contents and of the style and the design of the website are concerned.

Primarily because I needed more flexibility, which unfortunately I couldn’t achieve with WordPress. I then started looking around and trying many demo versions. With WebSite X5 I immediately got the sense that the software could perfectly fulfill my needs, allowing full control of any aspect of the website creation, which is crucial to me.

Of course! Thanks to my website, I have been noticed by the author and screenwriter Michael Mikolajczak, whom I worked with to create my first graphic novel “Die Spinne”, published by Kultcomics in 2019. It’s a crime story set in the American 70s, a setting I particularly wanted because I could then give free rein to my creativity: big American cars, evil sheriffs...it’s been a unique experience!

As an artist, I find galleries are crucial: WebSite X5 offers many solutions, which I find very useful, so I can decide how to present sketches, drafts or original work for instance. I think the website should be a touch point with the audience: I try to keep my visitors up-to-date on my latest publications, as well as to be easily reachable via contact page. I really love receiving feedback from visitors who saw my work online and got impressed! Reviews and links to social accounts should also never be missing: I use Facebook and Instagram for quicker and more frequent updates, as well as to show my own website to a wider audience.

I really do! What I like the most about WebSite X5 is its intuitiveness and user-friendliness. In fact, I have been able to easily create an elegant, modern and well-optimized website, and to a pretty affordable price. Generally speaking, I think that the first graphic impact is fundamental, especially in my field: I already mentioned the galleries, but I also enjoyed using the many graphic effects available, such as the parallax. In this sense, I also play with the website structure by connecting different graphic elements to one another, this improves browsing experience.

I am currently working on my second book, called “Tinkerville Blues”, where we will see some of the characters introduced in “Die Spinne” again. And I have already used WebSite X5 to inform my visitors on this brand-new adventure!