What is "mosaik"

Mosaik is a German comic book magazine. First published in December 1955, it is the longest-running German (and European) monthly comic book and the only one originating in East Germany that still exists. Mosaik also appeared in other countries and other languages. In its English-language edition it was published under the title Mosaic.

Mosaik was created by illustrator and caricaturist Hannes Hegen. From 1955 to 1975, the protagonists of Mosaik were Dig, Dag and Digedag, known together as the Digedags. They were replaced in 1976 by Abrax, Brabax and Califax, known together as the Abrafaxe, who are still the main characters today.

More than 200 million issues have been sold from 1955 until today. At the height of its popularity, prior to German reunification, Mosaik had a print run of almost a million copies per month. After reunification, the print run has varied from more than 100,000 in the early 1990s to about 80,000 in 2007.