Stinz

''Stinz'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

created by

Donna Barr Donna Barr (born August 13, 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist. She is best known for '' The Desert Peach'' and ''Stinz''. She was born in Everett, Washington, the second child in a family of six siblings. Life and educatio ...

, chronicling the adventures of Steinheld Löwhard, or "Stinz"---a half-horse (

centaurs A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as bein ...

are barbarians) who lives with other centaurs and "two-leggers" in an imaginary Alpine valley called the Gieselthal. The society of the Gieselthal is very reminiscent of pre-

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Germany, and the people speak a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that ...

invented by Barr herself. The Gieselthal centaurs call themselves ''halbpferd'' ("halfhorses") and look down on the nomadic "gypsy centaurs" who come through their valley at intervals. While relations between centaurs and "two-leggers" are usually cordial, there is normally some distance---centaurs see "two-leggers" as weak and fragile. Stinz Löwhard is, uniquely among his people, a veteran of the military, having attained the rank of Major, and war-hero status, in the last war fought in his world. He was greatly changed by his eight years' military service, and often feels rather alienated from his neighbors and family on account of it. Even so, he is a loving, faithful husband and tries to be the best father he knows how to be. He is quite wealthy, by the standards of his home, and holds the titles of "Räth" (council member) and Mayor at various times. The Stinz stories cover his life through his mischievous youth, up through his stormy courtship of his neighbor's daughter Brüna, his induction into the military, some of his war exploits, and his life after his return home. Barr has recently published the 1981 novel in which Stinz (in very different form) first appeared, under the title ''An Insupportable Light''. Comics publications Fictional centaurs Fictional German people Fantagraphics titles {{comics-stub