This is a funny/romantic story about Death incarnate pursuing a young woman who stubbornly refuses to succumb to him. Inevitably, the two of them start liking each other and even an innocent romance starts to develop - which of course is doomed right from the beginning, since it is and always will be Death's foremost aim to take the Maiden's life. The motif of 'Death and the Maiden' originates in late Middle Age/early renaissance paintings and remains popular throughout the centuries until today. The topic has a very strong romantic to erotic component right from the beginning (see Death and the Maiden as an art motif) and is not only adapted in painting but also poetry, music (Franz Schubert) and drama (Ariel Dorfman). I have hidden some references within my story, which will be explained along the way.

At the beginning, the story was designed as a funny cartoon strip with not much depth to the punchlines. As it went on and I started to work out a concept and ideas as to where I wanted to take this story, the jokes became less flat (I hope) and made room for more character development.
I want the reader to see Death not only as a funny character, but what he really symbolizes. Keeping this in mind, it should become clear why no mortal (also not the maiden) can fall in love with Death without abandoning life. Running from death is about as futile as clinging to death is dangerous. That's my message. Well, one of them anyways.

My name is Nina Ruzicka, I was born in 1972 in Vienna (Austria) and lived there until 2013, which is when I moved to Germany.
I worked as a professional cartoonist from 1995 to 2009. My first publication was a cartoon series for a women's magazine that appeared successfully for over 5 years. My second series, Death and the Maiden, was created for internet publication on the website of the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF) and appeared from 2001-2004. Due to readers demands, a sequel was created in 2005 which is still a work in progress, unfortunately doomed to an 8-year interruption due to health issues.
Both series are now published on my own website (in their original German language) and translated into English by myself along with lots of help by several native speakers and volunteers. However, it is likely that there are flaws in the English translation, so if you ever spot one, please don't hesitate to reach out via social media or e-mail.