Comics

1961: Heinrich “Ricky” and his little brother Richard “Dickie”. (Slide 4: The Kasper Brothers c. 1979) - 1961 was the year when their mother Ida left the family for a younger American soldier; since then, Olaf grew more cruel and strict with the boys, especially with Richard - the son he believed to be the reason why his wife ran away. Heinrich, as the older and favorite child, tries his best to keep his rambunctious brother out of trouble while lessening the pain of loosing their mother and father’s constant criticism. The brothers were close despite their 5 year age gap and opposing personalities, often seen together playing football/soccer and drinking beer as they grew older into adulthood. Heinrich has always been stoic, quiet, and serious while Richard was the more outgoing, hot-tempered, but very intelligent brother. Their relationship was often strained when Heinrich gave up his duty of the family heir for love when he married a foreign woman, forcing the carefree Richard to take up the rigid work his brother left behind; but with the birth of his nephew Hansel and niece Hannah, Richard’s anger cooled enough to continue being the supportive younger brother. Heinrich (like most of the other family) was initially not fond of Richard’s decision to marry Sigrid, even more so when it was revealed that she was only a teenager and had a life curse; but after meeting the girl, he was quite impressed with her sharp wit and her strong will to live despite having a shortened lifespan (he enjoyed playing chess with her, discussing current events, and admired her gardening skills). Like Richard, Heinrich was deeply affected by Sigrid’s death after giving birth to the next family heir; in the remaining months of Richard’s life, Heinrich made efforts to assist his brother in taking care of his work and son. Heinrich then makes the decision to pick up Johannes Faustuz from Africa and raise him alongside his own children, much to his wife Yoko’s disapproval of raising another child with their limited resources. —