The Koerner documentary titled “Hugo Hercules & The Wild West” will make its North American Preview on April 25. Koerner was inducted into the Clinton County Walk of Fame in 2022, prompting interest in the German immigrant who arrived in Clinton at the age of 3. Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev Koerner was born in Germany in 1878 and emigrated to Clinton with his family in 1881. Here in the U.S., he became William Henry David Koerner, a comic pioneer, famous illustrator and Western painter.
Koerner created “Hugo Hercules,” the first superhero comic, in 1902 while in Chicago, provided images for important contemporary novels at the time, and discovered a love for the “Wild West,” of which he is considered one of the master illustrators. Over 2,000 of his illustrations have been published in over 14 popular magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post.
Koerner died in 1938 however his artwork continued to increase in value with a record set in 2021 when “The Pigeons” sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $576,000. Koerner’s works shape the visual image of the wild west, serving as templates for stage and costume designers.
Fluck had the idea for this documentary with Eckhorst for quite some time. Two years ago, it began to come to fruition with applications for funding, and filming finally began in the summer of 2022. Throughout the shooting of the documentary in northern Germany, Chicago, Clinton, Montana, and Wyoming, Fluck and Eckhorst have met people who deal with Koerner’s work artistically and scientifically while they’ve taken in the grandiose landscapes that inspired Koerner’s paintings. These include the people and landscapes of Clinton.
For more information and to register for the Film Making Workshop, contact Clinton Community College at 563-244-7001.