The wide open prairies of the American West drew countless settlers in the 19th century - many of whom came all the way from Europe. The reality of life there, however, was disastrous. Over the past century, sundry comics have captured the epoch, some of which are now on display in an exhibition in Germany. Pioneer Mickey Mouse, drawn in 1933 by Floyd Gottfredson, is among them.

Settlers who went West faced numerous hardships, from extreme weather, hunger and disease to dangerous animals and locals who weren't keen on having their land taken away. This caricature, "His First Grizzly," takes the naive and feebly armed pioneer to task. While the illustrator is unknown today, the cartoon appeared in the Sunday edition of the "New York World" on January 27, 1901.

For many Native Americans, the arrival of the settlers was a catastrophe. They competed for both agricultural land and hunting grounds. The locals had the advantage of years of experience with the terrain. Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland" from 1906 depicts the Native Americans as wild savages who have more refined fighting skills than the naïve young boy with a musket.

James Swinnerton (1875-1974) is one of the illustrators who helped develop the comic as a popular genre. Today this strip from his popular Jimmy series would be deemed politically incorrect. When it was published in 1913 it captured the distant fascination of the time with "the other." Jimmy, later known as Little Jimmy, ran from 1904-1958.

In the US, the comic experienced its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s. Disney started hiring illustrators in 1930 and made silent films out of the print editions. Frank King was one of the big names of the time. His view of the Wild West was a bit like that of a tourist's. "Gasoline Alley," the second-longest running comic strip ever, came out in 1918. Pictured is the strip from August 28, 1926.

Belgian illustrator Hergé (George Remis, 1907-1983) sent his Boy Scout-inspired protagonist Tintin - known as Tim in German - on adventures to Russia, the Congo and in 1932 to the fictional Redskin City in the US, where he encounters a tribe of Blackfoot Native Americans. The comic strip was commissioned for the children's section of the Belgian newspaper "Le Vingtième Siècle."

Illustrator Garrett Price (1896–1979) spent only a few years in the comic business. His "White Boy," about a boy who is captured by a tribe of Native Americans, only ran for three years. After that, Price pursued a career in magazines and illustrated the covers of the weekly "New Yorker" through the mid-1970s. Pictured is the Sunday "White Boy" strip from August 26, 1934.

Starting in 1937, Harold "Hal" Foster (1892–1982) made a medieval knight - Prince Valiant - his comic hero. Hal was born in Canada and loved the wilderness, which is evident in his comics. His Prince Valiant comics depicted the Native American culture with much respect, even if his images would be considered antiquated today. Pictured is a Sunday strip from June 15, 1947.

Swiss comic artist Derib (Claude de Ribaupierre) focused on Native American culture and the beauty of the American landscape in his strip, Yakari. Complete with stereotypical feather and fringe, his tales of a Native American boy and speaking animals have been published in France since 1973. Pictured is an example from 1979.

Illustrators' fascination with cowboys died down after the 1950s and 60s when then US started to take a more critical look at the frontier period. For his 1988 graphic novel "The Cowboy Wally Show," Kyle Baker portrays a fictional, overweight, Stetson-hat wearing entertainer named Cowboy Wally who'll do anything to impress.

Paul Hornschemeier's 2005 graphic novel "Vanderbilt Millions - Is a Mental Case" is something of an underground comic. The cowboy is a lonely hero and a loser who constantly gives in. Born in 1977, Hornschemeier is known for his thought-provoking and complex work.

He's galloped through the Wild West since 1946 and in 2011, "Lucky Luke against Pinkerton" was revived by Achdé (Hervé Darmenton). In place of a cigarette, he had a twig in his mouth. The exhibition on the Wild West in comics shows through April 26 at Burg Wissem in Troisdorf before moving to the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hanover.

The Jack the Ripper museum in London was initially billed as an museum on local women's history. The East End's legendary serial killer famously murdered mainly female prostitutes living in London's slums. The exhibition higlights the victims, but nothing more on women's circumstances in 19th-century London.

Reconstructing one of the crime scenes, the Jack the Ripper Museum tries to transport visitors to some of the darkest chapters of the Victorian Age.

Some of Jack the Ripper's "tools" are on show at the museum. The killer is said to have slit his victims' throats before cutting out their organs.

According to legend, mysterious murderer allegedly left this message at one of his crime scenes.

Russell Edwards, who in 2014 presented evidence that Jack the Ripper was Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski, told DW he thinks the museum doesn't do justice to the victims of the serial killer - and especially their descendants. These three victims were first named in the British press in 1988: Annie Chapman, Mary Ann Nicholls and Elizabeth Stride.

With or without a museum, Jack the Ripper remains an attraction in London's East End, with daily walking tours taking visitors to places where the killer had allegedly picked up his victims - such as this pub.