Overview
- Heine died on November 20 in Russell, New Zealand, with publisher Beltz confirming the news citing his son.
- The 1982 picture book Friends made him widely known through the characters Johnny Mouse, Franz von Hahn and the stout Waldemar.
- His visual design of the dragon Tabaluga grew from a long collaboration with Peter Maffay and reached audiences through albums, TV, stage shows and a feature film.
- Maffay mourned Heine publicly, calling their four-decade friendship profound and crediting him with creating “the wonderful little Tabaluga.”
- He published more than 50 books that sold in the millions and were translated into roughly 30–35 languages, lived in New Zealand since about 1990 with his wife Gisela von Radowitz, and received major awards including the European Youth Book Prize.