The East German publisher Verlag Neues Leben, in East Berlin, had wanted to counter Western comics and magazines with a magazine of their own when Hannes Hegen approached them with his ideas for Mosaik and the Digedags. Reaching an agreement with Neues Leben, Hegen created the first issue of Mosaik for publishing in December 1955. Mosaik was published quarterly until July 1957, when it switched to a monthly schedule that has continued uninterrupted to this day. To support the schedule, the publisher hired additional artists, colorists and writers to support Hegen – a team which became known as the Mosaik-Kollektiv (Mosaik Collective). Only Hegen was credited on the cover, however.
