For the third time, Freistil presents a young, dynamic, independent and growing European illustration scene, which is developing rapidly. Freistil plays a role both as the promoter of a trend and as a sort of who-is-who. The word has gotten around that Freistil can not only help you find the best illustrator for the next job, but illustrators also know that they'll find the trends and tendencies more densely and promptly recorded and compared than anywhere else. Hardware and handiwork combine in endless ways, while sampling generates new styles and fashions. This is all accompanied by editorial texts, which in this issue deal with the relationship between illustration and music. Pop and the pen have more in common than one imagines. Both are expressions of their times, highly individual and - yes - even somewhat fleeting. Freistil presents the latest work of 222 illustrators from Germany, Europe and beyond. Freistil meets Jamie Hewlett, the founder of the Gorillaz, a virtual band that sold six million copies of its first CD alone. Freistil asked Mario Lombardo, the art director of Spex, how he was able to make a magazine more successful than the publisher imagined. Freistil is also more successful than the publisher imagined. ILLUSTRATIONS: Colour photographs