Willy Vandersteen
| Willy Vandersteen | |
|---|---|
 Vandersteen (1985) | |
| Born | Willebrord Jan Frans Maria Vandersteen 15 February 1913 Antwerp, Belgium |
| Died | 28 August 1990 (aged 77) Antwerp, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Kaproen, Wil, Wirel |
Notable works | Suske en Wiske De Rode Ridder Robert en Bertrand |
| Awards | full list |
Willy Vandersteen (15 February 1913 – 28 August 1990) was a Belgian maker of comic books. In his life, he made a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series. He sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.
He and Marc Sleen are considered the founding fathers of Flemish comics.
Willy Vandesteen is popular mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Hergé called him "The Brueghel of the comic strip". The creation of his own studio and the mass production and commercialization of his work turned him into "the Walt Disney of the Low Countries".
Vandersteen is best known for Suske en Wiske (published in English as Spike and Suzy, Luke and Lucy, Willy and Wanda or Bob and Bobette).
His other major series are De Rode Ridder with over 200 albums, and Bessy with almost 1,000 albums published in Germany.
Two hundred million copies of his albums have been sold since 1945. Every year, four or five new albums are released, and 3.5 million copies are sold.
Awards and recognition
- 1959: Honorary citizen of the community Deurne near Antwerp
- 1977: Angoulême International Comics Festival prize for Best Foreign Author, France
- 2007: Prestige award at the Prix Saint-Michel in Brussels
- Vandersteen is also honorary citizen of Kalmthout. A statue of Vandersteen is located on Willy Vandersteen Square.
According to UNESCO's Index Translationum, Vandersteen is the second most often translated Dutch language author, after Anne Frank.
References
- 1 2 3 Debrouwere, Lotte (2008-06-26). "300 albums en springlevend". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ↑ "Stripspeciaalzaak Belgian comics top 50". Stripspeciaalzaak.be. 1945-12-19. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
- ↑ "Dutch newspaper BN / De Stem, 12 September 2007". Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ↑ Van Hooydonck, Biografie, p. 203
- ↑ ToutEnBD. "Le palmarès" (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ↑ Belga (2007-10-15). "Grand Prix St-Michel à Gotlib" (in French). La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ↑ Standaard Uitgeverij, 60 jaar!, p. 20
- ↑ Article in De Standaard
- ↑ "Index Translationum Dutch top 10". Databases.unesco.org. Retrieved 2012-05-23.[permanent dead link]