Willy Vandersteen
Flemish comics author (1913-1990) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[1]
Willy Vandersteen | |
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Born | Willebrord Jan Frans Maria Vandersteen (1913-02-15)15 February 1913 Antwerp, Belgium |
Died | 28 August 1990(1990-08-28) (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 |
He is considered together with Marc Sleen the founding father of Flemish comics.[2] He is mainly popular 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".[3]
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). In 2008 it sold 3.5 million books.[1] His other major series are De Rode Ridder with over 200 albums and Bessy with almost 1,000 albums published in Germany.