Welcome to Brussels—the capital city of the comic strip

1. Yoko Tsuno by Roger Leloup

We visit Belgium regularly—it’s part of our family’s culture. Eighteen years ago, our daughter, Petra, spent 12 months as an exchange student in the Ardennes (in the south of the country). That same year we welcomed Jean-Mi from Brussels, the first student we ever hosted (the 30th student is with us now).

Jean-Mi has returned to Australia several times and we like to reciprocate. It’s great to visit him and his partner, Sali, as well as their children. Two visits ago, Poor John even taught Samuel how to walk with his hands behind his back.

2. Asterix written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo

3. Young Albert by Yves Chaland

Every time we’ve been in Brussels, we’ve meant to visit some of the city’s wonderful comic strip heritage. In fact, Brussels often describes itself as the Capital City of the Comic Strip. Several museums, galleries, markets, festivals and specialist stores are dedicated to comic strips. And then there are the murals showcasing the characters and creators of famous comics.

It all started back in 1991, when the Belgian Comic Strip Centre (I’ll take you there in another post) collaborated with city authorities to begin a project in which blank walls within the city would be adorned with giant murals of comic book characters.

The goal was to showcase Belgium’s deep history with comic strips, including their famous Adventures of Tintin and Lucky Luke, and also feature work by other important international cartoonists.

4. Broussaille by Frank Pé, the first mural painted in 1991

Broussaille was the first comic book wall to be painted. Based on an original project by Belgian comic book artist Frank Pé, the mural covers 35 square metres (380 square feet).The Belgian association «Art Mural» executed the painting, which was inaugurated in July 1991.

In the beginning, there was no plan for a walking tour. That came about because Brussels is fairly flat and easy to walk, and people loved the murals and wanted to see as many as possible.

I’d known about the comic art since our first visit to see Jean-Mi in late 2000. The walls of his Metro station at Stockel are decorated with life-size scenes from the Adventures of Tintin—and they aren’t even part of the street art.

Today more than 50 comic murals grace the walls and gables of the city centre, the regions of Sablon-Marolles and Laeken-Heysel, and beyond. There are some statues of comic characters too.

The Adventures of Tintin in the Stockel Metro station

So on our most recent visit to Brussels, Poor John and I popped into the tourist office and bought a comic strip map (1 euro) and set out to visit as many murals as we could on foot (plus we raced around to Stockel to get some pics of Tintin in the Metro station). On this trip, we saw 15 murals in all. I haven’t shared photos of all of them because some pics were fuzzy and two murals were spoiled by graffiti. 😦

By the way, I’ve read that «Art Mural» paints two to three new works per year, so I look forward to exploring more murals on our next visit.

5. Tintin by Hergé

6. Lucky Luke by Morris

Below are captions for the photographs that are numbered. This blog template plays havoc with long captions and I really wanted to include the artists’ names and other detail.

Do you have a favourite comic strip character—from here or elsewhere?

1. Yoko Tsuno was one of the first comic strip women to have her own series in the early 1970s. The Japanese electrical engineer was as bold and brave as her male counterparts, and her adventures took place on Earth and in space. She was created by Belgian Roger Leloup for the weekly Spirou magazine.

2. Asterix, Obelix and their colourful villagers are among the world’s best known comic characters. Here, led by Dogmatix, they are attacking a Roman camp. It’s a scene familiar to readers in more than 70 countries. René Goscinny (writer) and Albert Uderzo (illustrator) created these memorable characters, which first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote in 1959.

7. Monsieur Jean by Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian

3. Young Albert told about the sometimes cruel, boyish pranks of a kid (in red) in post-war Brussels. He was created by Frenchman Yves Chaland, who was barely 33 when he was killed in a traffic accident. There is hot competition for the small body of work he left behind, and famous cartoonists refer to him as their great role model.

4. Broussaille by Frank Pé was the first mural to be painted. Pé, a Belgian, started to create comics and illustrations for Spirou magazine, specialising in articles about animals. The fictional presenter of his stories, an adolescent named Broussaille, is often described as Pé’s alter ego. The two young men here (I’m not sure which one is Broussaille) are city folk and nature lovers.

8. Victor Sackville by Francis Carin

5. Tintin is probably the most famous Belgian comic hero. Hergé, the pen name of author Georges Prosper Remi, wrote 24 volumes about the adventures of Tintin and his dog, Snowy. The works have been published in more than 70 languages with sales of more than 200 million copies, and have been adapted for radio, television, theatre, and film. This mural depicts a scene from The calculus affair.

6. Lucky Luke and his intelligent horse, Jolly Jumper, galloped on to the scene in 1946. Created by Morris, a Belgian, some of the work was later drawn and written by others. Lucky Luke is a tribute to the mythic Old West and an affectionate parody (he shoots faster than his shadow). It was a challenge to photograph this mural—too much shadow.

9. Olivier Rameau by artist Dany and writer Greg

7. Monsieur Jean is dogged by conflict in his relationships, depression and an endless battle against routine and the daily grind. His adventures are touchingly recognisable, and the tone is alternately light-hearted and melancholy. He is drawn and written by two Frenchmen, Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian.

8. Victor Sackville, by Belgian artist Francis Carin, travels the world as a spy for His Majesty the King of England during the First World War. When he can, the impeccably dressed gentleman does anything he can to disrupt the enemy’s plans. The people sitting at tables near the bottom of the mural give you an idea of just how big it is.

9. Olivier Rameau, the young and handsome hero, holds out his hand to the charming Colombe Tiredaile. In their parallel world, you don’t pay with money, but with joy, songs. laughter or a big kiss. Two Belgians, cartoonist Dany and writer Greg, produced this poetic fantasy series in the crazy days of the late 1960s.

10. Kinky et Cosy, the quirky twin sisters created by Belgian writer and cartoonist Nix, are always wreaking havoc on Brussels. Considered the most dangerous twin girls in the universe, these ‘enfants terribles’ are shown here waving a homemade peace flag tied to an old broom and laying waste to their bedroom. If you have kids, the scene below may look familiar.

10. Kinky and Cosy by Nix