De Kiekeboes
| De Kiekeboes | |
|---|---|
'Kiekeboes', a mural in Hasselt, 1996.
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| Created by | Merho |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Standaard Uitgeverij |
| Schedule | quarterly |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a set of ongoing series and graphic novels. |
| Original language | Dutch |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 1977 |
| Main character(s) | Marcel Kiekeboe Charlotte Kiekeboe Fanny Kiekeboe Konstantinopel Kiekeboe |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Merho |
| Artist(s) | Merho |
| Penciller(s) |
Thomas Du Caju Kristof Fagard |
| Inker(s) | Peter Koeken |
| Colourist(s) |
Ria Smit Ine Merhottein Kristof Fagard |
| Creator(s) | Merho |
| Reprints | |
| The series has been reprinted, at least in part, in French and English. | |
De Kiekeboes is a comic strip series created by Belgian artist Merho in 1977. The series appears in Dutch. It is first published in the newspapers Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg and then published as comic books by Standaard Uitgeverij. The series is the best-selling comic in Flanders, but is unsuccessful abroad, with only a few publications in French and English.
De Kiekeboes debuted in 1977. Merho had previously worked with Willy Vandersteen but wanted to create his own series. The first story, De Wollebollen, started in Het Laatste Nieuws. on 15 February 1977.
New albums in the series appear every three months, and sell over 100,000 copies each. Like most Flemish comic strips, De Kiekeboes comics are steady sellers, with most of the series available for sale at any one time. New titles are the best selling comics in Flanders, with some 80,000 copies sold in the first year of publication. In 2007, only the Dutch translation of the final Harry Potter book sold more copies.
After being assisted for a while by Steve Van Bael and then by Dirk Stallaert, Merho announced that from 1 January 2006 on, the comics would be drawn by Steve Van Bael and Thomas Du Caju, who would each produce two comics a year. Merho continues to write the stories and to make early sketches.https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/merho.htm
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the comic strip in 2007, an exposition was held in the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art and a wall painting was unveiled in Antwerp. Statues of Kiekeboe and of his daughter Fanny are placed in Middelkerke. Another statue of Kiekeboe can be found in Halle-Zoersel.
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Wikipedia