…

True story

trans­lated into
  • Cover 'Scheisseimer'
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    Scheisseimer. Sketched memories of a war
    Ambivalent, subjective, with more questions than answers. And precisely for that reason very honest and brave
    Rekto:Verso

    ‘Scheisseimer’ is an overwhelming set of impressions in ink. Through the eyes of a child, we see the cruelty and banality of war come up against the naivety of a little boy who sees adventure and play in everything. At the same time the book depicts the struggles of an adult artist who is trying to come to terms with his past, his family and his origins. A necessary book, full of darkness and empathy, heart-rending experiences and devastating disillusionment.

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  • Cover 'Restless as the Wind'
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    Restless as the Wind
    Janssen and Moradi show the beauty of fragile people
    Knack Focus

    On the edge of Ghent lies a square kilometre hemmed in by a railway line and a major highway. In writing that is both poetic and philosophical, Moradi describes the lives of the residents of her district. With pen, pencil and felt-tip Janssen records colourful impressions of views, homes, people, lives. On assignment in their own neighbourhood, they show the beauty that resides in its ugliness.

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  • Cover 'Galapagos'
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    Galapagos
    An impressive, improbable yet nevertheless true story
    Het Belang van Limburg

    In ‘Galapagos’ Michaël Olbrechts portrays what has become known as the Galapagos affair, the unsolved mystery of what happened in the early 1930s on Floreana that led to three deaths and two disappearances. Olbrechts’ exceptional insight into the human psyche dazzles once again.

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  • Cover 'The Magnificent Monet'
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    The Magnificent Monet
    One of the best humorous artists in the country
    De Standaard

    In this first part of a forthcoming trilogy, Luc Cromheecke draws part of the life story of the famous impressionist painter Claude Monet as it has never been seen before. Without words but with plenty of humour, Cromheecke gives a unique interpretation to events.

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  • Cover 'My Comrade, Che Guevara'
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    My Comrade, Che Guevara
    Four books for the price of one: an adventurous travelogue, a suspenseful whodunit, a biography and a history book
    Gazet van Antwerpen

    Hilde Baele met Mzee Jerôme Sebasoni, a gardener, in Kigali, Rwanda. He told her his incredible life story. He claimed to have fought against the Belgians and to have been a close comrade of Che Guevara’s in the struggle to oust the Congolese dictator Mobutu. Baele roped in her illustrator friend Jeroen Janssen to help her get to the bottom of Che's guide's claims. All the powerful graphic material in this impressive book was sketched and painted on the spot by Janssen. This is a remarkable testament to an extraordinary life story.

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  • Cover 'Posthumus'
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    Posthumous
    Right from the very first anecdote Janssen wins you over, lock, stock and barrel.
    Stripspeciaalzaak

    ‘Posthumous’ is an imaginative ode to the life and music of Franz Schubert. We encounter the young composer on his deathbed, where colourful, feverish dreams take over. We dive into some of Schubert’s most famous songs, in which he himself plays the leading part. Every song has its own background colour and is based on both facts and fantasy. A magisterial collaboration.

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  • Cover 'Trinity'
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    Trinity
    A breath-taking visualisation. A powerful and profound statement
    nrc handelsblad

    The Nazi collaboration and subsequent imprisonment of Wide Vercnocke’s grandfather was never talked about by his family. Seeing the physical resemblance between himself, his father and his grandfather, Vercnocke wonders whether this biological inheritance also extends to other areas. This intriguing story is yet another building block in his innovative and unconventional oeuvre.

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  • Cover Weegee
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    Weegee
    Sublime, sketch-like artwork by Mannaert, with sharp dialogue
    Metro

    The American Weegee’s street photographs made him world famous. Wauter Mannaert and Max de Radiguès turn the photographer into a man of flesh and blood and make you identify with him, so his rather tragic fate hits all the harder.

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  • Cover Mikel
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    Mikel
    A masterpiece of atmosphere and empathy, a must-have book of the year
    Focus Vif

    ‘Mikel’ tells a true story, based on the experiences of the author, Mark Bellido, who spent four years protecting Basque politicians against ETA. With her brilliant use of colour, Judith Vanistendael depicts the light of a wild and rainy Basque Country.

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  • Cover - Daubigny’s Garden
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    Daubigny’s Garden
    A poetic comic book that fully spotlights Cromheecke’s drawing talent
    Enola

    Luc Cromheecke and Bruno De Roover depict brief scenes from the life of the cheerful bon vivant Daubigny, based on the letters he wrote to his wife or friends on his travels. The result is a wonderfully relaxing book that paints a beautiful picture of the artist as a human being.

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  • Cover - Abadingi
    Cover - Abadingi
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    Abadaringi
    His most personal and at the same time most universal book
    De Standaard

    'Abadaringi’ is a sketchbook and an intriguing documentary about the genocide in Rwanda. Janssen draws the landscapes and settings he encounters, and creates portraits of the people he speaks to. He also tells his own story, in handwritten notes. A phenomenal piece of journalism.

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  • Cover - Higher than the Mountains and Deeper than the Sea
    Cover - Higher than the Mountains and Deeper than the Sea
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    Higher than the Mountains and Deeper than the Sea
    The wave of migration in the 1960s and 70s in a child-size format
    Knack Focus

    Grandpa Monji tells his granddaughter and grandson the story of how he, a Tunisian, ended up in Belgium. The young reader learns about another time, a time when people moved thousands of kilometres for work, and a marriage between a Belgian woman and an ‘outsider’ encountered a great deal of suspicion. A plea for mutual understanding, and a sensitive book about respect, with a dash of humour.

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  • Cover Us Two Together
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    Us Two Together
    Without grand gestures but all the more impressive for that
    Cutting Edge

    At the age of 56, Ephameron’s father was struck by primary progressive aphasia, which meant that he lost his speech and language and gradually succumbed to dementia. ‘Us Two Together’ is his daughter’s autobiographical account of the last ten years of his life.

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  • Cover - Wounded City
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    Wounded City
    Unique in the stream of books published to mark the centenary of World War One
    Cobra.be

    On 19 August 1914, in a matter of hours, the university city of Leuven transformed from the Belgian military headquarters into a city occupied by German soldiers. Soon after that, Leuven was reduced to ashes. Gerolf Van de Perre and Johanna Spaey portray these dramatic early days of World War I in powerful, poetic images and words.

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  • Cover Sugar
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    Sugar
    A born storyteller
    Enola

    ‘Sugar’ is a comic story about life as seen through the eyes of a cat. In masterfully drawn black-and-white pictures, Serge Baeken juggles with the narrative structure and page layout in this quirky and appealing graphic novel.

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  • Cover - The Very Last Tiger
    Cover - The Very Last Tiger
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    The Very Last Tiger
    A surprisingly good debut from another promising Belgian
    De Groene Amsterdammer

    Filip tells his four children about Great Granny, who was born almost a century before in the Dutch island colony of Java. Author Michaël Olbrechts blends a piece of family history with the wider social context and does so in a very mature and understated way, with little moments of humour and nostalgia.

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  • Cover - Mad With Joy
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    Mad With Joy
    The best comic of 2014 ****
    De Standaard

    In a loose, fluid and sketch-like style, Joris Vermassen draws a story based around important themes: saying goodbye, things coming to an end, disappointment and grief. And yet ‘Mad with Joy’, like the statue of the same name, is an ode to life.

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  • Cover - Adrift
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    Adrift
    A deceptively light story about absent parents and a lonely child
    Knack

    In this highly acclaimed debut, Shamisa Debroey displays a graphic maturity that is unexpected for such a young author. This poetic and nuanced portrait of a difficult parent–child relationship is a strong and exceptionally self-assured first step.

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  • Cover - Doel
    Cover - Doel
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    Doel
    Probably the book of the year
    Forbidden Planet

    The polder village of Doel, situated in the shadow of a nuclear reactor near the port of Antwerp, has been a pawn in the power games of successive politicians since the 1960s. Jeroen Janssen became fascinated by those who stayed behind and by their stories. ‘Doel’ is an impressive account of a personal journey of discovery in a village whose fate has long been uncertain.

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  • Cover - The Nieuport Gathering
    Cover - The Nieuport Gathering
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    The Nieuport Gathering
    A demonstration of skill
    De Standaard

    Adriaenssens brings the insanity of World War I to life: the battlefields pocked with craters, the villages and towns shot to smithereens, the harrowing conditions in the trenches and the absurd orders of authorities, who had not the faintest idea what they were doing. The powerful story is told with muted shades and concise text.

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  • Cover - Dance by the Light of the Moon
    Cover - Dance by the Light of the Moon
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    Dance by the Light of the Moon
    A powerful look into the complexities of the human heart and prejudice *****
    Comic Heroes Magazine

    An enjoyable, flowing and exceptionally readable graphic novel about the author’s relationship with a Togolese political refugee. The story consists of two parts, in which we see the same relationship from two different perspectives. The visual narrative is vivid and follows a rhythm that matches the story perfectly.

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  • Cover - Years of the Elephant
    Cover - Years of the Elephant
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    Years of the Elephant
    Linthout’s choice to leave his pencil-work bare, is a masterstroke
    Blog Critics

    Willy Linthout has created a powerful, groundbreaking graphic novel that grabs the reader by the throat. From the very first page, he draws us into the difficult processes that await Charles as he lurches between loneliness, grief, incomprehension and love, often losing sight of the difference between reality and fiction. 

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