GAL (Gerard Alsteens) - Half a century on the cutting edge

Journalist and cartoonst Gerard Alsteens (Belgium) is 70 years young and his career goes on for 50 years. The new book about GAL's career:  "Een halve eeuw op het scherp van de snee" (Half a century on the cutting edge) is a book to read and watch as GAL can only be read by looking.
Journalists, politicians, writers and artists, friends and family have chosen a work that greatly interests them and give their comments.

The text in the book is in Dutch (2010, Uitgeverij Van Halewyck, ISBN 978-94-6131-018-7, 30 euro)

Below are some pics out of the book:

Belgian Politicians

Sarkozy and Carla Bruni

Learn more:
Gerard Alsteens Biography 
GAL - one of Belgium's finest artists
Interview with GAL www.curieus.be

Working in the port of the future - Port of Rotterdam Cartoon Festival

article by Martin Reekers, organizer of the Rotterdam Cartoon Festival.

In september 2010 the first edition of the Rotterdam Cartoonfestival took place. Cartoonists from all over the world submitted cartoons on the subject: 'Working in the future port' . A professional jury selected the first second and third price and made a selection of the 100 cartoons that were in the exhibition and in the catalogue. The cartoons still can be seen in the catalogue that was published. Most of the cartoons are without text so they are quite understandable regardless which laguage the viewer speaks. The full colour catalogue is still available for 4 Euro + shipping costs. You can order them by mail: info@cartoonfestivalrotterdam.com.

Paul de Valck alias BRASSER (1937-2001)

BRASSERIE (1983) - oogarts = eye specialist

Belgian cartoonist BRASSER died in 2001. Ten years after Paul de Valck (his real name) left us, the ECC shows a selection of  the artist's huge cartoon portfolio (more than 15.000 cartoons) in the exposition 'BRASSER Timeless Humour'.
And timeless it is! BRASSER was a master of the gag cartoon and even a lot of  his political cartoons are still actual today. BRASSER was the first cartoonist I knew, because of the daily cartoon in 'Het Nieuwsblad', the newspaper we had at home when I was still a little kid. The daily BRASSER cartoon was the first thing I (and many other people)  'read' of the newspaper.
Enjoy some great gag cartoons published in the book BRASSERIE  in the examples below...

With speicial thanks to Jean-Marie for the scans out of this book (and his appreciation for the cartoonist).

Learn more:
BRASSER biography (European Cartoon Center)
BRASSER Facebook group

Raoul Debroeyer alias Royer

Royer (Raoul Debroeyer, °1933) is a Belgian cartoonist with an impressive range of humor and imagination. On the internet there is very little to find about him.  "La Femme" (Edit. Paul Legrain, Brussels, 1991) is the only book from him I own. There exists an anthology of his work "20 ans de dessins" (Edit. Luc Piré, 1999).

Learn more:
Royer (Raoul Debroeyer) on Wikipedia
Royer on Press Cartoon Belgium

La Bouffe (The Food) by Claude Serre

The great French cartoonist Claude Serre (1938-1998) published 'La Bouffe' in 1982.
X-mas, New Year... a part of it has to do with food and drink.  Some of the cartoons below may look familiar to most of us in this period of year.

The drinker ... based on The Thinker by Rodin

The last supper by Claude Serre (click to enlarge)

In the cartoon above, Claude Serre drew many of this friends of HA! (Les Humoristes Associés).
Thanks to some research by Jean-Marie, we know who is who in this cartoon:

In the front, left, pointing his nose in the direction of the door : Avoine ..., followed by, from left to right :
Blachon, Nicoulaud, Fred (?), Serre, Siné, Loup , Lacroix (who is serving Jezus Christ), Barbe, Mose, Laville, Napo (back), Soulas, Bridenne, Sabatier.


Learn more:
More Serre on our blog
Buy online

Happy 2011!

When Do They Serve The Wine?

New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly informed us her new book of cartoons is out.

"When Do They Serve The Wine - The Folly, Flexibility and Fun of Being a Woman" is published by Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811871167 
When Do They Serve the Wine? explores the evolution of women through their lives and crises (physical, emotional, sartorial).



You can learn more about it at the official Facebook page for the book .
Even better is the Whendotheyservethewine 'about lauching at ourselves, and more' weblog where you can enjoy  lots of cartoons and read about the theme of the book.

Professor Pi Cartoons

I just expanded my  'yellow' (1971)  Professor Pi cartoons, with the red and the blue volume (1978). I think there exists a green volume too. Time to present this little professor, created by the Dutch cartoonist Bob van den Born (born 1927, The Netherlands).

Jean-Marie sent me a picture of the green volume:

"On the 2nd of January 1955, the readers of the leading dutch daily 'Het Parool', made their acquaintance with the adventures of the highly learned Pi, a creation of Bob van den Born.
The little professor, who has his hands full dealing with his own absintmindedness, developes over the years into an ardent observer of an incraesingly absurd world.
In a society, aimed at the unbridled consumption, he masters the unintended use of machines and technoloy. No doors remain closed to the likeable inventor.
This book offers a unique chance to become acquanted with 'life in the highes circles'."

Learn more:
Bob van den Born at Lambiek.net

Catalogue Cartoons 2010 - 49th International Cartoon Festival Knokke-Heist

This week it was freezing cold in Belgium and far outside our little country.  I haven't presented the yearly catalogue of the cartoon festival in Knokke this year yet. It contains as always a top selection of top cartoons drawn by top cartoonists from all over the world. So here it is, last but not least...

Cartoon festival knokke 2010 - cover

With some appropriate 'freezing' cartoons out of the catalogue...

Cartoon festival knokke 2010 - back

Luc Vernimmen, Belgium 

Ren Jian, China

Xiau Qiang Hou, China

The catalogue (Davidsfonds Leuven, 2010, ISBN 978-90-5826-718-4) is still available and costs about 16 euro.

See all the Knokke-Heist catalogues.

Learn more:
www.cartoonfestival.be
Cartoons at the Belgian coast 2010
Knokke-Heist festival 2009
and some more articles on our blog mentioning the festival

Vips Too - Very Important Paintings by Karl Meersman (2010)

Karl Meersman is one of my favorite artists and if you look well at his drawings you'll know why. This is world class...
I adored his new book VIPS TOO.

Amy Winehouse by Karl

"VIPS TOO is the splendid successor to the first book 'Very Important Paintings'. With current affairs as his source of inspiration, Karl draws cartoons of the big names in society and reduces VIPs to common people. Karl relativizes the do's and don'ts in the vain world of film, music, entertainment and politics. VIPS TOO is a compilation of 100 brilliant cartoons which, through gentle satire and imagination, bring a contended smile to people's faces... Karl Meersman is the house cartoonist of Focus Knack an Trends Magazine."
(Roularta Books, Belgium,2010, ISBN 978 90 8679 358 7)

Opel Antwerp by Karl

Bart de Wever and Elio Di Rupo by Karl

Sarkozi, Merkel, Verhofstadt, Barosso, Van Rompuy... by Karl

Charles Darwin by Karl

Bono 50 by Karl

Valentine's Day by Karl

Woody Allen by Karl

You can see many other cartoons out of the book on the artist's website. This is a lovely  book to give away as a nice present...

Video: artist Karl Meersman (VIP exposition Ghent, 2008)





Learn more:
www.karlmeersman.be
Very Important paintings (2007)
www.davidsfonds.be
www.roulartabooks.be