The Belgian Comic Strip Center (french: Centre belge de la Bande dessinée; nl, Belgisch Stripcentrum) is a museum in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium, dedicated to

Belgian comics Belgian comics are a distinct subgroup in the comics history, and played a major role in the development of European comics, alongside France with whom they share a long common history. While the comics in the two major language groups and regio ...

. It is located at 20, /, in an Art Nouveau building designed by

Victor Horta Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. His Hôtel Tassel in Brussels, built in 1892–93, is often ...

, and can be accessed from Brussels-Congress railway station and Brussels Central Station.

History of the building

The building was designed in 1905 by the world-famous architect

, in Art Nouveau style, and served as a textile department store, the ''Magasins Waucquez''. After Waucquez's death in 1920, the building began to languish away, and in 1970, the firm closed its doors. Jean Delhaye, a former aide of Horta, saved the building from demolition, and by 16 October 1975, it was designated as a protected monument. Still, the building was in bad shape and victim to a lot of vandalism. In 1980, the architect Jean Breydel and the comics artists

François Schuiten François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series '' Les Cités Obscures''. Biography François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Sc ...

, Bob de Moor, Alain Baran, Guy Dessicy, and

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

, planned to restore the building and give it a new destination as a museum dedicated to the history of

. Originally, the museum would be a homage to Hergé, but he suggested honouring the entire Belgian comics industry. In 1983, Belgian Minister of Public Works, Louis Olivier, decided that the building would be bought by the Direction of Buildings, making it national property. In 1984, a fund was founded which brought together several

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

and Walloon comics artists. Two years later, the restorations began, with respect for the original architecture, while updating it to modern standards. The

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s were flown over from Italy and constructed by Italian mosaic workers, because the profession had become obsolete in Belgium. On 6 October 1989, the museum was inaugurated in the presence of

King Baudouin Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

and Queen Fabiola. In the Autumn of 2015, the museum started redecorating its permanent exhibition. File:Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée - 30.jpg, Exterior facade of the building File:Anciens magasins Waucquez - 07.jpg, Entrance staircase File:Anciens magasins Waucquez - 04.jpg, Art Nouveau lamppost File:Etage MBBD.jpg, Main skylight on the second floor File:Etage bis MBBD.jpg, Second floor

The museum

The ground floor of the museum holds a restaurant, a room dedicated to Victor Horta, a comics' store named "Slumberland" after ''

Little Nemo in Slumberland Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...

'', a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

with a reading room and a study centre. The first floor has an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, a room with original comic book pages by various artists and a room dedicated to animation, more specifically the Belgian animation industry, such as

Belvision Raymond Leblanc (born 22 May 1915 – 21 March 2008) was a Belgian comic book publisher, film director and film producer, best known for publishing works such as ''The Adventures of Tintin'' by Hergé and ''Blake and Mortimer'' by Edgar P. Jac ...

. The second floor has a permanent exhibition dedicated to the chronological history of the medium in Belgium called "The Museum of Imagination". The exhibit starts off with

and ends with

Peyo Pierre Culliford (; 25 June 1928 – 24 December 1992) was a Belgian comics writer and artist who worked under the pseudonym Peyo (). His best-known works are the comic book series ''The Smurfs'' and ''Johan and Peewit'', the latter in whi ...

, covering the pioneers of Belgian comics between 1929 and 1958 and with special focus on the magazines '' Spirou'' and ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

''. Each artist has a room dedicated to his work and designed in a playful way. The final floor is dedicated to the merchandising of comics and available for provisional exhibitions. File:Musée Hergé, Brussels 06.jpg, Entrance hall File:Bruxelles rue des Sables 20 1002.jpg, Library File:Publiart.jpg, Entrance to the PUBLIART space File:Musée Hergé, Brussels 04.jpg, Exhibition space

List of the exhibited comics artists

Four artists exhibited are Flemish:

Willy Vandersteen Willy Vandersteen (15 February 1913 – 28 August 1990) was a Belgian creator of comic books. In a career spanning 50 years, he created a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series, selling more than 200 million c ...

Marc Sleen Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...

, Bob de Moor and

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

. The rest are Walloon or from Brussels, except for Jacques Martin and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

who were born in France, but published in ''

''. *

- (''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comi ...

'', '' Quick and Flupke'', '' Jo, Zette and Jocko'') *

Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) a ...

- (''

Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (french: Spirou et Fantasio, wa, Spirou eyet Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European ...

'', ''

Jerry Spring ''Jerry Spring'' is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian comics creator developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as ...

'') * Edgar P. Jacobs - (''

Blake and Mortimer ''Blake and Mortimer'' is a Belgian comics series created by the writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first series to appear in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Tintin'' in 1946, and was subsequently published in boo ...

'') *

- (''

Suske en Wiske Suske (English: Willy, Luke, Bob, Spike) is one of the main characters in the popular Belgian comic strip ''Suske en Wiske'' by Willy Vandersteen. He is the boy of the duo. History When Willy Vandersteen created his first adventure story with t ...

'') *

- (''

The Adventures of Nero ''The Adventures of Nero'' or ''Nero'' was a Belgian comic strip drawn by Marc Sleen and the name of its main character. The original title ranged from ''De Avonturen van Detectief Van Zwam'' in 1947 to ''De Avonturen van Nero en zijn Hoed' ...

'') *

Maurice Tillieux Maurice Tillieux (7 August 1921 – 2 February 1978) was a Belgian writer and comic artist. He is regarded by many as a major figure of post-war Belgian comics. Early life Maurice Tillieux was born in Huy in 1921. At first he studied for the ...

- (''

Gil Jourdan Gil Jourdan is a Belgian detective comic strip created by Maurice Tillieux. It is a combination of mystery, adventure and humour. Origin and premise In 1956 the Belgian comic magazine '' Héroïc Albums'' ceased publication. ''Felix'', the adve ...

'') * Bob De Moor - (''

Cori, de Scheepsjongen ''Cori, de Scheepsjongen'' ("Cori, the cabin boy"/ "Cori Le Moussaillon" in French) was a Belgian comics series (1952–93) by Bob de Moor. It is a historical adventure strip set in the 16th century, drawn in a realistic style with much attentio ...

'') *

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

- (''

'', ''

Marsupilami ''Marsupilami'' is a comic book character and fictional animal species created by André Franquin. Its first appearance was in the 31 January 1952 issue of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. Since then it appeared regularly in th ...

'', ''

Gaston Lagaffe ''Gaston'' is a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. The series focuses on the everyday life of Gaston Lagaffe (whose surname means "the blund ...

'', '' Franquin's Last Laugh'') * Jacques Martin - ('' The Adventures of Alix'') *

- (''

Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western '' bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their ...

'') *

Paul Cuvelier Paul Cuvelier (22 November 1923 – 5 July 1978) was a Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series '' Corentin'', published by Le Lombard, which first appeared in the first issue of ''Tintin'' magazine. Biography Paul Cuvelier was born ...

- ('' Corentin'') *

Victor Hubinon Victor Hubinon (26 April 1924 – 8 January 1979) was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series ''Buck Danny'' and ''Redbeard''. Biography Victor Hubinon was born in Angleur, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Victor Hubino ...

- (''

Buck Danny ''Buck Danny'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving (depending on the plots) in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings ...

'') *

- (''

Chick Bill ''Chick Bill'' is a Belgian humorous Western comic book series created by Tibet. It was first published in 1953 in the magazine ''Chez Nous Junior'', and its Dutch language counterpart '' Ons Volkske'', and began serial publication on October 19, 1 ...

'', ''

Ric Hochet ''Ric Hochet'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series created by Tibet (drawings) and André-Paul Duchâteau (scripts). It first appeared on March 30, 1955, in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin''. Synopsis The series features the adventure ...

'') *

Raymond Macherot Raymond Macherot (30 March 1924 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian cartoonist. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé or André Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded a ...

- (''

Chlorophylle Chlorophylle was a Belgian comics series and Raymond Macherot's best known work, alongside '' Sibylline''. It is a fantasy comic about anthropomorphic forest animals, including the title character Chlorophylle, who is a dormouse. Description C ...

'', '' Sybilline'') *

Jean Roba Jean Roba (28 July 1930 – 14 June 2006) was a Belgian comics author from the Marcinelle school. His best-known work is '' Boule et Bill''. Biography Jean Roba was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Roba". In België gestript, ...

- (''

Boule et Bill ''Boule et Bill'' (known in English as ''Billy & Buddy'') is a popular comic, created in 1959 by Belgian writer-artist Jean Roba in collaboration with Maurice Rosy. In 2003, the artistic responsibility of the series was passed on to Roba's former a ...

'') *

- ('' Johan and Peewit'', ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...

'') File:Gaston Lagaffe monument. Boulevard Pachéco. Brussels.jpg, ''

'' File:Belgian Comic Strip Center + Lucky Luke.jpg, ''

'' and ''

Jolly Jumper Jolly Jumper is a horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series ''Lucky Luke'', created by Belgian artist Morris. Described as "the smartest horse in the west" and able to perform tasks such as chess-playing and tightrope walking, Jolly Ju ...

'' File:Musée Hergé, Brussels 10.jpg, ''

Marc Sleen Museum

Since 2009, directly across the Belgian comics museum, in the same street, another comics-themed museum can be found, the Marc Sleen Museum, dedicated to the work of Belgian comics artist

References

Notes

External links

* {{ACArt Museums in Brussels Art museums and galleries in Belgium Centre for Comic Strip Art Tintin Art museums established in 1989 Victor Horta buildings 1989 establishments in Belgium Cartooning museums Art Nouveau architecture in Brussels Art Nouveau retail buildings Art Nouveau museum buildings City of Brussels Comics-related organizations

History of the building

The museum

List of the exhibited comics artists

Marc Sleen Museum

See also

References

Notes

External links