Johannes Andries “Jan” Kruis (; 8 June 1933 – 19 January 2017) was a Dutch comics artist best known for the family strip '' Jack, Jacky and the Juniors'' (''Jan, Jans en de Kinderen'').

Biography

He began creating comics as a child. Later he worked for the Dutch comics pioneer

Marten Toonder Marten Toonder (2 May 1912 – 27 July 2005) was a Dutch comic strip creator, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and had a great influence on the Dutch language by introducing new words and expr ...

. Kruis started his own comics career drawing ''Prins Freddie'' for the magazine ''De Havenloods'', but became famous thanks to his series of one-pagers called '' Jan, Jans en de Kinderen'' (" Jack, Jacky and the Juniors"). It first appeared in the woman's magazine ''Libelle'' on December 12, 1970. In German-speaking Switzerland it appeared in the magazine ''Spick'' which targeted children and teenagers; and in Germany ''Favorit'' published it for some time under the name "Ulli, Ulla und die Kinder". He also had a gag comic named ''Gregor'' running in ''

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, ...

'', between 1965 and 1966, which was later reprinted in ''

Pep Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep, the dog in ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Neilson Dairy confectionery brand * Pep, New Mexico * Pep, Texas * Pep Cereal, by Kellogg * Pep Comics, by MLJ ...

''. Kruis took over ''

Sjors en Sjimmie ''Sjors & Sjimmie'' (''George & Jimmy'') is a Dutch adaptation of the comic strip ''Winnie Winkle'', specifically the character Perry Winkle from that strip. The difference between the American original and the Dutch adaptation is that Sjors (Per ...

'' from

Frans Piët Frans Piët ( Haarlem, 17 February 1905 - 5 January 1997) was a Dutch comics artist, most famous as the original creator of the longest-running Dutch comics series of all time: '' Sjors & Sjimmie''. Biography He was born in 1905 as the son of a ...

in 1969 and modernized the characters, including a less stereotypical depiction of Sjimmie's black features. The series was later taken over by

Jan Steeman Jan Steeman (23 May 1933 – 24 January 2018) was a Dutch comics artist, best known for his association football comic ''Roel Dijkstra'' and ''Noortje'', a comic strip about a bumbling teenage girl published in ''Tina''. The latter runs for more t ...

. He was furthermore active as an illustrator of novels, magazines, advertisements and record covers. Kruis received the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

in 1996. Two years later he retired. Daughter

Andrea Kruis Andrea Kruis (born 22 October 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch comics artist. She attended the Minerva Art Academy in Groningen. She illustrated several children's books. Starting in 1991 she creates comics for weekly magazines. Her first book was p ...

has followed in her father's footsteps. In 2013 his career was celebrated in a one-off glossy-zine; this includes previously unpublished gags of a comic about an infant punk raised by a gay couple; hence the nickname "Jan, Jan en de Kinderen" ("Jack, Jack and the Juniors"). Jan Kruis died in his hometown

Mantinge Mantinge is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe. The village was first mentioned in 1335 as Mantinc, and means "settlement of the people of Mante (short for Manfred)". Mantinge was home ...

(

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

) at the age of 83. On 20 January 2017, a good friend of the family informed the press about his death on the previous day.

Sources

External links

* * https://www.lambiek.net/artists/k/kruis.htm * http://www.libelle.nl/lifestyle/interview-jan-kruis 1933 births 2017 deaths Dutch cartoonists Dutch comics artists Dutch humorists Dutch illustrators Dutch children's book illustrators Album-cover and concert-poster artists Advertising artists and illustrators Artists from Rotterdam Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Winners of the Stripschapsprijs {{Europe-comics-creator-stub

Biography

See also

Sources

External links