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'' from
Frans Piët 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
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comic ...
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 (
Drenthe) 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.
See also
*
Jack, Jacky and the Juniors
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