Paul Geerts (complete name Paulus Josephus Coleta Geerts) (born 16 May 1937) is a Flemish

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

artist who succeeded

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 co ...

as the main artist of the

Spike and Suzy ''Spike and Suzy'' (British title), ''Willy and Wanda'' (American title) or ''Luke and Lucy'' (in a 2009 film and video game) (Dutch: ''Suske en Wiske'', french: link=no, Bob et Bobette) is a Belgian comics series created by the comics author Wil ...

series.

Biography

Born in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

, his parents moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

a few years after his birth, looking for employment. He was taught drawing by his father and as a child entered the

youth organisation The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. 0 ...

Chiro Flanders Chiro Flanders ( nl, Chirojeugd Vlaanderen) or simply Chiro, is a Belgium, Belgian Youth movement in Flanders, youth organisation, founded on Christianity, Christian values, active in Flanders, Brussels and Eupen-Malmedy. With more than 100,000 m ...

. He later joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After three and a half years of drawing lessons, he made the transition to the painting class. However, his father could not afford the painting materials. Geerts decided to quit the academy and to apply for a job with the experience he had.Vaessen (2005) At the age of sixteen Geerts went into

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

, after which he found various jobs. He drew the comic strips ''De Chirowietjes'' and ''De melkweglopers'', which appeared in a number of Chiro magazines in the mid-1960s. Halfway through 1967 he decided without an appointment, with a self-drawn comic strip, to visit

in order to possibly get his dream job here. Vandersteen agreed and hired him, and Geerts started working in Studio Vandersteen in early 1968, a drawing team of 26 people at the time.

Spike and Suzy

In 1971, after working in the drawing team for three years, Paul Geerts decided he would write his own comic strip for the German weekly

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. Vandersteen, who had heard of his future plans, asked him if he would like to take over Spike and Suzy from him later on. Geerts agreed, and in 1972 he wrote his first screenplay for a Spike and Suzy story, '' De gekke gokker''. He was the main artist of Spike and Suzy from 1971 until 2002.

References

Bibliography

*Vaessen, Theo "Paul Geerts: Dertig jaar peetvader van Suske en Wiske", Standaard Uitgeverij, Uitgeverij Van Holleema en Warendorf, (2005) (in Flanders), (in the Netherlands).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geerts, Paul 1937 births Living people People from Turnhout Belgian comics artists Belgian comics writers Spike and Suzy