Portret van striptekenaar Theo van den Boogaard, 2011

Theo van den Boogaard (born 25 March 1948, Castricum, Netherlands) – also known as Theo Bogart – is a Dutch cartoonist. He first came to attention as an underground cartoonist in the early 1970s for the sexually explicit comics series ''Ans en Hans krijgen de kans (Ans and Hans Get the Chance''). He is best known for co-creating ''Sjef van Oekel'', a long-running comic strip based on the TV character, written by

Wim T. Schippers Willem Theodoor "Wim T." Schippers (; born 1 July 1942) is a Dutch artist, comedian, television director, and voice actor. During the 1960s, he worked mostly as a visual artist, associated with the international Fluxus-movement. As a television w ...

. He received the 1989

Stripschapprijs The Stripschapprijs is a Dutch prize awarded to comic creators for their entire body of work. It is awarded annually by the ''Stripschap'', the Dutch Society of comics fans, since 1974. The prize is non-pecuniary, but is considered the most import ...

for his body of work.

Biography

Early life

Theo van den Boogaard was born in 1948 in Castricum, in the Netherlands province of North Holland. As a child, he was interested in drawing and singing. At the age of 15, he published his first comic ''Mark, Boter bij de Vis'' (''Mark, Butter with the Fish'') At the age of 17, he began drawing for ''Hitweek'' magazine and moved to Amsterdam after graduation to begin his career. Amsterdam would later have great influence on his work, with the city being known for its "free-spirited" feel and openness to sexuality and culture.

Career

In 1967 he made the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

series ''Witje and Gertje'' for ''Hitweek'', which was continued from 1968 to 1969 in ''Aloha''. This work has been recognized as the first Dutch underground comic, but it faced criticism due to featuring a naked woman. For ''Studio'', he drew the ''Pinocchio'' strip (1968). In 1969 he started in ''Aloha'' (and soon after in '' Chick'') the series ''Ans en Hans krijgen de kans (Ans and Hans Get the Chance''), which was noteworthy for its liberal treatment of sexuality, and gave him recognition by Andreas Knigger, a comics critic who described Boogaard as "the greatest European underground comics artist". The comic was published in 1972 as an album by

De Bezige Bij De Bezige Bij ("the busy bee") is one of the most important literary publishing companies in the Netherlands. History The company was founded illegally in 1943, during the German occupation of the Netherlands by ; its first publication was a poe ...

. For ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...

'' he drew the comic ''Abe, een hotshot van een voetballerina'' (''Abe, a Hotshot of a Footballer)'' (1972), written by journalist Nico Scheepmaker. Beginning in 1976, van den Boogaard drew ''Sjef van Oekel,'' a comic about the experiences of the well-known and controversial television character. The series was popular, and

Dolf Brouwers Dolf Brouwers (31 August 1912 – 23 September 1997) was a Dutch comedian, singer, and television actor who rose to fame late in life playing the character Sjef van Oekel in the 1970s satirical television shows aired on VPRO, written and directed ...

, who played the character on TV, came to object to the fact that he received no compensation for his likeness being used, and for the sexual content of the series, and in 1989 he sued. In 1991 a judge ruled the character should not be portrayed in "obscene or pornographic scenes". Schippers and Bouwers eventually settled on the financial compensation. Van den Boogaard made the album ''Joost mag het weten (Joost May Know''), a collection with short humorous erotically-tinted stories about homosexuality, bestiality, and pedophilia. Between 1980 and 1984, Boogaard was published in the American comics series ''

Gay Comix ''Gay Comix'' (later ''Gay Comics'') is an underground comics series published from 1980–1998 featuring cartoons by and for gay men and lesbians. The comic books had the tagline “Lesbians and Gay Men Put It On Paper!” Much of the early c ...

''. He drew an untitled comic in issue #1, "My Most Embarrassing Childhood Experience" in issue #3, and the back cover of issue #5. In 2003, he published ''Theo van den Boogaard signs death''. In 2005 he created ''Iron Lines'', followed by ''The art of following, about receiving guidance.'' In 2013, he began to focus on his childhood dream of singing and drawing, and created a Bob Dylan piece that he plays on a screen while he performs Bob Dylan hits on stage. In 2016, he published ''Four Winters In a Row'', a set of illustrations paired with a song of his, about a man struggling to find happiness.

Personal life

Van den Boogaard is openly gay, and has incorporated related themes into his work. As of 2016, he has undergone chemotherapy treatment, but the type of cancer has not been disclosed. He has spoken of his struggles to keep drawing while undergoing chemotherapy, and discussed his fight for happiness in his ''Four Winters In a Row''.

Published works

* 1964 Mark, butter with the fish * 1967–68 Witje and Gertje * 1968 Pinocchio Comic Series * 1969 Ans and Hans K Get De Kans * 1970 Book issue Ans and Hans get the chance. * 1972 Jan Alleman can do something about it * 1973 Abe, hot story of a football player * 1976 Van Oekel in the bend. * 1979 The Ideograaf * 1980 Ans and Hans get the chance * 1980 Untitled Comic in Gay Comix #1 * 1982 Sjef van Oekel comic continues * 1982 My Most Embarrassing Childhood Experience in Gay Comix #3 * 1983 Sjef van Oekel is looking for something higher * 1985 Sjef van Oekel is drifting * 1987 Sjef van Oekel bites himself * 1989 Bird's eye view of Theo van den Boogaard. * 1990 Joost Knows It * 1990 Sjef van Oekel breaks through * 1992 Language and Sign by Theo van den Boogaard * 1992 Theo van den Boogaard, the 60s / 70s * 1994 Sjef van Oekel hits back * 1999 Sjef van Oekel unveils * 2003 Theo van den Boogaard signs death * 2005 Iron Lines by Theo van den Boogaard * 2005 The art of following, about receiving guidance * 2006 Series "Kenschetsen" * 2010 I'm not getting well: A Sjef van Oekel omnibus * 2010 Strokes of a serial draftsman * 2011 Will it still be fun ...: A Sjef van Oekel omnibus * 2011 Het Amsterdam van Theo van den Boogaard * 2013 Bob Dylan Illustrated *2016 Four Winters In a Row

Honors and awards

In 1989 Boogaard received the Nederlandse Stripschapprijs for his works.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boogaard, Theo van den 1948 births Living people Dutch cartoonists Dutch comics artists Dutch illustrators Dutch erotic artists Dutch satirists Dutch humorists Underground cartoonists People from Castricum Wim T. Schippers Dutch LGBT artists LGBT comics creators Gay artists Winners of the Stripschapsprijs