Urbanus was a Flemish celebrity comic strip created by

Willy Linthout Willy Linthout (born 1 May 1953) is a Belgian comics author, best known for the ''Urbanus'' comics and his graphic novel '' Years of the Elephant''. Biography Willy Linthout was born in Eksaarde near Lokeren, Belgium in 1953. He was a mechanic ...

and loosely based on Flemish comedian and singer

Urbanus Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...

. The stories were written by Willy Linthout, Urbanus and Ann Smets,Te verschijnen - De avonturen van Urbanus 195: Neppergem
Stripspeciaalzaak.be and drawn by Linthout. The first story was published in 1982 and was such a success that ''Urbanus'' ran for more than 40 years, becoming the longest-running and most successful Flemish comic strip based on a celebrity. It is also the longest-running celebrity comic in the world made by the same writer/artist team. The series sells well in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

too, due to Urbanus' popularity there.

Background and concept

The strip originated from an idea by

. In 1982, Linthout imagined creating a comic strip about comedian

. Publisher Jef Meert was able to arrange a meeting at his house, in which he proposed the concept and showed Urbanus the drawings. Urbanus liked Linthout's idea and his drawings. ''Urbanus'' started as an experiment, but after the first album was released, Linthout was already working on the sequel. Linthout made the first two albums alone. The first album sold 50,000 copies right away. From December 16, 1982 until April 25, 1996 all albums were published by Uitgeverij Loempia, a publishing company created by Linthout and Jef Meert. Since 1996

Standaard Uitgeverij Standaard Uitgeverij is a Belgian publisher, and the leading publisher in the Dutch language market of Flanders. History In 1919, the Standaard group was created, mainly consisting of a chain of bookshops (Standaard Boekhandel), a newspaper (''De ...

does the publishing. Linthout and Urbanus explained how a comic book of ''Urbanus'' was made: Linthout came up with an idea, wrote the synopsis, and submitted it to Urbanus. Then, the two started writing together, and eventually Linthout drew the comic book. In the series Urbanus is portrayed as an eleven to twelve-year old version of himself, despite his full-grown beard. Just like the real Urbanus he lives in

Tollembeek Galmaarden (; french: Gammerages, ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Galmaarden proper, Tollembeek and Vollezele. It is also situated in the Pajottenland. On January 1, 2 ...

, but here end all similarities. Urbanus is portrayed as a bad young boy who frequently tries to trick the local villagers, his parents, his teacher, his fellow students and gets into trouble for it. The style of comedy is absurd,

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and often vulgar. All animals in this comic strip are able to talk. Pop culture references to TV shows, comics, cartoons, films and Urbanus' own merchandise are frequently made. The authors deliberately use Flemish dialect instead of standard Dutch and also deliberately keep the drawing style naïve and simple, inspired by the series of

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 ...

. The albums are usually long adventure stories, but some are one-page gags as well. On 26 October 2022, after 201 stories, the series was discontinued.

Characters

The main characters are: * Urbanus: A young ten to twelve-year-old boy. He frequently misbehaves and gets punished for it. * Cesar: Urbanus' father. He is a pigeon racer and farmer who spends most of his time with smoking pipe, drinking beer, reading his newspaper, watching TV and committing

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

with local prostitutes. * Eufrazie: Urbanus' pious mother. She is a housewife who devoutly believes in the Roman Catholic Church and spends most of her time with brushing off a Virgin Mary statue on her closet. * Nabuko Donosor: Nabuko Donosor is Urbanus' dog. He is completely yellow, wears

slipper Slippers are light footwear that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors. History The recorded history of slippers can be traced ...

s on his feet and the upper jaw of his head floats above the lower jaw. He is actually an alien lifeform, but treated like a dog by everyone else. * Amedee: Urbanus'

house fly The housefly (''Musca domestica'') is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic Era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly ...

. He is hyper intelligent and often understands situations or finds solutions to problems the others can't comprehend. * Annatol: Urbanus' goldfish. * Wieske: Urbanus' pig. * Nonkel Fillemon: The family's rich and elderly uncle. Urbanus' family is always waiting for him to pass away so they can inherit his massive fortune, but he always survives. * Jef Patat: A local poor and sleazy scoundrel who lives under a bridge. He is often active in criminal affairs and tries to trick everybody. Patat is more or less the

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

of the series, if Urbanus doesn't perform that part himself. * Meester Vladimir Kweepeer: The local sadistic but otherwise not very bright

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

. * Dikke Herman: An obese boy who wears glasses and has a large yellow quiff on his head. He is a frequent target of abuse by other characters, most notably Urbanus himself. * Het Negerken: A local black boy who is nicknamed "The Little Negro". His real name is Botswana. * Meneer Pastoor: The local Roman Catholic priest. He enjoys drinking

sacramental wine Sacramental wine, Communion wine, altar wine, or wine for consecration is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist (also referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, among other names). It is usually ...

and frequently neglects his oath of celibacy by visiting local prostitutes. * René and Modest: Two local police officers who enjoy beating up people. * Juffrouw Pussy: A young and attractive female teacher who is adored by everyone, especially Urbanus. * Stef, Staff & Stylo: A gang consisting of three thieves who are brothers of differing height. They are clearly inspired by The Daltons. * God: God is portrayed as an angry old man living up in Heaven. He is married and has two children. God is often agitated by Urbanus' behaviour on Earth.

Animated film

In 1992 a partial animated adaptation of the 18th "Urbanus" album "Het Lustige Kapoentje" was made in collaboration with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Urbanus voiced himself. It was released on video, but didn't have much success. Some animated shorts were made in 1999, based on the gag comics. They are made available on Urbanus' official site. In 2019 an animated feature film ''Urbanus de Vuilnisheld'' premiered in Flemish theaters.

Crossover

In 1997 Urbanus and Linthout made a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

comic strip named "Kiekebanus", in which characters from their series meet characters from

Merho Merho, born Robert Merhottein on 24 October 1948, is a Belgian comic-book writer and artist, best known for creating the comic strip ''De Kiekeboes''. Early life Robert Merhottein was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1948.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Mer ...

's series ''

De Kiekeboes ''De Kiekeboes'' is a comic strip series created by Belgian artist Merho in 1977. The series appears in Dutch. It is first published in the newspapers ''Gazet van Antwerpen'' and ''Het Belang van Limburg'' and then published as comic books by Stand ...

''. In another

album, "Bij Fanny op Schoot" (2005), Urbanus and his family were also guest stars.

In popular culture

On April 8, 2000 Urbanus, Amedee and Nabuko Donosor received their own statue in

. It was designed by Koen Tinel. Urbanus also received a statue in

Middelkerke Middelkerke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the villages of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-Kapell ...

on July 7, 2001. It was sculpted by Luc Cauwenberghs.

Sources

{{Reflist Belgian comic strips Belgian comics titles Comics characters introduced in 1982 1982 comics debuts 2022 comics endings Humor comics Satirical comics Fantasy comics School-themed comics Adventure comics Gag-a-day comics Child characters in comics Male characters in comics Metafictional comics Fictional tricksters Belgian comics characters Comics based on real people Fiction about God Black comedy comics Children's comics Teen comedy comics Surreal comedy Comic franchises Comics adapted into animated films Belgian comics adapted into films Comics critical of religion Works set in Flanders Comics set in Belgium Comics set in the 1980s Comics set in the 1990s Comics set in the 2000s Comics set in the 2010s Belgian satire