''Zilverpijl'' (

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

for 'Silver Arrow') is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series set in the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. The main character in the series is a Native American chief called , or Silver Arrow. The comic was created by Frank Sels and its artists include Edgard Gastmans and Karel Verschuere. The comic is called in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and 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 ...

. The title character of the series is the young Native American chief Silver Arrow, a wise and resourceful chief of the

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

. Other main characters are his blood brother Falcon, and Silver Arrow's sister, Moonbeam. Her pet, the puma cub Tinka also has an important role. Falcon is Silver Arrow's blood brother, because he has saved his life. In most translations Falcon is directly translated from the Flemish , in German his name is , in Norwegian , and in Swedish . However, in Finnish, became the

Finnish-American Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...

. The comic was very popular in Germany and the Nordic countries in the 1970s and 1980s. The comic was published in Finland for ten years from 1976 to 1985. Issues 3 through 24 in 1979 and 1 through 7 in 1980 also featured

Turok Turok is a fictional character who first appeared in American comic books published by Western Publishing through licensee Dell Comics. He first appeared in ''Four Color Comics'' #596 (October/November 1954). After a second ''Four Color'' appear ...

as a black-and-white supplement. The comic also included factual information about Native Americans and instructions for constructing Native American equipment. There was also a " Native American camp" at the Kullasvuori camping resort.

References

External links

The author at Lambiek.net
Western (genre) comics Drama comics Belgian comics titles 1976 comics debuts 1985 comics endings Comics characters introduced in 1976 Fictional Native American people in comics Fictional Kiowa people Belgian comic strips Male characters in comics {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub