Elsje aka Lizzy aka Elsa

A package from the Netherlands arrived just before the holidays. A set of the latest Elsje books by Hercules & Valkema! Really great gags and artwork. And a visual delight for fans of the Kelly and Franquin school.

As you can see there's now a promotional english Lizzy book and I have the pleasure to announce that beginning in 2014 Elsje (Elsa in Swedish) will be published by Egmont in Sweden as part of a comic book with various other strips.
Check out the Elsje website HERE!

And as a surprise gift there was an original Elsje daily in the package! Thanks Gerben!

For those of you who wants to get a closer look at the magnificent brushwork. Here are a few close ups. Enjoy!

Want to see more? Check out the brand new website that Gerben launced! http://www.gerbenvalkema.nl/

Happy New Year all! See you in 2014!

/Joakim.

Holland x 2

Got two packages from Holland a while ago.
Two packages filled with great stuff by two very talended artists: Gerben Valkema and Maarten Gerritsen!
I just want to share some images from these books to give you a glimpse of their artwork. I hope you enjoy these samples and by all means, if you like what you see, make sure to get these publications for your own collection. :)

First off is a new Elsje book by Eric Hercules and Gerben.
Now in Hardcover!

As usual it's filled with dailies ...

... and some neat full page illustrations.

And then Gerben's own character "Kik" gets the album treatment.

Gerben also sent me this: A sketchbook featuring previously unpublished stuff and sketches for published pieces. I believe that only 50 for these were printed? I'd be surprised if there are any left. If you're interested you should act fast.

For more on Gerben and the stuff he do follow him on Twitter by clicking HERE. Or check out the Elsje website by clicking HERE.

From Maarten I got a collection of Bruno de Bever that is just beautifully drawn. Check out the samples below.

And the second album in the package from Maarten shows that he knows his way around with the brush. Nice to see how easy it seems to be for him to change style from funny animals to drawing humans.

Maarten has also done a few Tom and Jerry stories for Egmont. And I hope there will be more, as I feel his style works really well with these characters. Here's a sample page from a recent issue.

Want to see more by Maarten? Check out his website by clicking HERE.

Want to see more by Dutch artists?
Here are a few links that will help you navigate the web for them:
Jorg de Vos
Henk Kuijpers
Michiel van de Vijver
Alex van Koten
Henrieke Goorhuis
Mars Gremmen
Studio Noodweer
Dutch Comics History
Dutch Comic Artists

And the list could go on, but it's back to the drawing board for me.
Gotta catch up with these guys...

Gaston and Elsje

Got some great stuff in the mail this week. I just have to share some snapshots and recommend these books, even though I can't read much french or dutch. (Well I struggle with it ... And dutch is easier to understand. At least for me. )

First out is a giant sized book on Gaston by Franquin. It contains a treasure trove of stuff, all reproduced from original art. Everything from comics to special illustrations and covers. This is a book that I will come back to for inspiration many, many times.

Then we have a smaller book with X-mas themed stories and illustrations by Franquin. Not a stunner as the Gaston book but still an attractive collection for Franquin fans.

You can get both of the above books here: http://www.franquin-collector.com/

Next we have two new Elsje books by Eric Hercules and Gerben Valkema! Again, my dutch is terrible but the strips I've managed to read are funny. :) And the strip seems to be a success in the Netherlands with lots of subscribing papers and several Elsje collections published. Anyway, if you are a fan of good artwork you should get the books even if you can't read them. :)

This is the fourth strip collection and the first collection of the full pages that has appeared in EPPO.

Sorry about the slightly blurred photos. Here are some strips taken from the Elsje website:

Click HERE for more and to visit the Elsje website.

/Joakim.

Great stuff!

Hedvig is on the town with a friend this afternoon, so I'm having a lazy saturday in my apartment. Listening to the radio and enjoying the latest packages from the US and Netherlands.

Got the "Giga-Havank" book I mentioned a while ago and it's just as stunning as I had expected. Besides lots of character studies etc it got the entire 44 page album in rough pencil form. And the colored album itself has been re-formatted so that the panels are large and close to the format they were originally drawn.
And I was happy to see this drawing when I opened the book!
Thanks Daan!

The same package also contained the latest Elsje book by Hercules and Valkema!
This is the third collection of this superbly crafted strip.
And, Oy!, there's a drawing in this book too! :)
Thanks Gerben!


And from the US came some other nice books.

Now, I'm off to the couch to relax and enjoy these for the rest of the afternoon. :)

Elsje & Havank

The rain is pouring down here in Sweden, so I spend the first day of my vacation indoors. Ho and hum. But there's stuff to be done, comics to be drawn and coffee to drink so I don't really mind.

Last week I got a nice package from the Netherlands that I just have to share with you. :)
It contained both the special edition of Hercules and Valkema's new Elsje book and Danier's new Havank!

The Elsje book contained some original artwork drawn on the title page! Thanks, Gerben!


And so did the Havank album! Thanks, Daan!


And to my surprise there was an original Elsje daily in the package!!!


Just so you can see the fine details in the inking here are close ups of the panels. Enjoy!

OENK!

There's a brand new Elsje album out now!
Click HERE or mail info@elsje.nl to get yourself a copy. :)


Edit: Here's small teaser for those of you not familar with Elsje, and for those of you who can't wait to get the book.
More on Elsje, including a few strips in English, can be found on this blog if you click HERE.

Bamses äventyr #21

The new issue of "Bamses äventyr" is in the stores now.
And it's got a cover by Gerben Valkema!
Gerben is mostly known for his covers to the Dutch Donald Duck weekly and the comic strip Elsje.
I'm happy that he agreed to take a break in his busy schedule to do this cover for us! :)

/Joakim.

New Elsje and Havank!

Before posting the final part of the Gottfredson article, here are some goodies that was sent to me from Holland last week. I just wanted to show them here since most of you who reads this are not living in Holland and might not have heard about/seen these publications. (Sorry about the bad quality of the photos. The camera doesn't like me. Either that or I'm a bad photograper who can't stand still while shooting... )

Gerben Valkema, the artist behind Elsje sent me this package that included the latest Elsje album and a nice print. (Limited to only 200 copies.) Even if you can't read dutch (I can't.) you should pick this up just because of the artwork and the coloring. I've mentioned what kind of coloring I don't like on this blog before but here's how it should be done. Colorists: buy this book and let it inspire you. :)



He also sent me the Havank teaser published earlier this year and a smaller book with sketches and layouts etc for the first Havank album.
The teaser is large, btw! I've included my iPod in the picture so that you can get an idea about the format. It's a pleasure to see Daniers artwork in this size.
Needless to say I'm looking forward to see the new Havank album! Aw, I'm looking forward to any new Danier/Jippes artwork. But I guess you all know that by now. :)