De Geuzen ("The

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

") was a Belgian comics series, drawn by

Willy Vandersteen Willebrord Jan Frans Maria "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, sel ...

from 1985 until his death in 1990. It was his final project before he died.

Setting

''De Geuzen'' is set in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in the 16th century and follows the adventures of Hannes, a young brave man, and his friends Nele and Tamme, who fight the Spanish oppressors on the side of the

. Similar in theme to the thirty years older ''Tijl Uilenspiegel'', the comic combined many of Vandersteen's passions, including the art of

Pieter Brueghel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...

and the novel ''

The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak ''The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak'' (, "The Legend and the Heroic, Joyous and Glorious Adventures of Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak in the land of Flanders and elsewhere") is an 1867 in literature, 1867 French-language novel by ...

'' by

Charles de Coster Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster (20 August 1827 – 7 May 1879) was a Belgian novelist whose efforts laid the basis for a native Belgian literature. Early life and education He was born in Munich; his father, Augustin De Coster, was a n ...

. The characters are very similar to the protagonists of De Coster's novel. At the end of every album a graphic drawing of Breughel was reproduced, most of his ''Seven Sins'' and ''Seven Virtues'' series. Vandersteen originally made a synopsis for the series in 1972, but apart from ten preliminary sketches the concept didn't go anywhere. Instead he drew the series "

Robert en Bertrand Robert en Bertrand ("Robert and Bertrand") is a Flemish comic strip series set during the 19th century, in the Low Countries and France. The comic series was created by cartoonist Willy Vandersteen, known for the ''Suske en Wiske'' (''Spike and S ...

". In 1985 he passed this series on to his assistants and finally made work of "De Geuzen". Originally the tone was more comedic, including anachronistic jokes and references, such as the villains Johan Rattenbol, "aka J.R." and Alexis Kollebie. From the third album on the stories and artwork became more realistic and serious. Overall the series was also notably more adult in its subject matter, compared to Vandersteen's older family friendly series. The comics were not prepublished and were mostly created by Vandersteen alone, though he did receive some minor assistance of Eric de Rop, Eugeen Goossens and Rita Bernaers. The lack of deadlines ensured the quality but also decreased the publication rhythm. Only ten albums were published and Vandersteen made it clear in his testament that nobody else was allowed to continue the series after his death.

Characters

* Hannes: A young, strong, handsome and brave

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

. He is very similar to

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...

. * Veerle: A farmer's daughter who is Hannes' girlfriend. She is similar to Nele, Till Eulenspiegel's girlfriend in ''

''. * Carolus and Boelkin: Veerle's parents, who are both farmers. They are obviously inspired by Claes and Soetkin, the parents of Thyl Eulenspiegel in ''

''. * Tamme: A servant of Carolus and friend of Hannes who adores eating and drinking. He is obviously inspired by

Lamme Goedzak Lamme Goedzak is a character in Charles De Coster's novel ''The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak'' (1867). He is the best friend of Thyl Ulenspiegel. While Ulenspiegel himself is derived from Dutch-German-Flemish folklore Lamme Goedza ...

. * Witte Weerlicht: Veerle's white horse. * Dostranamus: A bearded

alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

and magician, whose name is a pun on

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...

. * Alwina: Dostranamus' female servant. * Maldor: A

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

and scientist.

Albums

# "De zeven jagers" (1985) # "De ekster op de galg" (1986) # "Flodderbes, de heks" (1986) # "De rattenvanger" (1987) # "Soetkin, de waanzinnige" (1987) # "Onheil boven Damme" (1988) # "Strijd om slot Loevestein" (1989) # "Verraad in Duindijke" (1989) # "De nacht van de satanszoon" (1989) # "De wildeman van Gaasbeek" (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geuzen, De Belgian comic strips Belgian comics titles 1985 comics debuts 1990 comics endings Comics set in the 16th century Works set in Flanders Humor comics Drama comics Adventure comics Historical comics Comics characters introduced in 1985 Belgian comics characters Fictional characters from Flanders Fiction set in the 1560s Fiction set in the 1570s Fiction set in the 1580s Comics by Willy Vandersteen Comics set in Belgium Comics set in the Netherlands Comics set in forests Works about rebels Works about rebellions Works about the Eighty Years' War Fiction about rebellions

Setting

Characters

Albums

See also

References