Dick Matena (born 24 April 1943) is a Dutch comics writer and cartoonist. He has also published under the pseudonyms A. den Dooier, John Kelly and Dick Richards. He has made several kinds of comics, from humor comics to

erotic comics Erotic comics are adult comics which focus substantially on nudity and sexual activity, either for their own sake or as a major story element. As such they are usually not permitted to be sold to legal minors. Like other genres of comics, they c ...

, but is best known for his comic book adaptations of famous literary novels.

Biography

Toonder studios

In 1960, at the age of 17, Matena started working as a volunteer at the Toonder studios. He helped with the drawing projects of Tom Poes (1962–1963) and

Panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...

(1961–1968). In 1968 his first own comic appeared in the comic magazine ''

Pep Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep, the dog in ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Neilson Dairy confectionery brand * Pep, New Mexico * Pep, Texas * Pep Cereal, by Kellogg * Pep Comics, b ...

''.

Freelance period

In 1964 Matena started working as a freelancer, in the beginning mainly for the Toonder studios. He drew his own comic ''Polletje Pluim''. For ''Pep'' he drew ''De Argonautjes'' (1968–1973) and ''Ridder Roodhart'' (1969–1971). He wrote scenarios for the ''Macaroni's'' (1971–1975) and ''Blook'' (1972–1973). He later worked for the cartoon magazine ''Eppo'', and wrote four scenarios for the comic

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

(1978–1980). Under the pseudonym ''Dick Richards'' he wrote eight scenarios for the comic De Partners (1976–1984), drawn by Carry Brugman. In 1977 Matena changed his drawing style and created his first realistic comic, '' Virl''.

Foreign period

From 1982 until 1984 he lived in

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and worked for Selecciones Ilustradas. For the comic magazine ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'', he created two starship stories. After his move to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

he created the comics ''De laatste dagen van Edgar Allan Poe'', ''Gauguin en Van Gogh'' and ''Mozart & Casanova''.

Spin-off Storm and Beyond

With stories by Martin Lodewijk, Matena drew three spin-off comics of

. The series of these Storm albums are called ''Kronieken van de Tussentijd''. He used his pseudonym John Kelly at first; the last comic is published under his own name. In 1997 he started again with the comic Tom Poes. Two stories were published in the Dutch version of the magazine ''

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin, white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shi ...

''.

Comics of Dutch literature

Matena draws comics of classical Dutch literary books. In 2003 he won the Bronzen Adhemar award. He was the first non-Flemish comics artist to receive this honor.

Awards

Stripschapsprijs 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 complete comic work 1986 * Bronzen Adhemar for his comic work of the book ''De Avonden'' 2003

Bibliography

De Argonautjes (with Lo Hartog van Banda)

: 1 – Het orakel van Delphi (1970) : 2 – Het eerste avontuur van de Argonautjes (1976) : 3 – De Olympische vlam / Het Labyrinth (1978) : 4 – Het zwaard van Damocles (1978) : 5 – De strijd om de ronde tafel / De kwelling van Tantalus (1979) : 6 – De held van Sparta (1980)

Storm (with Don Lawrence)

The Chronicles of the Deep World : 3 – The People of the Desert (''Het Volk van de Woestijn'') (1979) : 4 – The Green Hell (''De Groene Hel'') (1980) : 5 – The Battle for Earth (''De Strijd om de Aarde'') (1980) : 6 – The Secret of the Nitron Rays (''Het Geheim van de Nitronstralen'') (1981) Chronicles of Meanwhile : 1 – The Voyager Virus (''Het Voyager Virus'') (1996) : 2 – The Dallas Paradox (''De Dallas Paradox'') (1997) : 3 – The Stargorger (''De Sterrenvreter'') (1998) : 4 – Klein Space (''De Ruimte van Klein'') (unfinished and unpublished)

Starship (''Sterrenschip'')

: 1 – De jacht op het wezekind (1987) : 2 – De verlosser (1988)

Virl

: 1 – Exile to Cion (''Verbanning naar Cion'') (1979) : 2 – Quest for Terra (''Speurtocht naar Terra'') (1981) : 3 – Het asiel (2014)

Alias Ego

: 1 – Vlucht uit de richel (1993) : 2 – De valse goden (1995)

The evenings (''De Avonden'') (Gerard Reve)

: Part 1 (2003) : Part 2 (2003) : Part 3 (2004) : Part 4 (2004)

Crew Cut (''Kort Amerikaans'') (Jan Wolkers)

: Part 1 (2006) : Part 2 (2007)

One Shots

: ''De Prediker'' (1984) : ''Little Crumb'' (based on '' Kruimeltje'' by

Chris van Abkoude Chris van Abkoude (6 November 1880, Rotterdam – 2 January 1960, Portland, Oregon) was a Dutch writer and novelist of mostly children's books. He wrote the '' series of Pietje Bell novels'' from 1914 to 1936 and many books in between. He moved t ...

) (1988) : ''Pietje Bell'' (based on '' Pietje Bell'' by

) : ''Dik Trom'' (based on ''

Dik Trom ''Dik Trom'' is a series of Dutch children's books by Cornelis Johannes Kieviet, centered on the character Dik Trom (a mischievous oversized Dutch boy). The series is well regarded as a classic in its home country. Books * 1891 ''Uit het leven ...

'' by Cornelis Johannes Kieviet) : ''Afke's Tiental'' (based on '' Afke's Tiental'' by Nienke van Hichtum) : ''The last days of E.A. Poe'' (''De laatste dagen van E.A. Poe'') (1988) : ''

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetism, Synthetist style that were d ...

and

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

'' (''Gauguin en van Gogh'') (1990) : ''

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and liter ...

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fi ...

'' (1992) : ''Het Hanzevirus'' : ''

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

'' : ''

Judge Dee Judge Dee, or Judge Di, is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie, county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. The character appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detective and ''gong'an'' crime novel '' Di Gong ...

'' (based on ''Rechter Tie'' by

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

) (2001) : ''A Christmas Carol'' (based on '' A Christmas Carol'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

) (2004) : ''Cheese'' (based on ''Kaas'' by

Willem Elsschot Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder (7 May 1882 – 31 May 1960), was a Belgian writer and poet who wrote under the pseudonym Willem Elsschot (). One of the most prominent Flemish authors, his most famous work, ''Cheese'' (1933) is the most translated ...

) (2008) : ''Will o' the Wisp'' (based on ''Het dwaallicht'' by

) (2008) : ''The Comedian'' (based on ''De Komiek'', a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

show by

Freek de Jonge Frederik "Freek" Jan Georg de Jonge (born 30 August 1944) is a Dutch cabaret performer and writer. Biography Early life and career De Jonge was born in Westernieland as son of a pastor. His family moved to Workum, and later to Zaandam and ...

(2009) : ''Kees The Boy'' (based on ''

Kees de Jongen Kees or KEES may refer to: * Kees (given name) * Kees (surname) * KEES Kees or KEES may refer to: * Kees (given name) * Kees (surname) * KEES, an American AM radio station licensed to Gladewater, Texas See also * Cees (disambiguation) Cees () i ...

'' by

Theo Thijssen Theodorus Johannes Thijssen (Amsterdam, 16 June 1879 – Amsterdam, 23 December 1943) was a Dutch writer, teacher and socialist politician. He is best known for the book ''Kees de Jongen''. Biography Theo Thijssen, the oldest child out of six, ...

) (2011) : ''The Boy With The Knife'' (based on ''De Jongen Met Het Mes'' by

Remco Campert Remco Campert (28 July 1929 – 4 July 2022) was a Dutch author, poet and columnist. Early years Remco Wouter Campert was born in The Hague, son of writer and poet Jan Campert, author of the poem ''De achttien dooden'', and actress Joekie Broe ...

) (2012) : ''Turkish Delight'' (based on '' Turks Fruit'' by

Jan Wolkers Jan Hendrik Wolkers (26 October 1925 – 19 October 2007) was a Dutch author, sculptor and painter. Wolkers is considered by some to be one of the "Great Four" writers of post-World War II Dutch literature, alongside Willem Frederik Hermans, Ha ...

(2016)

References

De Eppo-index
* Rob van Eyck (1979). Matena, Dick (ps. A. den Dooier, Dick Richard). In: ''Wordt Vervolgd: Striplexicon der Lage Landen'' (Evelien en Kees Kousemaker, eds.). Het Spectrum, Utrecht. * Rob van Eyck (1987). Matena Dick. In: ''Kunst en Grafische Vernieuwing in het Europees Beeldverhaal''. De Buck, Brussel. {{DEFAULTSORT:Matena, Dick 1943 births Living people Dutch cartoonists Dutch comics artists Dutch comics writers Dutch illustrators Dutch painters Dutch erotic artists Artists from The Hague Marten Toonder Winners of the Stripschapsprijs