Wiske (English: Wanda, Suzy, Bobette, Lucy) is one of the main characters in the popular Belgian comic strip ''

Suske en Wiske ''Spike and Suzy'' (British title), ''Willy and Wanda'' (American title) or ''Luke and Lucy'' (in a 2009 film and video game) (, ) is a Belgian comics series created by the comic book creator, comics author Willy Vandersteen. It was first publis ...

'' 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 ...

. She is the girl of the duo. Together with

Lambik Lambik is a Flemish comic book character from the Belgian comic strip series ''Spike and Suzy'' by Willy Vandersteen. In the English translations he is known as ''Orville'' or ''Ambrose''. Lambik is the breakout character of the franchise and one ...

she is one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

History

Wiske made her debut in the very first ''Suske and Wiske'' story "Rikki en Wiske in Chocowakije" (1945) ("Rikki and Wiske in Chocowakije"). Her companion in this story is her older and stronger brother Rikki, who was written out of the series at the start of the next story "Het Eiland Amoras" (1945-1946) ("The Isle of Amoras"). When Wiske travelled to the isle of Amoras along with

Tante Sidonia Tante Sidonia is a Flemish comics character from the Belgian comics series ''Suske en Wiske''. In the franchise she is the aunt of Wiske and the adoptive aunt of Suske, of whom she both takes care. In the original Flemish publications her name wa ...

and Professor Barabas she met Suske there, who took Rikki's place as her male companion. Wiske is adopted by her aunt,

. It is never directly implied, but just like Suske she is likely an orphan, as her parents are never seen around. Vandersteen named Wiske after the Flemish opera singer Wiske Ghijs.Van Hooydonck, Peter, "50 Jaar Suske en Wiske", Standaard Uitgeverij, 1995. Her real name is "Louisa", but this is hardly used in the series. The nickname "Wiske" is a Flemish diminutive form of "Louisa".

Character

Contrary to Suske Wiske is more flawed as a person. She is stubborn, prone to anger and jealousy, too curious for her own good and can be vain, disobedient, lazy and impulsive. However, she still has a heart of gold. Her impulsiveness and curiosity often bring her and others in trouble. This also explains why more stories center around her than the good-natured Suske. Just like

Wiske is one of the most popular characters in the franchise because readers can relate to her human personality flaws more.

Relation with Suske

Suske and Wiske are best friends, despite quarreling once in a while. One of the recurring storylines is Wiske's

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...

whenever Suske receives attention from other young, attractive females.

Schanulleke

Wiske has a little doll, Schanulleke, whom she carries along with her wherever she goes. She adores her doll so much that she is heartbroken whenever it is lost or someone threatens to destroy it.

Wiske's story-concluding wink

Wiske traditionally concludes every story by winking at the audience, which has become a trademark of the franchise.

In spin-offs

Suske plays the central role in the spin-off series ''Amoras''. The first volume is named after him. He is also the central character in the junior version ''Klein Suske en Wiske'' ("Little Suske and Wiske").

In popular culture

Both she and Suske have their own statue in the

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo () is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. History Since its ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. It was sculpted by René Rosseel in 1978. They also have 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-K ...

, sculpted by Monique Mol in 2002. On June 15, 1995 an illustrated wall was dedicated to Suske and Wiske in the Laekenstraat in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. Suske and Wiske are also part of an illustrated wall in the Korte Ridderstraat 8 in Antwerp, which was revealed on May 13, 2006. On April 24, 2009 a similar wall was revealed in

Kalmthout Kalmthout () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Kalmthout, Achterbroek, Heide, Kalmthout, Heide, and Nieuwmoer. In 2021, Kalmthou ...

. In the 1975-1976 Dutch TV puppet series ''Suske en Wiske'' Wiske's voice was done by Helen Huisman. In the 1994 musical "De Stralende Sterren" Hilde Vanhulle played the part of Wiske. In the 2002, musical "De Spokenjagers" Wiske was played by Femke Stoop. Liesbeth De Wolf played Wiske in the 2008 musical "De Circusbaron". In the 2004 live-action film ' Céline Verbeeck played Wiske. In the 2009 3-D animated feature film '' Luke and Lucy: The Texas Rangers'' Evelien Verhegge played Lucy (Wiske).

Sources

{{Spike and Suzy Spike and Suzy Comics characters introduced in 1945 Female characters in comics Fictional adoptees Orphan characters in comics