Spike and Suzy (British title),Willy and Wanda (American title) orLuke and Lucy (in a 2009 film and video game) (Dutch:Suske en Wiske,French:Bob et Bobette) is a Belgiancomics series created by thecomics authorWilly Vandersteen.
It was first published inDe Nieuwe Standaard in 1945 and soon became popular. Although not in its earliest form, the strip soon adapted theLigne claire style, pioneered byHergé. This change took place when the strip became serialised in Hergé's magazineTintin from 1948 to 1959.
The books revolve around the adventures of the eponymousSpike andSuzy, two children (pre-adolescent or adolescent depending on the album), along with their friends and family. The stories combine elements ofcomedy,fantasy, andscience fiction, such as talking animals, time travel and ghosts. The strip still runs daily in the Belgian newspaperDe Standaard, and new books continue to be published; as of May 2020, 382 albums have been published.
The main characters are a group of friends, living familywise though the only blood-relation is Sidonia being an aunt of Suzy. In the first regular comic, Suzy and her aunt Sidonia meet the orphan Spike and unrelated Professor Barabas. In the next albumDe Sprietatoom, they also meetAmbrose. Later, inDe dolle musketiers (book #18, 1953),Jerom (called Jethro in the UK version), the "strongest man in the western hemisphere", was introduced.[1] Apart from Suzy and Aunt Sidonia, none of them are related, and other family is only introduced occasionally to drive a particular story.
Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy)
Spike: originallySuske (Flemishdiminutive of François/Franciscus), also known asWilly orBob (in French), is a young orphan who becomes friends with Suzy and Aunt Sidonia. This happens only in the second album,Het Eiland Amoras from 1946, which would become the first in the regular series. For the first album, the publisher had pushed Vandersteen to go with the name and character "Rikki", but the author soon worked around this and found a way to introduce "Suske", in part because he thought Rikki resembledTintin too much.
Spike has black hair with a small trademark spike. He started out as a hyperactive and headlong fighter, not unlike many a young male adolescent in the "Seefhoek", theAntwerp neighbourhood where Vandersteen grew up. Only in the first album, Spike would get totally out of control when he heard the battle cry "Seefhoek vooruit!" ("Seefhoek Forward!"), replaced by "Antigoon vooruit" in later reprints. But as soon as his outfit evolved from mere duds towards a more tidy red polo shirt and black trousers, he became a well-behaved and obedient boy. He is smart, brave, idealistic and mostly rational, making him an emotional opposite to Suzy. Where she gets in trouble with Sidonia or Ambrose, he acts as go-between to restore peace.
Louisa Ghijs was Vandersteen's inspiration for the name Wiske.[2]
Suzy: originallyWiske (Flemishdiminutive of Louise/Louisa), also known asWanda orBobette (in French), is the young heroine. She first appeared in the very first out-of-series prequelRikki en Wiske in Chocowakije from 1945, where she has an older brother Rikki, but he disappears after that story to be replaced by Spike.
Suzy lives together with him and her aunt Sidonia, and is typically (certainly in the older stories) dressed in a white dress with a red stripe just above the hem, and a red ribbon in her fair hair. In the first stories, she looks like a preschooler of about 6 years old, but soon afterwards she evolves into a young teenager of about 12-13. Vandersteen seems to have modelled her after his oldest daughter Leen, of similar age at the time.[3]
She is strong-headed, impulsive, curious and slightly foolish. Aspects of her character that come naturally with a young teenager who enters puberty, and a great plot device since her repeated stubbornness and disobedience is the source of many an adventure. Since her emotions and human shortcomings often overpower her rationality, she is sensitive to paranormal and mystical happenings that are routinely dismissed by the others. Her relationship with Spike (both are considered orphans) is mostly one between siblings, although at times it looks like there are more feelings under the surface, as she can get quite jealous and querulous when Spike gets female attention. Suzy is also a brave girl, especially when it comes to defending her doll Muffin, for whom she shows unconditional motherly love. Despite her difficult character at times, she appears contrite and righteous. She carries her heart in the right place and won't hesitate to battle injustice. Suzy ends most of the albums by winking to the reader from within the very last panel.
Main characters on a mural in Brussels: from top to bottom Suzy holding Muffin, Spike, Aunt Sidonia, Ambrose and Jethro, lifted up byManneken Pis
Muffin, originallySchalulleke, later renamed toSchanulleke (sometimesSchabolleke), also known asMolly orSawdust, is Suzy's doll. A small female figure, she is inanimate. She has a major role in a few stories when she gets stolen (album 6, "Prinses Zagemeel"), brought to life, or is turned into a mindless giant.
Aunt Sidonia, originally calledtante Sidonie, later renamed totante Sidonia, and also once known asAgatha, appears as Suzy's aunt, right from the first album. Sidonia was Vandersteen's way of providing a caring authority figure for Spike and Suzy without introducing actual parents, who would constrain their adventurous tendencies too much.
Sidonia is portrayed as a (1950s) housewife (cooking and cleaning, doing the dishes, complaining when Spike and Suzy don’t show proper respect for her household work). Nevertheless she also often joins the heroes on their adventures, and occasionally shows unexpected qualities as pilot of the Gyronef.
Long and extremely thin with gigantic feet (routinely referred to as "ferries"), with a large protruding chin and fair hair, she’s hardly blessed with physical beauty. As such, her looks are often the target of offensive remarks, in particular by a less than subtle Ambrose. On the other hand, her thinness enables her to pull off tricks like hiding herself in a split second from the bad guys behind nearby streetlights and telephone poles.
Sidonia is also known for her hysterical nervous breakdowns, where she can often no longer utter words while her body ends up as stiff as a wooden plank, and for her(unrequited) crush on Ambrose.
Professor Barabas, is a long-time friend of Suzy and Aunt Sidonia, first met inHet Eiland Amoras (An Island called Hoboken). He starts off as a jungle explorer with atopee, but later becomes the archetypical comics professor: glasses, awhite laboratory coat, often absent-minded because he is thinking deeply about some scientific question. Although he is not amad scientist, and entirely benevolent, his inventions regularly cause trouble when they end up in the wrong hands. This happens more than once because of his lack of streetwiseness in dealing with criminals. His main inventions are the Teletime machine (which enables them to travel through time and space), the Gyronef (a helicopter well ahead of its time), the Terranef (a subterranean vehicle), and the Klankentapper, which enables one to talk with plants and inanimate objects. Contrary to most other main characters, he does not appear in all comics.
Ambrose, originally calledLambik and once known asOrville, is a bald man (apart from six hairs, three on either side) of about fifty. The originalFlemish name was inspired by aBelgian beerLambic that is brewed in the Belgian region ofPajottenland, where Vandersteen lived for a short time. He is first encountered in album 3,The Zincshrinker, as a rather stupid plumber, although Vandersteen already created the standalone personage the year before (1945) as "Pukkel" ("pimple" in English).
In the beginning, Ambrose was presented as a typical working class member: rough and rather simple and uneducated. Prone to alcoholism and other scourges, he also had a somewhat tragic side. This largely came to an end when Vandersteen started to work forHergé, who didn't like the folksy component. In particular in the period ofThe Blue Series, Ambrose suddenly becomes sophisticated, bright and brave, even aristocratic (for example he teachesfencing) and is arguably truly the main character of the story in those albums. Later, the personage gets its definitive outfit (black trousers, white starched shirt and a black bow tie) and settles as a middle class part-time father figure for Spike and Suzy, who lives together with Jethro.
Ambrose is intended as the comic relief of the series. His baldness and pronounced nose inspire ridicule throughout the whole series. Another running gag is that he brings up his World War I military gear (sandbags, barbed wire, helmet, rifle...) when a situation becomes critical. Generally presumptuous, vain and impulsive, he confronts the reader with his own shortcomings. Typically, he considers himself the main hero, and in particular the "brains", since he can't possibly over trump Jethro when it comes to physical power (and as it frequently turns out, not in the intellectual department either!). His friends then usually play along, just to keep him happy. The relationship between Suzy and Ambrose, one even more stubborn than the other, makes for a great generation conflict that spices up many stories. In the end, Ambrose does have a noble nature, as illustrated by the many occasions that he sacrifices himself for the greater good. But it helps a great deal when he is first assured of recognition...
Jethro, originally known asJerom orJerommeke and also known asWilbur, is an extremely strong man, brought fromprehistory to theMiddle Ages by analchemist in album 18,The merry musketeers, as a mindless weapon.
Although he is introduced into the series as an opponent, he quickly turns around as he falls in love with Muffin and becomes a caring man instead of a wild beast. Initially he is dressed in a loincloth only (with an occasional cravat added in an amusing attempt to appear more civilized) and speaks in grunts and monosyllables. His prehistoric background causes him to observe the modern world and customs with the naivete (and often unimpeded insight) of a child. But soon afterwards he becomes a smart, sophisticated man, although he still speaks in a peculiar shorthand. He lives together with Ambrose, and his level-headedness is used to contrast with the latter’s foolishness.
Apart from superhuman strength (used for exploits like squeezing water from rocks in the desert), his special powers include "flashlight eyes" and X-ray vision (at any other time his eyelids remain closed), running faster than sound and stopping bullets with his muscular chest. As such, his character is often used as adeus ex machina solution for the troubles his friends and especially Ambrose get in. But when the scenarists are inspired, he is equally often drugged or away on a trip as to avoid the easy solution for the story.
Krimson. A principalvillain, Krimson was introduced inHet rijmende paard (#48, 1963). He survives a plane-crash and starts over as an international drug kingpin inDe sissende sampan (#49, 1963) before serving a prison-sentence. InAmoris van Amoras (#200, 1984) Krimson seems to have changed his ways by becoming a project-developer on Hoboken. This appears to be a passing interest asDe Kwaaie Kwieten (#209, 1987) marks his return to form by constructing a top-secret military base capable of fightingextraterrestrials. Growing stronger again, Krimson manages to overthrow theBelgian government (De Krimson Crisis, #215, 1988). For reasons unknown he often suffers from mental breakdowns, throwing fits until his butler force feeds him a large quantity of pills. Despite his name there is no connection between him and the colourcrimson, other than that both often have sinister connotations.
Arthur is Ambrose's younger brother who grew up in the jungle and gained the ability to fly from the juice of a plant. He is more primitive than his brother, but substantially smarter. He dresses in animal skins and wears a beard, though it is unknown if he, unlike Ambrose, has much hair on his head as he always sports abowler hat. He spends more time in the air and in trees than on the ground, and therefore has acquired some bird characteristics, such as standing on his hands instead of his feet and chirping while speaking. His favorite food is birdseed. He has appeared in 5 albums so far.
Sus Antigoon is an ancestor of Spike, discoverer of Amoras Island and founder of the city Amoras. He died of alcohol abuse and therefore always appears as a ghost with a bottle chained to his leg. Because of his drunkenness, Sus Antigoon often brings the protagonists in danger. He has appeared in 12 albums so far.
Over the course of the series, characters are added and changed, and stories become moredidactic. Ambrose and Jethro change significantly: in the beginning, Ambrose was just anamusing fool, but in the Blue Series he appears more sophisticated and heroic, evolving towards a cynical and sceptical man in the current stories. In early stories, Jethro was initially portrayed as an ignorantstrong man, who evolved into a sophisticated and quiet man in later works. In most stories Muffin is only a doll, but one very special to Suzy, and they are inseparable. In some stories Muffin comes to life and plays an important role.
In the earliest stories, Willy Vandersteen used fictional countries like "Chokowakije" ("Chocolaslovakia") and "Amoras" (a tropical island, "Hoboken", actually a real town in Belgium, in the English-language version). He dropped the use of those after a few stories, although some later stories revisit Amoras.
Most of the current adventures of Spike and Suzy happen in real countries all over the world, withBelgium (their home country) as main focus for many stories.
While in the early stories large distances were usually traveled using the fictitiousGyronef, an experimental helicopter devised by professor Barabas, starting from the 1960s all air travel is provided by the Dutch national airlineKLM, making it an early and prominent example of product placement in European comics. Vandersteen chose KLM over the Belgian national airlineSABENA because of his friendship with Ron Winderink, PR manager at KLM.[4]
Willy Vandersteen createdSuske en Wiske, beginning publication inDe Nieuwe Standaard on 30 March 1945. To Vandersteen's disappointment the editor had renamed the strip's first chapterRikki en Wiske.[5] The following story was titledDe avonturen van Suske en Wiske - Op het eiland Amoras and no longer featured Rikki.[6] After a few years of publication in several newspapers, Vandersteen was approached byHergé, intent to improve sales of the Dutch-language version ofTintin magazine (Kuifje), who wantedSuske and Wiske for his publications redrawn in theLigne claire style.[7] Vandersteen made the adaptation andSuske en Wiske first appeared inKuifje and BelgianTintin on 16 September 1948 with the story titledHet Spaanse spook andLe Fantôme Espagnol in the two languages.[6][8] All 8 stories that were run until it ended in April 1959 made up the material collected inThe Blue Series.
Vandersteen establishedStudio Vandersteen in 1952 to manage his expanded activities.[5] To have time for other series such asDe Rode Ridder (The Red Knight) andTijl Uilenspiegel, he gavePaul Geerts the job of creating new albums ofSuske en Wiske in 1968. Geerts did this until 2001, when he gave this task toMarc Verhaegen. From 2005 on, a team of writers and cartoonists makes the new series, led byLuc Morjeau. These authors are helped by Studio Vandersteen.
On 17 December 2022, after 77 years,De Standaard newspaper ended daily publication ofSuske en Wiske, following a cost-benefit decision.[9]
The books are generally divided into two groups -Red Series andBlue series. The Red Series contains the vast majority of the books, and is so called because all of the books in this series have a red coloured cover. There are only a few books in the blue series, and they are so called because of their blue cover. The blue series encompasses all those originally published inTintin andKuifje. The Red series is everything published before or after. The following album series exist:
English translations have been published in three incarnations. The first was in the U.S., under the name ofWilly and Wanda. It was then published in the UK in the 1990s namedBob and Bobette, a copy of the Belgian title in French. The final print run was in the UK by the titleSpike and Suzy.
Logo of Bob and Bobette, the French version of Spike and Suzy
The comic book series was also published in Belgium inFrench, under the nameBob et Bobette (Bob and Bobette in English). Translations in other languages (including regional dialects) are plentiful but may exist as short-lived series only.
Books out of the series have been published in the following languages as:[10]
There have been various spin-off comic series fromSpike and Suzy:
In 1960,Jerom began publication. It featured the character Jerom (Jethro) and focused on his adventures as a modern-day knight.
In the 1950s,Lambik (Ambrose), ran in the newspaperDe Bond. These were then put into the albums calledDe Grappen van Lambik ("The jokes of Ambrose"). The series was ended in 1962, but in 2004, it resumed with new stories. Seven books in the new series have been released.
In 2002,Klein Suske en Wiske ("Young Spike and Suzy") ran in the magazineSuske en Wiske Weekblad. It charts the adventures of the children when they were very small, along with their pet dog. So far nine albums have been released, containing short sketches.
In May 2013, the first edition ofAmoras was released, a spin-off, more adult-oriented series, with a moremanga-like type of drawing and with more violence and strong language. In the series, Spike and Suzy are 'flashed' by accident to the year 2047 and find themselves on the isle of Amoras (where they were in the first Belgian album). Charel Cambré came up with the original idea and drew the art, the scenario was written by Marc Legendre. The first issue, called Wiske, received a lot of positive response and media coverage. The sixth and last in the spin-off series was published on 4 November 2015.
Although Standaard uitgeverij was adamant that this was a one time only, news of a new series within the same spin-off universe reached the fans in March 2016. In 'De Kronieken van Amoras' the reader gets more background info on the events leading to the story in Amoras' and about the different characters. In March 2017,De zaak Krimson was released and there are two more publications planned within this series.
In 1949, Dutch puppeteer Karel Weyler of the Flemish puppet theaterPats' Poppenspel adapted someSuske en Wiske series as puppet plays.Willy Vandersteen enjoyed these versions and gave him permission to make more. The music was composed byArmand Preud'homme and the dialogues were written by Jef Contrijn, whose wife, Germaine Gijsels also designed the costumes.[11] Vandersteen returned the favor by helping to design the backgrounds and referencing "Pats Poppenspel" in theSuske en Wiske stories "De Mottenvanger" ("The Moth Catcher"), "De Circusbaron" ("The Circus Baron"), "Het Hondenparadijs" ("The Dog Paradise"), "De Wilde Weldoener" ("The Wild Humanitarian") and "De Poppenpakker" ("The Puppet Catcher"). Between 1974 and 1977, Vandersteen also made a comics series about "Pats" until copyright issues forced him to change the title into "Tits".
In 1994, theRoyal Youth Theatre of Antwerp made a theatrical musical called "De Stralende Sterren". It ran for several years and was both a success in Flanders as well as the Netherlands.[12]
In July 2002, a new musical premiered, based on the album "De Spokenjagers" ("The Ghost Hunters"), again touring with huge success in Flanders and the Netherlands.
In 2008, the album "De Circusbaron" ("The Circus Baron") was adapted into a theatrical musical, which toured in Belgium and the Netherlands.[13]
In 1955, thePats Poppenspel puppet shows were broadcast on Flemish television. This was the first attempt to bring the comics to television. Alimited animation series was made the same decade.
Far more successful was the 1975-1976 puppet series. The Belgian TV networkBRT produced a TV puppet series consisting of six original stories told byLambik, all of them broadcast as five-minute episodes, which were each 22 minutes in length. These stories ("De Minilotten van Kokonera", "De Gouden Locomotief", "De Zingende Kaars", "De Windbrekers", "De Regenboogprinses" and "Het Laatste Dwaallicht") were later adapted into comic book albums. The puppets were made byCreatuur in collaboration with André Henderickx. Vandersteen's studio created the backgrounds and props. The series was a tremendous success in the Netherlands and largely responsible for the comics' ultimate breakthrough there. Re-runs were broadcast in 1985 and 1990.[14]
In the early 1990s, an animated TV series was made by Atelier5, broadcast onVTM. Each episode was based on originalSuske en Wiske stories, withHan Peekel as narrating voice-over. They were also made available on video.[15]
In 2004, the album "De Duistere Diamant" ("The Dark Diamond") was adapted to the silver screen by Rudi Van den Bossche as the live-action filmDe duistere diamant [nl].
A CGI animated film calledLuke and Lucy: The Texas Rangers was released in July 2009. Produced by Skyline Entertainment, it was planned to be the first of a series of 13 films.
On 15 June 1995, an illustrated wall was dedicated to the series in the Rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat in Brussels.[22][23] Suske and Wiske are also part of an illustrated wall in the Korte Ridderstraat 8 in Antwerp, which was revealed on 13 May 2006.[24] On 24 April 2009, a similar wall was revealed inKalmthout.[25]
The characterLambik inspired the name of the Dutch comic book storeLambiek inAmsterdam. The misspelling of the name is due to the fact that the early Dutch publications of "Suske en Wiske" called him "Lambiek". Theemblem on the store's sign is an image from theSuske en Wiske story "Prinses Zagemeel" ("Princess Sawdust") (1947–1948) and represents Lambik'smetamorphosis into acentaur.[26]
^Stienen, Alain."De dolle musketiers" (in Dutch). Suske en Wiske op het www. Retrieved27 August 2005.
^Peter Van Hooydonck (1994),Biografie Willy Vandersteen. De Bruegel van het beeldverhaal (2e ed.), Antwerpen: Standaard Uitgeverij, pp. 9–10,ISBN90-02-19500-1
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