'Robur' page from Okki/Jippo Winterboek.
Flip Fermin may not be a household name within the realm of Dutchunderground comix, but he was nevertheless an enigmatic personality within the Amsterdam comic scene of the 1970s and 1980s. A promising artist, his talents unfortunately never came to bloom. During his lifetime, he only published a couple of stories, which mostly starred the anthropomorphic birds 'Robur & Pennekamp'. While he is usually referred to as Flip Fermin, he often signed his work with "Ph. Fermin". In addition, he used the pen names Kadierung Heinz, Framing Hank, Dr. Friedrich Axel and Phileas Spleeno.
Life
Philippe Robert Daniel Manta Fermin was born in 1947 in Amsterdam. He came from a good family, originally from the province of Limburg. His father worked in the family's kapok and mattress factory. In 1953, the family moved to Bussum. As an artist, Flip Fermin felt associated with "poètes maudits" - artists living on the fringes of society - such as poets J. Slauerhoff, Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire, novelist Charles Bukowski, country musician Hank Williams and jazz musician Chet Baker. From an early age, he turned to drawing and painting, but he also became known for his witty, archaic use of language. Among his main artistic influences were American proto-underground artists likeGeorge Herriman andBasil Wolverton, as well as the underground art ofRobert Crumb andGilbert Shelton, and Franco-Belgian Clear Line authors likeHergé andEdgar Pierre Jacobs.
'Honeyman H' (Tante Leny Presenteert #21)..
Amsterdam comics scene
After his education at the Rietveld Art Academy in Amsterdam, Fermin came into contact with the artistsJoost Swarte andPeter Pontiac of the alternative comic magazine Tante Leny Presenteert (edited byEvert Geradts), and published one story in issue #21 of the magazine ('Honeyman H', in collaboration with Hans Berclouw). He became a prominent figure in Amsterdam's alternative comics scene, frequently attending stores likeKees Kousemaker's Lambiek andOlaf Stoop's Real Free Press. Between 1974 and 1976, he joined founder Ubbo van der Veen (1959-1991) as driving force behind the comic news magazine Inkt, which lasted for seven issues (#0 through #6). In its pages, Inkt offered a complete bibliography of the 1960s music magazines Aloha and Hitweek, and published the original version of the rejected "Donald Duck as Milkman" story byCarl Barks. The magazine also printed articles aboutGeorge McManus,Calvo, US comic books andWinsor McCay, and featured original artwork byEver Meulen,Joost Swarte,Piet Schreuders,Aart Clerkx andPeter Pontiac. Flip Fermin regularly provided artwork for Inkt, including advertisements for Lambiek and a couple of comic strips.
'Die Vagabunden'.
Comic production
Flip Fermin's own body of work has remained limited to only a handful of finished comic stories. Most of his plans and projects stranded after only a couple of pages or episodes, largely because of the artist's ever-changing interests and perfectionism. Recurring characters in his artwork were anthropomorphic birds, including his signature characters Robur and Pennekamp, and an artistocrat with top hat and eyeglass, known simply as "The Baron". Although Fermin was obviously influenced by theunderground comix movement, the few comic stories he created saw print in children's magazines. Among them were two pages starring the anthropomorphic birds 'Robur & Pennekamp' for Mickey Maandblad (issue #7 in 1977) and a story with the same characters in the seasonal book 'Winterboek Okki/Jippo 1976-1977'. In 1977, Fermin took over the artwork ofJoost Swarte's dog and clown characters 'Katoen+Pinbal' in Jippo magazine. Scripted by Swarte, serialization of Fermin's episode 'Huize "Bel-Air"' started in issue #21 of that year. But many times, Fermin's perfectionism kept him from making his deadlines, and after 23 pages, the serialization was aborted. After that, Joost Swarte resumed the feature on his own.
Cover for Lambiek Bulletin #3 (1975).
Local art scenes
During the 1970s, Flip Fermin eventually moved back to Bussum, where he became good friends with the musician Robert Hulsman, better known as Roberto Q. Calling themselves "Die Vagabunden", the two men frequented the Bussum night life as self-proclaimed reporters. Fermin also created a couple of comic strips based on their exploits, in which he himself appeard as "Heinz" and Roberto as "Helmut". On 8 December 1977, on strip of 'Die Vagabunden' was published in the local newspaper Bussumse Courant. In 1979, another story with "Die Vaga's" ran in Extra Dik, a program booklet of a Groningen festival. Further work by Fermin appeared in Lambiek Bulletin,Piet Schreuders' Furore, Striprofiel and SOD. For fun, he regularly drew advertisements for (and with) his friend Olaf Stoop of the Real Free Press, whom he portrayed as "Rocktime Otis". Most of this artwork remained unused. Fermin's talent was also reflected in the many letters and cards he sent to his friends. Characterized by a large sense of perfection, he used techniques like pen and ink, watercolors and gouache.
1985 New Year's card by Flip Fermin.
Mentor role and comic promotion
Despite his small body of work, Flip Fermin and his striking personality have left a lasting impression on many people in the Dutch comics community. In the early 1970s, he was a salesman inKees Kousemaker's Amsterdam comics shopLambiek, where his infectious enthusiasm about certain books captivated many. Apart from his affiliation with the Dutch underground comix scene, Fermin was friends with Pep editor Jan de Rooij and Donald Duck'sThom Roep, who have praised him for his ingenious use of language. Fermin was elemental in the debut of the duoWindig & De Jong at the publishing house Oberon, and also guided the youngGerard Leever in his first steps as a comic artist in the Wammes comic shop in Bussum (of which Fermin's sister Jet was the owner).
Artwork by Flip Fermin.
Final years and death
Together withPeter Pontiac, Filip Fermin supplied the lettering for the Yiddish edition ofWill Eisner's graphic novel 'A Contract With God', published in 1983 as 'An Opmakh mit Got' by Éditions Lambiek. Later in life, he continued to work as a letterer with Peter Pontiac on other projects. After suffering from liver disease, Philippe Fermin passed away on 25 January 1994.
Two years after Filip Fermin's death, an exhibition of his work was held in Gallery Karass in Haarlem. A collection of Fermin's comic stories was published by Fake Booij for this occasion. Fermin's death was featured in an intense segment of Peter Pontiac's posthumous released graphic novel 'Styx' (2016), which dealt with Pontiac's own liver disease and upcoming death. On 11 October 2024, Fake Booij presented his Flip Fermin monograph 'Flip! Tekeningen en Strips van Ph. Fermin' (Fiat Lux, 2024), which is for sale exclusively at the Amsterdam comic shop Lambiek. About ten years in the making, the book tells Fermin's life story, illustrated by a great many of his comics, mail art and rare photographs. Even thirty years after his passing, the large crowd that came to the book presentation proved that the illustrious Flip Fermin was far from forgotten.
Peter Pontiac and Flip Fermin at the opening of the Peter Pontiac exposition at Gallery Lambiek on 27 November 1987.