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Hans Godfried Leerdam (1 August 1949 - 22 November 2011) was a Brunanter comic writer, artist, editor and publisher. Throughout his career he focused on humorous comics, frequently aimed at a younger audience. He was editor-in-chief of Wop! until its dissolution in 1985. His best known works are Little Jan and Rats vs. Frogs, but he also participated in the award-winning The Pirates under the Bed.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Leerdam was born in Sint-Anders aan Martiges, a few years later his family moved to Sint-Hendrikstad. However, he used to visit his grandparents during the summer and his strolls along the Martiges River cultivated his love for nature, which can be seen in many of his later works.
Altough he started drawing at an early age, Leerdam wasn't particularly interested in comics. He was more interested in painting, looking after Edward Eldridge and Pierre Limburgh. Nevertheless he enjoyed reading Hendrik Smeets and Jeroen de Moor's Henk and Herman.
Beginning of his career[]
After school, Leerdam enrolled in El-Reis Academy of the Arts. He soon discovered humorous comics, such as De Arabier and Asterix. Interested now in that direction, he left school in 1969 and started practising alone. The lessons he had taken helped him a lot, but it was through mimicking other artists that he developed his personal style. In 1970 he moved to Koningstad.
Leerdam submitted strips to Drakenkop and Het Kladblad, but were rejected. He took up a job in a bookstore, where he worked for four years. He then turned to Fenix and he made his debut in 1975, with the children's series Eki en Vosso. He also contributed to the short-lived magazine Kinderen, also published by Fenix.
Little Jan and Wop![]
Eki en Vosso was well-received and Leerdam was approached by Drakenkop's Bernard Helmer and was asked to start a new series. He accepted and created Little Jan in 1977. It became the best-selling title of the company and became the most popular children's comic in Brunant. Around the same time, he made a handful of short stories for Grotschildering.
Since 1980, Leerdam was able to focus on Little Jan, as Fenix went broke and Eki en Vosso was cancelled. He soon departed from one-page stories to create longer, more elaborate storylines and a large gallery of burlesque characters. However, around 1983 he grew tired of the series and he decided to stop in 1984.
Leerdam saw there was a strong market for adult humorous comics and decided to start a new publication. As a result, in 1982 he launched Wop! with financial director Andrew Douglas. Apart from being the editor-in-chief, he also provided covers and created two comic strips (How Lovely! and Unlucky Lucy), both drawn by Baanan. How Lovely! is Leerdam's only political work and had several cameos of well known Brunanter politicians of the time, including Silvia Van Damme and Henry Jorgeson. Wop! ceased publication in April 1985 gue to low sales.
Car accident and temporary retirement[]
In June 20, 1985, while driving to his hometown, Leerdam lost control of the car and struck on a passing van. He was transported to Princess Marianne Hospital. His injuries kept him there until July 11.
After four operations and physical therapy, Leerdam was able to resume his work. However, he soon suffered an extended period of depression, which forced him to stop drawing. His only artistic project during that time was a couple of covers for Grotschildering.
In 1990 the stories from Unlucky Lucy were collected in a single volume.
The return[]
Leerdam returned to comics in 1992 with the graphic novel Rats vs. Frogs, based on Batrachomyomachia. It won Smeets Award for Best One-Shot/Graphic Novel and Michiel Borst considers it Leerdam's funniest work.
In 1995, The Big White Crow was published, and two years later Leerdam started a project he had long in mind. It was Department of Laugh Enforcement, a series centered around various Laughcops, whose job is to patrol around the town and make sad people laugh. Leerdam created three albums and received Best Writer and Artist nominations at the Smeets Awards.
In 1996, Leerdam was awarded the Lifetime Achievement at the Smeets Awards, for his "unceasing efforts to paint smiles on reader's face and the influence of his work".
Later years[]
Between 2006 and 2007, Leerdam self-published Dreams, an experimental comic inspired by actual dreams that he claimed to have had repeatedly. In 2011, Sindbad asked Leerdam to contribute to The Pirates under the Bed, a graphic novel which was later awarded at the Smeets Awards.
Leerdam suffered a stroke in November 2011. He died on his way to the Royal Koningstad Hospital.
Bibliography[]
- Eki en Vosso (1975-1980)
- Little Jan (1977-1984)
- Little Jan (1977)
- Little Jan's Little Gags (1978)
- Little Jan meets Bubu (1980)
- Little Jan's Trip (1981)
- Little Jan and the Last Dodo (1982)
- Little Jan and the Mysterious Salad (1984)
- Unlucky Lucy (1990)
- Rats vs. Frogs (1992)
- The Big White Crow (1995)
- Department of Laugh Enforcement (1997-2001)
- Officer Kluft (1997)
- Officer Ali (1999)
- Officer Watermelon (2001)
- Akerboop en Oro (2006-2007)
- The Pirates under the Bed (2011)