In the immediate post-war period, the rise of two children’s magazines shook the publishing world in Belgium before sending shock waves through the rest of Europe. However, Tintin and Spirou were only the first in a line of heroes that were to appear on their pages: Corentin, Blake and Mortimer, Lucky Luke, Buck Danny, Alix, Johan and Pirlouit, as well as all the friends that accompanied them on their adventures.

The precision of the drawings, known as the clear line technique, and the richness of the colours prompted the publishers to bring out beautiful hardback editions of these wonderful stories, quickly whetting the collectors’ appetites. Moving away from the American influences, the Belgian cartoonists were the creators of a ‘9th art’ that appealed to all readerships. In Brussels, the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art is the living expression of this with its thematic exhibitions, its library and its cafeteria, which are always very ‘animated’.

Throughout Brussels, several bookshops are devoted exclusively to new, second-hand and collectors’ comic books, not to mention the amusing three-dimensional gadgets that will brighten up any interior. But above all, don’t miss the ‘comic strip trail’, which has involved thirty walls in the capital being covered with comic strip characters that are larger than in life in every sense and portrayed in the most comical situations. Without claiming to be Great Art, there’s no denying that it is great in every other way!
 


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