SCRATCH BOOKS AMSTERDAM
FOREIGN RIGHTS
S
SCRATCH Discover our 2024-25 Foreign Rights catalogue! Established in 2014, Scratch Books is a Dutch publishing house based in Amsterdam focusing on high quality graphic novels. From Aimée de Jongh to Joost Swarte, from Peter van Dongen to Erik Kriek: Scratch represents the finest Dutch artists.
Karthuizersplantsoen 14 1015 LS Amsterdam, The Netherlands +31 (0)20 773 72 62 • info@scratchbooks.nl www.scratch-books.com www.scratch-books.shop
Translation grants are available for our publications through the Dutch Foundation for Literature. For more information, visit http://www.letterenfonds.nl/en
2024-25
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After bundling his New Yorker illustrations in New York Book and his bookrelated and pictogram designs in Biblio + Picto, it is now time to introduce a new compendium of Joost Swarte’s work in architectural projects. In Outs & Ins we find his designs for everything from staircase windows to entire buildings. 64 pages of wonderful imagery plus 56 pages of indepth documentation: a book that is unmissable for the true Swarte fan.
ca. 120 pages, full colour Size 22,5 x 30 cm Expected May 2024 One shot
Joost Swarte (1947) is one of the best known and most respected comics authors and graphic designers of The Netherlands. For the past few years, Swarte’s focus has shifted from comics to illustrations for magazines (among which The New Yorker), posters, stamps and even furniture, objects and architecture. More on Joost Swarte on pages 42 through 47. 5
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Joost Swarte - Outs & Ins Focus on architecture
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‘Erik de Graaf’s Scherven & Littekens should be mentioned in one breath with Maus, Alan’s war, Anne Frank’s Dairy, etc...’ - Stripgids
World renown painter Piet Mondriaan (1872-1944) saw it as an artist’s duty to strive for harmony and equilibrium in their art, as a blueprint for human society. His way to achieve this was to strip his art of all disruptors, and to use only universal shapes and primary colors. Despite differences in size and position, all shapes and colors are equally important in his paintings. As it should be with people in real life. Between 1933 and 1944, Mondria(a)n subsequently lived in Paris, London and New York, moving as far away as possible from the impending doom of WWII in Europe. His attempts to bring light into an ever-darkening world should be praised to this day.
ca. 304 pages, full colour Size 21 x 29,7 cm Expected September 2024 One shot
As soon as Erik de Graaf (1961) could hold a pencil, you could find him drawing at the dinner table. Nonetheless, it took him 40 odd years to make his debut as a graphic novelist. As a narrative artist, he yearns to create stories that move people. He searches for the ‘great’ in the ‘small’, the ‘extraordinary’ in the ‘ordinary’. His crisp clean style shows his adminration for artists he deeply admires: Yves Chaland, Joost Swarte, Seth and Chris Ware. 7
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Erik de Graaf - Mondrian A better world
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‘For a few years I’ve wanted to document my life in Amsterdam, but I was always unsure of which format to use. With his American Splendor Harvey Pekar presented the perfect form to document one’s own life: the comic book.’ – Chad Bilyeu
After spending a decade in Washington, DC, native-Clevelander Chad Bilyeu emigrated to the Netherlands. He has been residing in Amsterdam since 2009, looking for something different but not certain precisely what. This is the tale of an obstinate autodidact in one of the world’s most infamous places. Amsterdam is a city that most know of but do not know much about. This comic book is a portrait of a diverse metropolis as presented by a man destined to live there. 192 pages, black & white Size 16 x 24 cm Published November 2023 One shot
Chad Bilyeu (1975) is born and raised in the US, but living in Amsterdam for such a long time and with such intensity that he is more Amsterdammer than most. 9
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Chad Bilyeu Chad in Amsterdam
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Fasten your seatbelts for this trippy story! Meet Captain Angstlos reminiscing about his heydays, once part of Operation Hero Hammer, an ingenious plot to destabilize the world by creating havoc. For research shows that people spend the most when feeling insecure and unsafe. Hardened criminals are set loose on the population, teamed up with good-looking media doubles and handlers, to make it look like they saved the day. Find out what this crazy operation leads to in this first Hero Hammer episode. ca. 80 pages, full color Size 21 x 29,7 cm Expected Spring 2024 Start of a series English translation available
Frank van der Waarden - Retired graphic designer and Art Director, now part of The Obsolete Brigade, as he likes to put it. He put his creative juices to work in the Netherlands, the US and Asia, in the corporate world as well as in teaching. But now it’s time to tell the truth about Operation Hero Hammer. 11
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Frank van der Waarden Hero Hammer
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Vladimir works in a laboratory. He loves his work and he is often employee of the month. He likes being alone and loves doing experiments at home, too. He is promoted to do experiments in a capsule in space, where he - of all places - briefly meets the woman he will come to love. But then the capsule crashes in a nearly unpopulated area and he needs to rely on one other lonely soul and nature to survive. ca. 144 pages, full color Size 19 x 22,5 cm Expected Spring 2024 One shot English translation available soon
Jan Vriends (1970) is a Dutch comic artist, illustrator, musician, writer and graphic designer from Helmond, NL. His creation Roos Vink in girls magazine Tina makes him wildly popular amongst young female fans. He also teaches ‘creativity’ in workshops for adults and kids. From 2024-2026 he is the Dutch Comics Laureate. 13
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Jan Vriends The Cosmonaut
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Magician Jackdaw is an adventure series about a little black bird magician that goes on a journey to mend his mistakes. The great mother crystal is a moon-like crystal that hangs over the world of Jackdaw. Its shards is what historically gave mages their magic power. Except, a 100 years ago the great mother crystal completely shattered, causing all mages of the earth to go insane, turning them into monsters. The only one not affected is Jackdaw and he is on a mission to undo this corruption and to mend the great crystal. On his journey Jackdaw uncovers that all might not be as it seems. He will need to reassess his own actions and those of them around him, and he will need to plan accordingly. An important theme for Magician Jackdaw is changing one’s mind in the face of uncovering new facts and admitting wrongs. A valuable lesson to all readers.
Sterric or Sterre Richard (1993) is a Rotterdam based illustrator and designer with a specialty in visual storytelling. Sterric’s passion is the making of comics, with an active webcomic that publishes one chapter every month. All comics Sterric has made up until now are completely written, inked, colored and lettered by herself. More on Sterric and her debut Black Fur on pages 58 and 59. 15
ca. 136 pages, full color Size ca 15 x 21 cm Expected Fall 2025 Book 1 of a series English excerpt available
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Sterric - Magician Jackdaw: Book 1: The Kingdom of Eternal Silence
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‘You’d best find a care home for him.’ – Doctors about the two-year old Marc Evers
The Great Marc Evers is the unbelievable true story of a boy, whose parents were told he would never be able to go the bathroom alone, let alone lead a normal life, but who grew up to be a Paralympic Gold medallist. Inspiring, touching and uplifting: a story that deserves to be read by many. 192 pages, full colour Size 21 x 29,7 cm Expected July 2024 One shot English excerpt available
Ivo van Woerden is a research journalist who published Marc Evers story in bookform in 2015. Gemma Plum is a Dutch artist with a bachelors degree in industrial design, one in graphic design and a masters in graphic narrative (with honours). 17
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Gemma Plum & Ivo van Woerden - The Great Marc Evers
EVENTUALLY I DECIDED TO CALL A THERAPIST
Hello? This is Micky Dirkzwager speaking...
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‘Dirkzwager has turned Blink & breathe into a graphic journey of discovery that far exceeds the level of the average auto bio comic.’ – Hans van Soest, 9e Kunst ‘An impressive graphic novel that you are guaranteed to reread, simply because it is original, funny and good. Great job!’ – Jeroen van Esch, Striptip
The Dutch expression “Beren op de weg zien” (literal: “seeing bears on the road”) is used when someone is seeing problems that aren’t necessarily there. Dirkzwager, struggling with control issues throughout many parts of her life, of which one is art school, playfully and with laugh-out-loud humor makes these bears come alive as they hold her down and feed her insecurities. Extremely relatable for anyone who has ever had difficulties with ‘letting go’. Haven’t we all? 208 pages, full colour Size 21 x 27,3 cm Published April 2023 One shot English translation available
Micky Dirkzwager (1998) graduated at the HKU in Utrecht. She likes to tell stories that make you laugh, that move you or make you think. Humor, sponteneity and movement are important in her work (otherwise it falls flat, like beer, she says). Besides illustrating stories she loves playing the violin, rollercoasters, ballet, language and Twister. 19
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Micky Dirkzwager Blink & breathe
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THE YOUNG ONES
Miel Vandepitte - Megalopolis As in Centralia (Miel Vandepitte’s 2021 debut) a vast city sets the stage in his new title Megalopolis. At some point in the future, this story revolves around Abdulla, a young, ambitious cop who transfers to the chaotic mega-city largely populated by extraterrestrial immigrants. Crime is rife. The city consists mainly of futuristic skyscrapers, but underneath you can still find some of the repurposed historical building, now offices, appartments or in some cases clandestine operations (something Miel sees happening all around us today). Abdulla hooks up with a partner, Billy, together with whom he discovers a dark secret that is held within the walls of the well hidden historical monuments. A dark comedy in the vein of Lethal Weapon meets Bladerunner. We can’t wait!
ca. 144 pages, full colour Size 21 x 28 cm, One shot Expected 2024, Rights sold: English US (Living the Line) Under offer: Polish, French
Miel Vandepitte (1998) lives in Ghent, Belgium and graduated in 2020 from LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, with a great distinction in Graphic Storytelling (cartoon). As part of the course, he spent a semester at the Pacific North-West College Of Arts in Portland, Oregon. There he was taught by Robert Alexander and Jonathan Hill, among others, for whose short-comics anthology Postscript he drew a short story in 2019. Winner of the SDB 2020 Debut Award in the Netherlands. More on Miel Vandepitte and his debut Centralia on pages 60 and 61. 21
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‘This beautifully woven series of vignettes from the brilliant Aimée de Jongh are a necessary and poignant reminder of our common humanity.’ – Joe Sacco ‘I love it. The way it flows. The lush and fluid brushwork. The fullness of all the characters. The humanity. Bravo.’ – Craig Thompson
AUTHORRS OF JOUBLE DE SA UD) (DARGA
98 pages, black-and-white Size 20 x 27 cm Published May 2019 One shot Rights sold: Portuguese Brazil (Conrad Editora), French (La Boîte à Bulles), English (Conundrum), Arabic (Nool Editions), Spanish (Dolmen Editiones) English translation available
Aimée de Jongh, one of the brightest talents in Europe, now topping the European charts with her Days of Sand, creates her first autobiographic work, focusing on taxi rides from four cities: Los Angeles, Paris, Jakarta, and Washington, DC. Despite the stunning and detailed streetscapes she passes, De Jongh discovers she’s more interested in the cab drivers than the view from the backseat. As the drivers slowly open up about their personal lives, De Jongh does too - even when it means challenging her own ideas and prejudices. Through these vulnerable - and often humorous - moments, De Jongh finds common ground with the people driving her. Taxi! is an ode to taxi drivers everywhere.
Aimée de Jongh (1988) is considered one of the biggest talents in Dutch comics. She’s a fulltime comics artist, illustrator and animator for films and tv. Her daily gagstrip Snippers ran in the Dutch newspaper Metro for five years. Her biggest hit so far is Days of Sand (Dargaud). In 2022 she was one of the youngest artists to receive the Stripschapprijs for her body of work. 23
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Aimée de Jongh - Taxi!
Ralph was my best friend. We were in class together for years.
We were like brothers. We played soccer on the same team and we fell in love with the same girls.
Our friendship changed on the secondary school. Ralph was bullied. I was the only one he shared that with.
He was chased, beaten and humiliated. The cheerful boy from the past turned into a quiet teenager.
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‘The narrative has a pageturning quality frequently absent from psychologically astute graphic novels.’ – Publishers Weekly ‘Enchanting, and leaves room for the imagination. Exactly what a good story should be.’ – Het Parool ‘A promise delivers… An intricately constructed graphic novel about a bookseller who finds himself stuck in the doldrums.’ – De Standaard
168 pages, black-and white Size 20 x 27 cm Published 2014 One shot Rights sold: World English (Selfmadehero), World French (Dargaud), World Spanish (Ponent Mon), Serbian (Komiko), Arabic (Nool Editions), Polish (Lost In Time), Bahasa (Indonesia), Portuguese Brazil (Conrad), Japanese (A Thousand Books) English translation available
Dwindling sales force bookseller Simon Antonisse to close down his bookshop. Disaster strikes when he witnesses a stranger commit suicide. The event has a devastating effect on him. He begins to experience flashbacks to his childhood and slowly his life turns into a horrible nightmare. Only Regina, a young girl he meets by chance, can give him the peace and quiet he so desperately needs. The Return of the Honeybuzzard by Aimée de Jongh has been published in six languages and was awarded the prestigious Prix Saint-Michel for best Dutch-language graphic novel in 2014. The Guardian listed the book as one of the best graphic novels published in 2016. In 2017 it was adapted into a film for Dutch tv.
Aimée de Jongh (1988) is considered one of the biggest talents in Dutch comics. She’s a fulltime comics artist, illustrator and animator for films and tv. De terugkeer van de wespendief (The return of the honeybuzzard) was her first graphic novel. 25
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Aimée de Jongh - The Return of the Honeybuzzard
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A collaboration of some of the finest Dutch artists: Aimée de Jongh Anne Stalinski Emma Ringelding Erik de Graaf Erik Kriek Floor de Goede Hanco Kolk Jordi Peters Mei-Li Nieuwland Paul Teng
136 pages, full color Size 19 x 25,9 cm Expected April 2022 One shot French and English translations available
More than a million Canadians have Dutch roots. This obviously means that very many Dutch people have relatives in Canada. When, why and how did these family members leave their homeland? What did they expect to find and what have they actually found? In short: what are their stories? Ten of the best Dutch comic book artists were asked to tell one of those stories. Their response led to this book, full of touching stories of courage, adventure, but also homesickness.
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Various - Destination: Canada
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In six anecdotes, Moses Mendelssohn is lovingly brought back to life in this graphic novel by famous Dutch comic artist Typex.
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Meet Moishe, the ‘Socrates of Berlin’, one of the most brilliant minds this world has ever known. While being a short, hunchbacked, shy man with a stutter, Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) impressed his contemporaries with his wit, the elegant style of his writing, his kindness and diplomacy. His philosophy, very influential in its time, remains eminently modern today. Based on an idea and texts by Thomas Lackmann, this project was launched by the Jewish Museum Berlin in conjunction with the exhibition “We Dreamt of Nothing but Enlightenment” Moses Mendelssohn, 14 April to 11 September 2022.
88 pages, full color Size 19,5 x 26 cm Published March 2022 One shot English and German translations available
Since the dawn of man Typex (1962) has been doing comics, illustration and much more. Highlights in his oeuvre include his graphic novel Rembrandt from 2013 (for which he won the Belgian Willy Vandersteen prize) and the comic book biography of Andy Warhol, an acclaimed project from 2018 on which he worked for five years and which was published in fourteen countries. A year later he won the Stripschapprijs, the most prestigious Dutch comics award. 29
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Typex - Moishe
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‘Erik Kriek has outgrown Holland: his work invariably receives praise abroad.’ – Jean-Marc van Tol, comic artist and publisher
In this book about grieving and mourning - and how each of us deals differently with loss - Kriek subliminally pays tribute to the dark B-movies of the past. Kriek’s dramatic and contrast rich drawing style fit this genre to the T. 132 pages, black & white with spot colors Size 20 x 27,5 cm Expected Spring 2023 One shot Rights sold: Spanish (Cartem), English USA (Living the Line), French (Editions Anspach), German (Avant Verlag)
Erik Kriek (Amsterdam, 1966) is a Dutch illustrator and comics artist. He makes illustrations for the Boston Globe and various magazines, and designs album covers, posters, and skateboards. In 2008, he won the Stripschapprijs, the most prestigious award in Dutch comics. In 2012, he published From Beyond and Other Tales, his collection of graphic reworkings of H.P. Lovecraft’s gothic tales. The book has been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Serbian and Swedish. In 2016 he published In the Pines: Five Murder Ballads, which was translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Serbian and Italian. 31
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Erik Kriek - The Pit
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‘A ravishing adverture comic, beautifully produced with love. Kriek is clearly at home in the Norse mythology.’ – Stefan Nieuwenhuis, NRC ‘Majestic accomplishment.’ – Jos van Waterschoot, Special Collections, University of Amsterdam ‘Class act!’ – Wim van Troyer, stripspeciaalzaak.be ‘The bømb!’ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – Veronica Magazine
192 pages, black & white with spot colors Size 20 x 27,5 cm Published May 2019 One shot Rights sold: Czech (Argo), English (Living the Line), French (Editions Anspach), German (Avant Verlag), Italian (Eris Edizioni), Arabic (Nool Editions), Spanish (CM Editores) English version available
Iceland, 10th century AD. Hallstein, a Viking warrior, returns home after spending several years in exile for murdering his best friend Hrafn. Einar, Hrafn’s brother, is plotting to marry Hallstein’s stepmother so he and his father Ragnar can get their hands on her land. Hallstein returns home hoping to find rest from his violent past, only to discover that not everyone is happy to see him. Einar’s family is plotting revenge... Will Hallstein find the peace of mind he longs for? A Viking western by Erik Kriek, The Exile is a gripping graphic novel by the author of the internationally successful In the Pines: Five Murder Ballads. Kriek visited Iceland and did extensive research into Icelandic history and culture to produce his first full-length graphic novel.
More on Erik Kriek on page 31. 33
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Erik Kriek - The Exile
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‘In the pines, in the pines Where the sun never shines And we shiver When the cold wind blows’ - American folksong, circa 1870, anonymous ‘A brilliant idea… Not for the faint-hearted, Kriek imagines the 19th-century American countryside in a fitting Gothic setting.’ – Trouw
144 pages, full colour Size 20,5 x 27,7 cm With cd with songs by the artist (optional) Published February 2016 One shot Rights sold: English UK (Canongate), German (Avant Verlag), Italian (Eris Edizioni), Arabic (Nool Editions), Serbian (Besna Kobila), Spanish (Norma) English version available
In the Pines is a collection of five graphic stories based on murder ballads: traditional songs that recount a dramatic mythical or actual murder. These are raw stories full of unrequited love, crimes of passion, anger, jealousy and greed. The music is firmly rooted in the American musical tradition and it is still a popular genre among performers such as Dolly Parton, Steve Earle and Nick Cave. Erik Kriek has been a great lover of this music for years. For In the Pines, he chose five of his favourite old and new songs - optional as a bonus CD with the book and reworked them into short graphic stories. The lyrics served as an inspiration for five grim stories about love, treason, life and – of course – death. The artwork conveys the atmosphere of rural America at the turn of the century. In the vast Appalachian woods, in the pines, things happen that sometimes best go unseen… With an essay by Dutch music journalist Jan Donkers on the phenomenon of murder ballads.
More on Erik Kriek on page 31. 35
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Erik Kriek - In the Pines
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‘Gems from the vault of historic horror stories, nearly 100 years old. An absolute must read!’ – Moors Magazine
120 pages, full colour Size 20,5 x 27,7 cm Scratch edition published June 2019 One shot
Kriek’s contrast-rich black and white art goes exceptionally well with the dark tales that are nearly 100 years old. Kriek makes the re-connection with H.P. Lovecraft an unforgettable experience. In this reprint Scratch has added a dossier of sketches and studies for this wonderful book of weird tales.
Rights sold: Czech (Argo), French (L’An2), German (Avant Verlag), Italian (Eris Edizioni), Serbian (Besna Kobila), Spanish (La Cupula), Swedish (Placebo)
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (USA, 1890 – 1937) was an American writer of weird fiction and horror fiction. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he spent most of his life there, and his fiction was primarily set against a New England backdrop. Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as an author and editor, but his fascinating stories live on in this excellent tribute by Erik Kriek.
Rough English translation available
More on Erik Kriek on page 31. 37
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Erik Kriek - H.P. Lovecraft From Beyond and other tales
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The first graphic novel series about the Kennedy dynasty.
The Kennedy Files is a highly original non-fiction graphic novel series based purely on facts. It is an account of the origins of the Kennedy legacy, exuding history, drama, wit and entertainment. #1 The Man Who Would be President follows self-made millionaire Joseph P. Kennedy on his mission to become the first irish-catholic President of the USA. In 1938 he is appointed Ambassador in London, where he mainly concerns himself with his illegal liquor business. When war looms over Europe, Kennedy tries to convince President Roosevelt to stay out of the conflict, which he considers bad for business... In #2 War Comes to Europe we join Joseph P. Kennedy’s sons, Joe Jr. and Jack (whom we know as JFK) on their travels through fascist Europe, where Jack finds himself in a tight spot with Hitler’s SA. When WWII breaks out, Churchill takes over the lead from Chamberlain. Ambassador Kennedy has no friends left in London and is called back to Washington in 1940, his political career is in shambles. It’s up to his son to make up for this shame. 96 pages, full colour Size 17 x 24 cm Part 1 released November 2016 Part 2 released October 2019 Rights sold (series): French (Dargaud), German (Carlsen) Rough English translation available
Erik Varekamp (1964) is a Dutch illustrator and comics artist. Varekamp received his education at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. After he left this institute, he started working for Dutch cartoonist Gerrit de Jager. Varekamp has worked as an illustrator for various companies and publications such as HP/De Tijd, Het Financieele Dagblad and VPRO-Gids. Mick Peet works as an art director for Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad. Together, Varekamp and Peet created the highly successful Agent Orange series about the life of the Dutch Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1911-2004). 39
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Erik Varekamp en Mick Peet The Kennedy Files #1 and #2
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‘Daddy Kennedy is even more fascinating than JFK!’ – Stripjournaal
The Kennedy Files is a highly original non-fiction graphic novel series based purely on facts. It is an account of the origins of the Kennedy legacy, exuding history, drama, wit and entertainment. In #3 An Accidental Hero, America is drawn into the conflict by Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Joe Jr. is training to be a fighter pilot. His brother Jack falls in love with Inga Arvad, who turns out to be a German spy. When Jack is deployed to the Pacific, his motor torpedo boat is run down by a Japanese war ship. Jack manages to save his crew and himself, becoming an accidental hero. Right before the end of the war, Joe Jr. volunteers for a secret mission – which costs him his life. Now it’s up to Jack to fulfill his father’s ambition: to become President of the United States. 96 pages, full colour Size 17 x 24 cm Part 3 released October 2021 Part 4 due Summer 2024 Rights sold (series): French (Dargaud), German (Carlsen) Rough English translation available
#4 A Myth in the Making, sets off where #3 ends, but - as all other parts - can be read as a separate chapter in the life of the Kennedy empire. Complete with dossier by Kennedy expert Nigel Hamilton and character overview.
More on Erik Varekamp and Mick Peet on page 39. 41
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Erik Varekamp en Mick Peet The Kennedy Files #3 and #4
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‘I only want to do the most fun projects.’ – Joost Swarte
From June until October 2022 the prestigious Teyler Museum in Haarlem organized an honorary exhibition of Joost Swarte’s work titled Biblio + Picto. The exhibition is very likely to travel. To accompany this exhibition Scratch produced this beautiful catalogue, bringing together his drawings for publishers and writers about illustrated books (Biblio) and his illustrations in the form of pictograms and silhouettes (Picto). A must have for every Swarte connoisseur. Introductions by Yasco Horsman (Lecturer University Leiden for Arts and Society) and Patrick Gaumer (Larousse Encyclopédie de la Bande Dessinée).
112 pages, full colour Size 22 x 30 cm Expected June 2022 One shot Rights sold: French (Dargaud)
Joost Swarte (1947) is one of the best known and most respected comics authors and graphic designers of The Netherlands. Swarte attended the Design Academy Eindhoven for three years, after which he focused on writing and drawing comics. His books have been translated in French, English, German and Spanish. For the past few years, Swarte’s focus has shifted from comics to illustrations for magazines (among which The New Yorker), posters, stamps and even furniture and objects. He is also the Chief Editor of the renowned international comics magazine, Scratches. 43
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Joost Swarte - Biblio + Picto
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‘About as fancy as it gets.’ – de Volkskrant ‘A feast to behold.’ – Enola
Twenty years ago, in 1995, Joost Swarte made his debut in The New Yorker magazine. Since then he has added more than fifty illustrations, eight covers and over 100 various contributions to that first illustration. In New York Book, Scratch presents an overview to date of Joost Swarte’s illustrations for The New Yorker, together with previously unpublished sketches and with commentary from the artist himself. A beautiful book by the Dutch master of ligne claire. 106 pages, full colour Size 22 x 30 cm Released October 2017 One shot Rights sold: French (Dargaud)
In 2008, Swarte received an Award of Excellence from the American magazine Communication Arts for his cover Summer Reading.
More on Joost Swarte on page 43. 45
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Joost Swarte - New York Book
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‘There’s always a catch to the apparent simplicity of the illustrations. At second glance, the mild satire manifests itself. Humour at second sight – Swarte’s trademark.’ – de Volkskrant
In honor of Joost Swarte’s longstanding and highly successful track record as designer, author and inventor, the renown Kunsthal in Rotterdam hosted a 4-month-long exhibition Joost Swarte Overal, showing a cross-section of Swarte’s impressive body of work: from his first comics, original drawings, sketches, designs and objects to recent work. 50 years of passion for design shine through in this cahier with 32 large prints. A must have for every Joost Swarte fan in the world. The exhibition is scheduled to travel abroad. 32 pages, full colour Size 30 x 40 cm Released October 2019 One shot
More on Joost Swarte on page 43. 47
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Joost Swarte - Everywhere
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‘Most remarkable is Hulsing’s use of color - his work has a distinct cinematic feel.’ − 8Weekly ‘Close to the tales of Corto Maltese’ - Knack Focus ‘The more you delve into The Smuggler, the clearer it becomes how intricate and good this work really is. In my opinion, Album of the Year’ - Teunis Bunt
Set in the 1950s, The smuggler is the story of Hungarian exile Laszlo, who runs a profitable business in smuggling comics from Hungary to the West. On one of his trips to the USA, he gets stuck in the Caribbean, where he takes on a high risk job as a diver. The Cold War is in full swing. Laszlo teams up with an exiled Hungarian millionaire with whom he shares a hatred of communism. They build a hoax around the comics by rewriting the texts, pretending they are anticommunist underground comics from across the Soviet Union. When the duo is caught, the officials from the communist regime pretend to believe the hoax and use it as a pretext to arrest many dissident artists. Incredibly, The smuggler is based on true events. 180 pages, full color Size 20,5 x 28 cm Published October 2019 One shot Rights sold: Arabic (Nool Editions) Rough English translation available
Milan Hulsing (1973) is a Dutch comics artist, animator, graphic designer, and writer. He is known for his graphic novel City of Clay. Hulsing graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy in 1994 and then studied film and theatre studies. He regularly published comics and illustrations in various (comic) magazines. In 2004, he published his short story collection Wat Fred niet wist. In 2008, his graphic novel Operatie Hanuman with artwork by Michiel de Jong won the prize for best album of the year. 49
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Milan Hulsing - The smuggler
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‘Naomi’s world continues to invite rereading. Not only because of the story that always shows itself from a different side, but also because of the drawings that shine from a dark type of material.’ − 9e Kunst ‘Hulsing has once again written a beautiful web of stories in Spanish red. The stories are echoes of each other or mirror a fragment from another story.’ −Teunis Bunt
104 pages, full color Size 20,5 x 28 cm Published November 2020 Series Rough English translation available
Naomi was one of the characters from Hulsing’s previous book, The smuggler, who immediately captured everyone’s imagination. In Spanish red, we get a glimpse into the writer’s brain of Naomi, who tells her stories to her best friend Katja and also serves her teacher. The storylines about Safar, Angelo, Rania, Reema, the poet and Uncle Fuchs are again cleverly interwoven and beautifully portrayed by Hulsing, in the beautiful color palette of the Caribbean.
More on Milan Hulsing on page 49.
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Milan Hulsing - Naomi Tales #1 Spanish red
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‘Hulsing’s convincing brushstrokes make you imagine yourself in Egypt, he knows how to create the atmosphere so well that you feel the warmth on your skin.’ − Hebban.nl ‘A masterpiece, no more, no less.’ − Stripschap ‘Thrilling visionary graphic novel about Egypt.’ − NRC Handelsblad
City of Clay is set in a sweltering Egypt, where official Salem plans to collect police salaries from a made-up city. His bank account swells, but Salem loses grip on reality. His made-up city does not leave him alone and even the fictional police chief, whose salary he now collects, is after him.
168 pages, full color Size 20,5 x 28 cm Published March 2021 One shot Rough English excerpt available
In March 2021, ten years after the Arab Spring broke out, Scratch released an anniversary edition of Hulsing’s first graphic novel City of Clay: remastered images, a new extended file and in a larger format.
More on Milan Hulsing on page 49.
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Milan Hulsing - City of Clay
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‘Van Dongen’s graphic novels have to be read carefully, because a significant part of the story is told through the drawings. By adding new, visual scenes, Van Dongen gives depth to Van Dis’ voice-over from the novel.’ ★★★★ – Knack Focus ‘Van Dongen created a very vivid adaptation thanks to his use of beautiful close-ups and camera angles.’ ★★★★★ – de Volkskrant ★★★★ – NRC Handelsblad
Peter van Dongen reworked Adriaan van Dis’s novella into a graphic novel. A story in scenes about a family from the former Dutch Indies who try to make a new life for themselves in 1950s Holland. Sisters whisper secrets behind the curtain. Father, obsessed with remuneration, prepares his son for a new danger: the Russians! And amidst all this, the boy finds comfort with his shadow brother, whose presence he can feel but whose existence he can never mention. Repatriated is a moving story and a striking portrait of a father-son relationship that is tainted by traumas and fear.
124 pages, full colour Size 24 x 32 cm Published October 2017 One shot Rights sold: World French (Dupuis) Rough English translation available
Peter van Dongen (1966) is a Dutch comics artist and illustrator. In 2004, his diptych Rampokan was published, a story set on the eve of Indonesia’s independence. It has been published in France, Germany and Indonesia. In 2013 he created Three Days in Rio, commissioned by clothing brand Gant. In 2018 Van Dongen won the Stripschapprijs, a major Dutch comics award. Currently, Van Dongen is also known for his work on new Blake and Mortimer albums, together with Teun Berserik. Adriaan van Dis (1946) is one of Holland’s most acclaimed authors. His body of work includes novels, travelogues, plays and television. 55
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Peter van Dongen - Repatriated
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‘Drachman has an eye for moving stories and how to portray them.’ – CuttingEdge.be ‘A subtle debut.’ - Judith Vanistendael ‘Drachman proves that the comic book format lends itself perfectly to visual poetry. She has the talent to let her drawings float like clouds in the sky – weightless, but chock-full of emotion.’ - Aimée de Jongh
136 pages, full colour Size 19,5 x 26 cm Published September 2020 One shot Rights sold: Japanese (Kaden Sha) Rough English translation available
In dreamy hand-painted imagery Dido Drachman tells the tale of a young girl torn between an alcoholic, abusive father and a mother that has left for her own reasons. Her brother choses the path of anger and criminal behavior. What will she choose?
Dido Drachman (1992) is an Illustrator and comic book artist from the Netherlands. In 2015, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Illustration from De Hoge school van de kunsten Utrecht. In 2019 she finished her Master’s degree in Graphic storytelling at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Swan herders is her debut. 57
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Dido Drachman - Swan herders
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‘In addition to being graphically gifted, Sterric is also a narrative talent, because as a whole the book is a beautiful, poetic, modern myth with a remarkable psychological depth, which takes place in a complex and credible universe.’ – Zone 5300 ‘A graphically very strong debut with a huge amount of atmosphere. Sterric has created a whole world that is very attractive despite its dark sides.’ – De Recensie
168 pages, full colour Size 21 x 29,2 cm Published July 2021 One shot Rights sold: Portuguese Brazil (Darkside Books) Rough English translation available
Black Fur - White Wolves is a lesbian-romantic grim dark tale in the vein of the classic fairy tales. Aimed at young adults and upwards, filled with the occult and with stunning contrast rich imagery. This beautifully drawn dark story ends tragically, but with an opening to future tales.
Sterric or Sterre Richard (1993) is a Rotterdam based illustrator and designer with a specialty in visual storytelling. Sterric’s passion is the making of comics, with an active webcomic that publishes one chapter every month. All comics Sterric has made up until now are completely written, inked, colored and lettered by herself. 59
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Sterric - Black Fur
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‘A beautifully drawn, dreamlike adventure story sure to please lovers of Euro comics lovers like Herge and Moebius.’ - NY Times bestselling author Jimmy Gownley Winner SDB 2020 Debut Award
144 pages, full colour Size 21 x 28 cm Published November 2021 One shot Rights sold: French (Albin Michel) English (US, Living the Line) English translation available
For inexplicable reasons the earth in and around the ghost town of Centralia has warmed so much that it is impossible to stand on it without melting. Still, a group of brave adventurers is heading out to hunt the gold treasure that is supposedly hidden in the heart of the city. On their adventure they encounter carnivorous birds, triggerhappy long-nosed monkeys on stilts and other bizarre creatures.
Miel Vandepitte (1998) lives in Ghent, Belgium and graduated in 2020 from LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, with a great distinction in Graphic Storytelling (cartoon). As part of the course, he spent a semester at the Pacific North-West College Of Arts in Portland, Oregon. There he was taught by Robert Alexander and Jonathan Hill, among others, for whose short-comics anthology Postscript he drew a short story in 2019. Winner of the SDB 2020 Debut Award in the Netherlands. 61
THE YOUNG ONES
Miel Vandepitte - Centralia
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‘With a few razor-sharp pen strokes, Hendriks brings his characters to life.’ – 8weekly.nl
On the coast of East Greenland, an old man with a drum tells a story. It is the story of Malik Petersen, who lives with his parents in the small town of Anoritooq. Hardened by existence in this world of ice and snow, the family struggles to survive. A world ruled by polar bears and killer whales, where the night seems to last forever. A world where mythical creatures dance under the polar aurora... Is anyone still listening to the old man?
256 pages, black and white Size 19 x 26 cm Published October 2021 One shot Rough English translation available
Mark Hendriks (Amstelveen, 1971) graduated from Academie Minerva in Groningen in 1997. His work has been translated into French, Japanese, Italian, Slovenian and Finnish. In 1998, he won the Handyburger Award (Slovenia). He has also won the Stripschapspenning (a major Dutch comics prize) for Album of the Year three times: for Tomoyo (1996), for the albums Hong Kong Love Story and Ikayaki together (2000) and for De nieuwe hemel (2006). 63
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Mark Hendriks - Greenland
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Mark Hendriks - Octopus ‘Thanks to a stunning combination of craftsmanship, powerful drawings, layered humor, surprising elements and strange twists and turns, Hendriks delivers a true masterpiece.’ - De Boekenkrant
slipcase
hardcover book
A rural village in Korea. Two tourists wander around, looking for temples and authentic experiences. A club of old ladies goes hiking. An old man sits under a tree, drinking, hoping his wife won’t find out. A woman runs a small tourist shop by day and plays video games with her nephew at night. But she prefers going fishing in a nature reserve to waiting around for customers. There, freediving into the ocean, she discovers an octopus that both annoys and intrigues her.
232 pages, black & white Size 30 x 22 cm (oblong), hardcover with slipcase Published June 2017 One shot Rough English translation available
In Octopus, different storylines run along each other, slowly becoming intertwined like the tentacles of an octopus. With his beautiful, surefire artwork Mark Hendriks has created a mesmerizing tale of tradition and modernity in which nothing is what it seems.
More on Mark Hendriks on page 63. 65
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‘With a stunning combination of craftsmanship, powerful artwork, layered humour, surprising elements and strange plot twists, Hendriks has delivered an impressive feat.’ – De boekenkrant ‘Tibet is a wonderful book, a great satire on esotericism, a reminder to be wary of false prophets.’ – Stripschap
Tibet, several years after the country gained independence. Rival Buddhist sects fight each other in a bloody civil war. In the meantime, an evil demon possesses Mhusha, the butcher’s daughter. He is causing angry red spots all over her body that she can’t seem to get rid of. The local nobleman and the monastery grant her permission to travel to Dbu Li, where a lama with healing powers is said to live. Mhusha sets off, together with her neighbor, in search of the monastery. Along the way they receive help from mountain demons, holy signs, esoteric maps, enlightened masters, dreams and clouds. 400 pages, black and white Size 17 x 24 cm Published May 2015 One shot Rights sold: French (Warum), Bahasa Indonesia (Rotasi Books), Ukrainian (Calvaria) Rough English translation available
In Tibet, Mark Hendriks shows a different side of the country that Westerners usually think of as pristine, peaceful and spiritual: a country where corrupt monks are in charge and religious extremism and suppression of the population are everyday realities. In his beautiful, flowing style, Hendriks paints a mystical, but harsh world, where dreams and reality overlap seamlessly.
More on Mark Hendriks on page 63. 67
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Mark Hendriks - Tibet
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A gruesomely beautiful black fable. ‘Dynamic drawings and moody coloring, reminiscent of Mike Mignola and Moebius’ - Lambiek Comiclopedia
In his first book, The Rabbit, Jovanovich introduced us to the concept of Runners, living stories who transport souls from one universe to another. The Runners which were contaminated by a parasite deity have been simultaneously decontaminated by the Eraser - the decontamination being a process of the Eraser assuming a character in the story and destroying the parasite hiding in it. In the first episode the decontamination takes place in a small south Serbian town Nish in 1934 and the Eraser is the local lawyer Stevan Apostolovich. He takes care of his fishes, defends in court a Roma man accused of a murder he didn’t commit, learns to play a Chinese string instrument called Yuekin, discusses abstract art and the mistery of a missing plane with a rich widow, takes a dive in an aquarium and eventually releases a world in which Adolf Hitler appears to be a very nice man after all. 232 pages, full color Size 21 x 29,7 cm Expected May 2022 One shot Rights sold: Serbian (Besna Kobila) Rough English translation available
Sasha Jovanovich (1963) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. Having previously studied applied art and architecture at the University of Belgrade, he graduated from the Amsterdam Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy in 1993. Upon graduation, Sasha was the recipient of the BKVB grant for perspective emerging artists and went on to co-found JAB, an avant-garde funerary art studio. Sasha’s conceptual art was exhibited in The Netherlands, Germany, Serbia and Great Britain. He started creating digital art in mid nineties. 69
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Sasha Jovanovich - Runner #1
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‘The art is spectacular, graphically it is a small miracle... chillingly beautiful and intriguing.’ - Drs. J.A.M. van Waterschoot, University of Amsterdam, Special Collections ‘A book that looks like a movie: a dystopian story in which Amsterdam is cut loose from the world.’ - VPRO Radio
His life’s ambition is to produce at least one work in each art form and technique. Jovanovich has done drawing, etching, painting and sculpting, conceptual art, writing and music. The Rabbit is simultaneously a graphic novel and a substitute for the movie that he will never make, because this kind of movie simply cannot be made on a shoestring budget. The Rabbit is a spectacular rollercoaster ride, a container filled with Jovanovich’s love for comics, sci-fi movies and Amsterdam on the one hand, and with an infinite disgust towards wars and the big, dirty corporations who usually start those wars, on the other. 240 pages, full color Size 21 x 29,7 cm Published November 2019 One shot
So, here we all are, riding through space on a planet we made so angry it might try to kill us all… Or are we trying to destroy the world that made us what we are today?
Rights sold: Serbian (Besna Kobila) Rough English translation available
More on Sasha Jovanovich on page 69. 71
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Sasha Jovanovich - The Rabbit
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On whichever side you start in this book, it will never cease to intrigue! Sam Peeters has found a way to retell the tale of Echo & Narcissus in a way that will captivate your senses. Without words, but nonetheless a story worth repeating, especially in this day and age in which social media use (and abuse) is rife. If you look at it from Sam’s perspective: people all over the world fall in the category of either Echo – mimicking everything she hears and sees around her – or of Narcissus – who never loves anyone more than himself. Which one are you?
ca. 64 pages, full colour Size 18,5 x 26 cm Expected 2023 One shot
Sam Peeters (1976) is a Dutch comic book artist and illustrator. He has a deep knowledge of comic book styles and techniques and hides many (often non-verbal) references and citations in his work. He is an expert in storytelling and showed his mastery of the non-verbal discipline of this art in his (nearly) wordless book Iedereen op Claudia. The fact that he knows and respects comic book history and the work of his colleagues does not mean he is conventional. On the contrary. He teaches Illustration and Comic Book design at academies in Zwolle and Groningen. 73
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Sam Peeters - Metamorphosis Echo & Narcissus
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‘Its child-friendly, colourful style clashes beautifully with the horny, melancholy contents.’ ★★★★ – Knack Focus ‘A wonderful comic. Peeters experiments with style and content haven’t kept him from taking the story to the next level and creating a beautiful album.’ – Stripinfo.be
Claudia is the most beautiful girl in the school. Sexy, smart, sweet, funny. And out of everybody’s league. From the moment he sees her, the protagonist of Get Claudia is madly in love with her. She gets under his skin, nestles in his eyes, his ears, his brain, his heart, his groin.
224 pages, full colour Size 24,4 x 31,3 cm Published March 2017 One shot
But though their love seems meant to be, circumstances keep them from being together. Time and time again their paths cross. And with every encounter, his love for her takes on a more extreme form.
More on Sam Peeters on page 73. 75
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Sam Peeters - Get Claudia
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‘After reading Fucking Hell you realise Satan is only human…’ – de Volkskrant ‘The devil with heartbreak turns out to be an amusing fact, which, moreover, is cleverly elaborated on by the author. [...] And for a comic that started off from such an out-ofthe-ordinary premise, the dialogues are very well written.’ - Cutting Edge
The Devil is in love. And it’s bothering him. Ever since he met Ilse at a costumed BDSM party (she was dressed up as an SS officer) he can’t seem to get her out of his mind. But after their one night stand, she completely disappeared. Lucifer, the King of Hell, Master of Evil, is heartbroken. He forsakes his duties. Punishing sinners in the eternal fires of Hell just isn’t fun when she’s not around. In a desperate attempt to find her, he turns to his colleague from the other side. In spite of their previous disagreements, God is willing to help him. But he has a favour to ask of the Devil as well...
80 pages, full colour Size 24,4 x 31,3 cm Published May 2016 One shot Rough English translation available
Bold, funny and in-your-face, Fucking Hell is a daring project by Sam Peeters. In his colourful, highly stylised panels featuring explicit sex and creative methods of torture, Peeters tells an uplifting story that shows love really does conquer all.
More on Sam Peeters on page 73. 77
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Sam Peeters - Fucking Hell
The first gig Hello Miriam*... Do I want to try what?
and they I used pay me to have WHAT? forto2draw years (or longer) for that ...
OK, I'll give it a try I guess.
Is that per day?
My first client was a large bank ...
In hindsight it felt like some kind of test ...
I wonder what it'll be like
OK, and now our illustrator will ...
for all of you ...
draw a beautiful wild west scene with staggering horses and cowboys falling from rooftops, etc. etc.
Must have been a metaphor for a failing business unit or something like that. Back in five, people.
I don't really remember ...
* Miriam is my agent at Comic House 78
‘Van de Pol’s work has been highly appreciated by the whole team. His style, his understanding of the problematic, his sense of humor, his speed have impressed all the team!’ – Celine Cuvier, Global Brand Director, McCannHealth
Live cartooning is a well-known concept among countless organizations and companies. It motivates, inspires, explains and entertains. Many artists earn a living in this booming industry. But just fun drawing doesn’t cut the mustard. There is more to this niche of visual communication. Much more! This book is about a highly sensitive bounty hunter who had the courage to gallop to unknown horizons, when deep down he might have preferred to stay in the saloon. An equally hilarious and practical guide for anyone who also wants to get into the saddle. Along the way this creative cowboy finds out that it takes more to survive in the wild west. Much more!
128 pages, black & white Size 17 x 24 cm Published September 2022 One shot
Michiel van de Pol (1965) earns his living making live drawings for a variety of companies and government institutions. This book is about his first hesitant steps on the live cartoonist path, a path that will eventually lead to his current status as a self-aware professional. 79
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Michiel van de Pol How I made my fortune as a live cartoonist
01-05-20
After ose ing th applaud ork in w o wh care health ...
... instilling eachother w ith courage on a regular basi s ...
and after all of us keeping this country running ...
I'm thinking now it's time for a new initiative. Which is?
Yelling at . COVID-19
Relieved?
Would t have tha . s e Y scared the virus, you think?
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‘As hilarious as it is recognizable.’ - De Volkskrant ‘Van de Pol keeps creating fascinating stories and in this way continues to surprise his audience. Moreover, both graphic and narrative, he has a very own style that makes him incomparable within the Dutch language area.’ - Enola.be
Everyone handled the COVID-19 lockdown differently: Michiel van de Pol made a virtue out of necessity by capturing his findings in drawings every day. A story about fear, insecurity and grief. But also about how to behave in the supermarket, the uplifting power of dancing in the kitchen, and why the reclined couch position is a risky position to get bored in.
136 pages, black & white Size 20 x 27 cm Published July 2020 One shot
Michiel van de Pol (1965) made his debut with Mol in comics magazine Sjors en Sjimmie in 1995. Since 1996, he has published several books. He won the first comics contest of newspaper Het Parool with his autobiographical comic Cartoondiarree in 2006. His cartoons were published in various newspapers and magazines. In 2010, his book Terug naar Johan came out, which won him the Willy Vandersteen prize. 81
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Michiel van de Pol Touchdeprivation and other inconveniences
In daily life I am a general practitioner ... but I also have a kind of hobby project in the basement.
My research focuses on beautiful, self-confident, but also slightly mean women.
Sexy bitches have always fascinated me.
That calm certainty with which they face the world ...
The prevalance they have over men ...
Without doing anything special ...
Without saying anything special ...
Their presence alone is enough ...
to display their unfathomable power.
I just knew there had to be something ...
So I just HAD to cut them open to discover their secret ...
And? What did you find?
Tiny balls!
some source of indomitable sexual frenzy ...
The scientific term is 'sexy bitches'.
You're researching 'sexy bitches'? That's right!
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‘Van de Pol isn’t afraid to show his own vulnerability and shame, but instead embraces it and dissects it.’ – Literair Nederland ‘In this exceptional trip about life and death, intimacy and sexuality, we get a glimpse into the fantastic brain of Michiel van de Pol.’ - Isolde Hallensleben
102 pages, full colour Size 20 x 27 cm Published February 2020 One shot
Vera one day decides she no longer wants to wear clothes. Her husband is taken aback, but what can he do? He seeks reassurance with the League of Sensitive Men, who help him deal with his predicament. Meanwhile Vera falls in the hands of Doctor Cagliari who has always been fascinated by the power that women - or rather ‘sexy bitches’ - have over men. He is determined to unlock the secret with Vera’s help. The experiments begin and things get totally out of hand...
More on Michiel van de Pol on pages 79 and 81. 83
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Michiel van de Pol The League of Sensitive Men
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‘Both hilarious and touching.’ – de Volkskrant ‘Michiel van de Pol’s best book yet.’ – Hans Pols
180 pages, full colour Size 17 x 24 cm Published May 2016 One shot English translation available
Frank is a passionate aircraft spotter and builder of model airplanes. Everything in his world is clear and manageable. But then he meets Julia, a young novelist working on her debut novel. Julia and Frank are complete opposites, but they fall in love and soon after, Julia discovers she’s pregnant. While Frank tries to calm his anxiety over his impending fatherhood by gathering as much information as he can from the Internet, Julia learns she is terminally ill. She keeps her illness from Frank, afraid that he will break down when he finds out. While Julia’s sense of reality is beginning to waver and she slowly descends into madness, Frank has to confront his inner control freak and accept his role as a parent. In Spotters, Michiel van de Pol broaches big subjects such as illness, death and self-determination, while maintaining a light touch. Frank’s and Julia’s thoughts colour their worldviews – literally. Frank’s thoughts are depicted in blue, Julia’s in pink, alongside the ‘neutral’ yellow reality. In his particular, at times bizarre style, Van de Pol has created a graphic novel full of life, humour and compassion.
More on Michiel van de Pol on pages 79 and 81. 85
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Michiel van de Pol - Spotters
‘With The Art of the Unfinished, Dutch art wizard Mark Smeets posthumously gets the book that he deserved.’ – Knack Focus
226 pages, full colour Size 29,7 x 21 cm (oblong) Published May 2016 One shot 86
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W INTRODITH AN UCTION
CHRISBY WARE
Mark Smeets The Art of the Unfinished Mark Smeets (1942-1999) was one of Holland’s best and most valued underground comics artists. His comics were never complete stories with a plot and clear main characters, but were more like poems – full of sudden turns, absurd images, breaks and new stories. His oeuvre remains a unique and intriguing body of work. He has many fans among artists, among whom Chris Ware.
The Art of the Unfinished offers a complete and insightful biography of this forgotten artist. This generously illustrated book is a chronological overview of Smeets’ work, encompassing his entire career.
Mark Smeets (1942-1999) was a Dutch illustrator and (comics) artist. His work consisted mainly of loose illustrations and short stories, but he also contributed to Dutch comics magazines, such as Tante Leny Presenteert and Modern Papier. Issue 15 of Tante Leny Presenteert was dedicated entirely to his work. The issue was translated into French, which gave him some notoriety in France as well. Smeets also drew illustrations for NRC Handelsblad for some twenty years in his distinctive ligne claire. 87
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‘His modest sketchbook pages with their spidery, clear lines, subdued palette of filtered greens, browns and blues, and odd, unfinished pencil sketching all point towards an approach to comic strip “storytelling” that is fresh and otherwise, I think, unexplored.’ – Chris Ware Mark Smeets has always drawn – in notebooks, on scraps of paper, but most of all in sketchbooks. Between ages forty and fifty he realised: ‘Since about a year I’ve accepted this form: these sketchbooks are who I am. This is how it has to be. I no longer have the urge to draw a real story. That’s what comics are, basically: you have to tell a story, as simply and clearly as possible. I prefer to make it as complicated as possible, throwing in all sorts of things that have nothing to do with it, without any discipline. I’ll just have to accept that lack of discipline; apparently it’s a part of me.’
184 pages, full colour Size 29,7 x 21 cm (oblong) Published May 2016 One shot
After Smeets’ death in 1999, a great number of sketchbooks were found in his archive, full of never before published work. One of these, from 1993, was published as a facsimile at Scratch. For the first time, these drawings are shown to the public. An intimate portrait of this outsider of the Dutch comic world.
More on Mark Smeets on page 87. 89
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Mark Smeets - Sketchbook ’93
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‘Tak uses a graphic vocabulary that adds a poetic layer to the images.’ – Knack Focus ‘A beautiful book. Lyrical poems, beautifully visualised.’ – Het Parool ‘This is good. Meticulous, dreamy drawings. Bright colours. Tak creates a world of his own.’ – Enola.be ‘The doubly gifted Tobias Tak expresses himself through dance and art, the two combining in his comics as a perfect partnership of motion and rhythm.’ - Art Review
Federico García Lorca is one of Spain’s foremost cultural and literary figures. In 1927, he published his masterpiece Canciones, a volume of lyrical poetry. Tobias Tak transformed twenty of these poems into a series of richly detailed and inventive ink drawings. With his boundless imagination, Tak’s illustrations add a new depth and energy to Lorca’s poetry. This collection will appeal to lovers of visual art, graphic novels and poetry and aims to bring the colourful and atmospheric landscape of Lorca’s work to a new audience.
160 pages, full colour Size 17 x 24 cm Released January 2017 One shot Rights sold: English, USA (NBM Publishing) English version available
Tobias Tak (1954-2020) was a Dutch artist, dancer and singer. Inspired by early 20th century book illustrations and expressionist movies of the 1920s, Tobias Tak invented his own unique and elaborate worlds. Early works were published in Dutch cult magazine Tante Leny. His work has appeared in various publications. He has also published two books of collected stories: Gaboon’s Daymare and Upside Down. Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) is one of the most celebrated 20th century Spanish writers, known primarily for his plays and poetry collections. In 1936 Lorca, an outspoken socialist, was arrested by Franco’s supporters regime and executed. Today his work is still as vivid, fresh and arresting as when it was created. 91
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Tobias Tak - Canciones
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‘This is an amazing book … her illustrations are delicate, intimate and extremely beautiful, and with the occasional moment of whimsy.’ – The Guardian ‘Vanistendael reinvented herself for When David Lost His Voice. The result is a heartbreaking, beautiful and skillfully made graphic novel about life and death.’ – De Standaard ‘A monumental graphic novel.’ – NRC Handelsblad
280 pages, full colour Size 19,5 x 26 cm Published 2012 One shot Rights sold: World English (Selfmadehero), French (Lombard), German (Reprodukt), Korean (Kyobo Book), Polish (Komiksowe), Slovakian (BRaK), Spanish (Norma), Swedish (Epix) Film rights sold: Belgium
David has cancer – a devastating disease, not just for him but for his family as well. This story begins at the crossroads of life and death: not long after giving birth to her first child, Miriam learns her father has cancer. Tamar, David’s youngest daughter, is determined to find out what death means, and how you can preserve a soul. Paula can’t cope with the fact that her husband will abandon her. David himself would most of all like to go on one last sailing trip. Everyone reacts to David’s inevitable death in their own way. In When David Lost his Voice, Judith Vanistendael looks for an answer to the question what it feels like when life lets you down. A story that gets under the skin.
Judith Vanistendael (Leuven, 1974) is a Flemish comics artist and illustrator. In 2007 and 2009, she published her first album, the diptych De maagd en de neger. Both volumes were nominated for the Grand Prix d’Angoulême and translated into six languages. In 2012 her graphic novel Toen David zijn stem verloor was published, followed by Pelgrim of niet?, a travelogue of her journey to Santiago de Compostela. In 2016 the graphic novel Mikel was published, which she created together with Mark Bellido. 93
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Judith Vanistendael When David Lost His Voice
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‘Everything which percolates up from Wasco’s brain truely lives.’ - Stefan Nieuwenhuis, 9e Kunst ‘Wasco is a special phenomenon. He’s one of the few comic artists that manages to make me stare at the pages and wonder what it is I’m actually reading.’ - Jeroen van Esch, Striptip
In 2020 Wasco received the prestigious Dutch comicbook award, the Stripschapprijs. In honor of this wonderful occasion, Wasco wanted to make a large part of his comics accessible to a wider audience, hence this collection of very diverse and beautiful work by this esteemed artist.
336 pages, 2 spotcolors Size 17 x 24,5 cm, hardcover Published September 2020 One shot
Wasco (1957) studied at the AKI in Enschede and the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. Since the late 1980s, he has been self-publishing and printing his own magazines and books. His main characters are the dog Phiwi and its owner Mr. Tuitel. Wasco has contributed to the alternative comics magazine Zone5300 since its first issue, and his illustrations have also appeared in magazines such as Vrij Nederland, mug magazine and VPRO-Gids. Having been discovered by Joost Swarte, Wasco has a large fan base among Dutch comic artists for his uncompromising, original and abstract style. 95
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Wasco - Everything’s alive
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An irresistible musthave. Obviously, every Wasco calender can be adjusted for each preferable year.
Wasco - Cats & Dogs calendar 368 sheets, full color Size 13 x 18 cm, softcover Expected October 2021 One shot
It’s raining cats and dogs! 365 days long! Immerse yourself in Wasco’s colorful world, no rain gear required. A small, charming work of art every day of the year. In full color! An irresistible musthave.
More on Wasco on page 95. 97
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A cat a day keeps the doctor away. Obviously, every Wasco calender can be adjusted for each preferable year.
Wasco - Pussycat calendar 368 sheets, full color Size 13 x 18 cm, softcover Published September 2020 One shot
After effortlessly conjuring up two thousand and twenty penguins for the 2020 wall calendar, Wasco has decided to color the world full of cats for the 2021 calendar. We think the saying should go ‘A cat a day keeps the doctor away’. Cats are the bomb. Don’t you agree?
More on Wasco on page 95. 99
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‘Penguins are cool!’ – Wasco Obviously, every Wasco calender can be adjusted for each preferable year.
Wasco - Penguins calendar 368 sheets, full color Size 13 x 18 cm, softcover Published September 2019 One shot
A wonderful gift for young and old, for the die-hard penguin fanatic, but also for anyone who wants something different to look at each day of the year. This wonderful calendar presents you with a colorful, happy piece of art each day of the year. And if you count them carefully you will find that Wasco has managed to give you exactly the right number of penguins on this calendar to match the year it comes out in.
More on Wasco on page 95. 101
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Some call him a ‘poet and visual essayist’, others know him as risograph specialist, but he himself came up with the qualification ‘penguinist’: Wasco is a unique figure in the Dutch graphic novel landscape, who tirelessly studies the laws of comics and tries to bend them in his work. How do you draw a thousand penguins? First one, then another, then the third... And then you keep that up for a while. At least, that’s what Wasco did. The quirky comic artist, poet and self-proclaimed penguinist filled a delightful book with exactly one thousand penguins, each in series of one to ten.
208 pages, 2 Pantone colours. Size 17 x 18 cm, hardcover Published September 2018 One shot
A thousand tiny birds, all of which have been drawn in a unique way: cubist, realistic, graphic, comical, you name it. 1000 Penguins is a playful experiment with form and style that elicits a smile from every spectator.
More on Wasco on page 95. 103
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Wasco - 1000 Penguins
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‘Each page is a delight to look at and some of them sizzle with creativity.’ – Knack Focus
What if the characters in a comic won’t stay within the panels of their story? What if they want to explore the world that lies beneath the surface of the pages they appear on? Welcome to the strange and wondrous world of Wasco. In this beautiful crossover between art and comics, the idiosyncratic Dutch artist shows his best work along with new artwork in one volume for the first time. In mostly wordless comics, Mr. Tuitel (Mr. Hourglass) and his dog Phiwi (Pheewee) appear, disappear and re-appear in an environment that has been brought down to the essence of comics art: panels, lines, colours and shapes.
112 pages, full colour Size 24,4 x 32,3 cm Published October 2015 One shot
In Het Tuitel Complex (The Hourglass Complex), Wasco showcases his many and diverse graphic talents in playful, humoristic artwork.
More on Wasco on page 95. 105
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Wasco - The Hourglass Complex
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‘This is crazy humour that starts where Monty Python ended. Immerse yourself in the Windig and De Jong universe, featuring talking potatoes, a depressed cat and two grumpy comics artists, and you’ll find that any form of therapy will be completely unnecessary.’ – Moors Magazine
Meet Heinz, the grumpy but lovable cat that’s been a staple in Dutch comics since 1987. Its deadpan humour, absurdist situations and deranged characters make it a beloved classic that still has a large fanbase. In October 2018, an animated feature film was released in cinemas in the Netherlands and Belgium. Between 1987 and 2005, René Windig and Eddie de Jong created over 3000 comics for the daily strip that appeared in over 30 Dutch newspapers, and were collected in 26 albums. In 1992, Heinz made his international debut in Sweden, and in 2007, the comic appeared in the French magazine Picsou. The comics have been republished in full colour in an intégrale series of five volumes from 2009, the last of which will be published in 2018. The strips were also published in nine thematic albums on topics such as children, cooking, golfing and drinking. English and French reading samples available Completed series 3000+ comic strips available for translation Heinz 5 volumes
René Windig (1951) and Eddie de Jong (1950) started their drawing career at the Amsterdam grammar school they both attended. After graduation, they started drawing for several magazines, such as Aloha, Donald Duck, and De Balloon. Their breakthrough came with daily comic Heinz. Partly thanks to this success, they won the Stripschapprijs for their oeuvre in 1991. 107
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Windig & De Jong - Heinz
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