Some more news from the European comic scene. Belgian Publisher Standaard will be releasing volume 317 'Het bizarre blok ('The strange block') in their succefull comic series 'Suske & Wiske' ('Spike & Suzy') on May 9th. Creators Luc Morjeau (artwork) and Peter van Gucht with their colleagues at Studio Vandersteen have again created another spectacle for the series, created by Willy Vandersteen in 1945.
This time our friends will have to deal with evil itself, as their friend Lambik (I think he's called 'Ambrose' in English) has made a deal with the devil to become a famous architect. Spike and Suzy get lost in a strange building he recently had build, with plenty of rooms filled with riddles and mysteries linking to previous adventures from the past. Prepublication of this story started on April 11th in the Belgian newspaper 'De Standaard'.
Below left: A cover sketch for the new book, showing a variation on the artwork that made the final cut. Middle: The French cover. In France the series is called 'Bob et Bobette', the new volume is called 'le bloc bizarre'. Right: Publisher Standaard has announced they will continue to publish a Summer Holiday Special this year, filled with games and puzzles and of course, four stories of Spike and Suzy. This year's volume will hold 'De Gevederde Slang' ('The Feathered Serpent') from 1996, 'De Koning Drinkt' ('The King Drinks') from 1949, 'De Schone Slaper'('The Sleeping Beauty') from 1965 and 'De Dartele Draak' ('The Playful Dragon') from 2008. 'The King Drinks' was published in the US in 1976, while the characters were still called 'Willy & Wanda' in English.
Three more books have been announced for 2012. Spike and Suzy's next adventure seems something from the pages of Roald Dahl's 1964 classic 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Studio Vandersteen has already revealed the cover for volume 318, titled 'De Suikerslaven' (The Sugarslaves'). Prepublication hasn't begun yet, but the comic book will be published on August 8th. In this sory, Spike and Suzy are magically transformed into candy by a robot and kidnapped to Suchardia, where they are forced to work in a candy factory. But this fairytale is all but sweet as the country is terrorised by a magician and a huge monster. The titles for volumes 319 and 320 have also been announced already: 'Suske de Rat' ('Spike the Rat') and 'De Tirannieke Tor' ('The Tyrannical Beetle').
Below: Cover artwork for volume 318 and some character sketches by Morjeau. (thanks to Studio Vandersteen and Luc Morjeau). Visit Luc Morjeau's site for more on 'De Suikerslaven'!
The Red Knight.
By the way, did you know that Castle of Horst really exists? It is situated in Sint-Pieters-Rode in Belgium. During a battle with the armies of Maximilian I of Austria in 1488, the castle was completely ravaged. It was rebuild afterwards by Lodewijk III Pynnock which financially ruined him, forcing him to sell it to his uncle, Ivan van Cortenbach in 1500. As of 2007 the estate is owned by the Flemish Region and plays host to historical reenactments, including medieval tournements between knights during the yearly festivities. Read all about the renovations taking place today on the official site or check the official Pynnock knights of Horst site (Dutch only).
Below left:: Cover for the new 'Red Knight' volume 234 by Claus. Right you can see the actual 'Castle of Horst' (click to enlarge).
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