Boerke is a Flemish cartoon character created by Pieter De Poortere in 2001. The name is a diminutive of boer and so means "little farmer" in Dutch. He has been translated into other languages such as French where he is known as Dickie. The character is a farmer but is often shown in other costumes and settings as an anti-hero. The comic strips are typically visual jokes with no text.[1]
| Boerke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Ballon; Nanuq |
| Created by | Pieter De Poortere |
| In-story information | |
| Notable aliases | Dickie |
The character's comic strips appear in magazines and newspapers such as Knack, have been collected in book form and are exhibited at a museum in Brussels – the Belgian Comic Strip Center.[2][3]
An animated version has been shown on the Flemish TV station, VRT. Fifty-two two-minute episodes were shown on its Canvas channel, starting in 2021. To preserve the non-verbal quality of the humour, the characters' vocalisations are humming, mumbles, screams and other vocables. For the main character, these were performed by voice artist Jos Dom in the style of Mr. Bean.[4]
In 2022, the character was used to lead a campaign against plastic pollution.[2]
Reception edit
The first collection of Boerke won a prize as the best comic in the Dutch language.[5]
References edit
- ^ David Andrews (2017), "Dickie – Silence is Golden", Comic Book and Movie Reviews
- ^ a b Jennifer Rankin (10 May 2022), "'People laugh but think twice': Belgian cartoonist takes on plastic pollution", The Guardian
- ^ Pieter De Poortere Auditorium, Belgian Comic Strip Center, 2022
- ^ Els Van Heuverzwyn (29 March 2021), Oost-Vlaams stripfiguur Boerke wordt animatiereeks op Canvas, VRT News
- ^ Lien Devos (2022), The Dickie Bible, Flanders Literature
External links edit
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