Belgian cartoonist Pieter de Poortere is set to unveil the first British edition of his beloved character, Dickie, at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) this coming weekend.
“Dickie”, known as “Boerke” in Europe, first published over 20 years ago, tells the story of a loser who is constantly betrayed by his own shortcomings, desires and naivety, crushed by the indifference of the world, in one-page silent comics. The popular comic is well known for pushing boundaries and challenging traditional comic norms, and the character has gained phenomenal worldwide appeal and now, thanks to publisher Fanfare, he’s coming to Britain.
After conquering the world of publishing “Dickie” now appears in his own animated series based on the books and produced by De Hofleveranciers, which has aired in over ten countries. The success of the first series quickly led to the commissioning of a second, which aired earlier this year.
The launch of the Dickie – Natural Born Loser is being celebrated with a number of special events through the weekend, including the launch of a special geocache game starring Dickie, “The Quest for the Windermere Ghost“!
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, an annual event celebrating comics, part of a wider project promoting the comics form all year round in the UK, will take place this coming weekend (Friday 29th September – Sunday 1st October) in Bowness-on- Windermere, attracting comic enthusiasts, artists, and creators worldwide.
Over 60 international guests including Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Sayra Begum (Mongrel), Gigi Cavenago (Dylan Dog) Amy Chiu (Carmilla: The First Vampire, Wonder Woman), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), award-winning Czech creator Lucie Lomová, animation director and comic artist Kevin Raymundo, Rachael Smith (Quarantine Comix) and Bryan and Mary Talbot, will take part in talks, workshops and other events, and over ninety exhibitors will be selling their wares in the Lakeside Comics Marketplace, some launching their own new titles.
Attendees can look forward to engaging with Pieter de Poortere, who will participate in an international cartoon battle, book signings at the Fanfare booth, and screening of the animated shorts of “Dickie”.
Pieter is also responsible for this year’s map of the Festival’s various venue locations in the Festival Guide, available to view online now.
“Pieter de Poortere’s storytelling skills and creative genius have earned Dickie a devoted following and critical acclaim,” notes Festival Director Julie Tait. “We’re delighted to host the exclusive premiere of the first British Dickie album.”
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere 29th September to 1st October 2023
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Pieter De Poortere is a Flemish comic strip author, known to the general public mainly for the comic strips and the animation series “Boerke” (Dickie). His work combines cynical humour with an innocent graphic style.
He started his career in 2000 as a freelance illustrator, published first in “Humo” and later in “Focus Knack”, making his debut as a strip cartoonist in 2001 with the album “Boerke”, which immediately won the prize for the best Dutch-language album of the year.
Since then, several Boerke albums have appeared, and the series has been translated into seven languages and the animation series, based on the books and produced by De Hofleveranciers, can be seen in more than ten countries. The success of the first series quickly led to the commissioning of a second season, aired in 2023.
The wordless comics of De Poortere have an international potential, as shown by the succes of the permanent exhibition of his work in the Brussels Comic Book Museum. There has been a lot of interest abroad in Boerke, where our amiable loser stumbles through life as Dickie.
In 2011, for instance, a wall of Boerke designed by De Poortere was inaugurated in Paris and in 2019 he published the album “Super Mickey”, in the Mickey Mouse homage series published by Glénat.
Pieter De Poortere has also created several children’s books over the past 20 years. For the Van Eyck Year, he made the book “Lam” for the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, in which he depicts the figures of the ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ in his native city of Ghent.
Recently, Pieter De Poortere joined the board of directors of the Belgian Comic Strip museum in Brussels as chairman.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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