'Marq Denkt'.
Marq van Broekhoven is a Dutch comic artist, arising from his home country's small press comics scene of the 1980s and 1990s. For decades, he has combined his teaching dayjob with creating comics like the gag strip 'Peer de Plintkabouter' (1993-2005, 2012-2023) and the sword-and-sorcery humor series 'Jodocus de Barbaar' (2010-2019), which have appeared in several magazines and book collections. For the comic news magazines StripNieuws and Stripschrift, he reflected on his lifelong passion for comics in the autobiographical 'Marq Denkt' comic feature (1999-2023).
Early life
Marq van Broekhoven was born in 1960 in the city of Eindhoven. His lifelong passion for comics was fuelled by the discovery of the newspaper's comic page. Becoming an avid collector of comic books, he grew a particular liking to artists like Marc Sleen, Marten Toonder and especially Willy Vandersteen. As a teenager, he wanted to become a comic artist in the tradition of Hans G. Kresse, experimenting with realism and black-and-white artwork. Later on, his drawings became more cartoony. After high school, Van Broekhoven attended the Pedagogical Academy of Eindhoven (PABO). Since he couldn't find a teaching position after graduation, he then enrolled at the Academy of Nijmegen to study Film and Performance Art. From 1989 on, Van Broekhoven has been working as a primary school teacher, first in Nijmegen and since 1997 in his hometown Breda. Until 2023, he dedicated almost all of his spare time to a great many activities within the Dutch comics community.
'Elsje en de Olivark' (colorized for later book publication). Translation: "Another failed drawing! I'm awful in this. Off you go!" - "Hola, what do I see? Parbleu! You rarely see something like this: those shapes... magnifique! And that expression! A true piece of art... You rarely discover a trash can in such good order!"
Early creative endeavours
During his student years in the 1980s, Van Broekhoven was active as a DIY cartoonist and synth-pop musician. Between 1985 and 1997, he released several CD's and singles, either as "Marq" or, when working with Aldomir Zimmerman, under the "Don Minx" monicker. With Mau Stappers (AKA Dick Fury), he additionally performed and released music under the name Graveyard Wankers. As "Don Minx", Van Broekhoven also created the comic strip 'De Avonturen van M.S.' for the student paper of the Eindhoven Pedagogical Academy. His comics and cartoons additionally appeared in self-published zines like 'Overpeinzingen van een Meelakker', 'De Machtige Slak' (1984) and two issues of Jack Cadillac Magazine (1986), the latter created with Aldomir Zimmerman (Tonnie Eiting) and Jet Westbroek under the Freudian Backroom imprint. He also published a prose collection with short stories under the title 'Achteraf Bekeken' ("In Hindsight").
'Fritz Pitz' (Incognito #12, April 1998).
Team-up with Anton Damen
During his second studies in Nijmegen, Van Broekhoven teamed up with fellow student Anton Damen, who became his co-plotter for many comic features. Since both worked at the local Mariënburg movie theater, their first collaboration was 'Mariënkolder', a comic strip with inside humor for this venue's volunteers' magazine. Another early strip by Damen and Van Broekhoven was 'Elsje en de Olivark', a gag strip about a little girl and a purple elephant-like creature. The feature debuted in 1991 in the final issue of the news magazine Forum (a short-lived continuation of the Communist newspaper De Waarheid), and then ran for a couple of years in the local Sunday paper Nijmeegse Zondagskrant. For a Nijmegen student magazine, Damen and Van Broekhoven created the character 'Fio Dio', an overweight and beer-binging student. Under the name 'Fritz Pitz' (1993-1999), their creation continued his debauched activities in Robin Schouten's alternative comic magazine Incognito.
'Je Tante Zeker!' (BN/De Stem, 8 April 1995). Translation: "O.K., boy, we'll give you a quick haircut. Put your head on this rails." - "Oink!" - "So you are NOT satisfied about about our station's hairdresser?" - "No, the haircut doesn't match at all!"
Between 1993 and 2001, Van Broekhoven and Damen lightened up the comic news magazine Zozolala with 'De Collectioneur' (June 1993-2001), a corny humor strip about a typical comic book collector, poking fun at several people from the Dutch comics scene. In 1999, De Leidsche Stripshop released one book collection with a selection of the strips. In 1995, the duo additionally created 'Je Tante Zeker!' in Ragazzi, an absurd comic strip for the children's section of BN/De Stem magazine.
Juttemis
Besides making comics for magazines, Van Broekhoven and Anton Damen also self-published comic books under their Juttemis imprint. The name originated from the short-lived cultural magazine Juttemis, that Marq had launched with his brother Jorrit a couple of years earlier. Between 1992 and 1999, the Juttemis imprint collected several of the previously mentioned Damen-Van Broekhoven collaborations, but also solo work and comic books by other cartoonists from the Nijmegen comics scene, such as Mark Retera, Mars Gremmen and Sander Out. Among Marq van Broekhoven's solo creations during this period were the African adventures of the missionary 'Don Solo' (1996-1997) and the experimental 'Stille Lijnen' comics (1996-1998), which had longer and more emotional narratives than Van Broekhoven's regular humor strips. Based on a short story plot by Anton Damen, Marq van Broekhoven created 'Bubbels' (Incognito, 2001), a one-shot Halloween comic book about an eight-year old boy and the witch that puts the bubbles inside soft drink bottles.
'Peer de Plintkabouter'. Translation: "Hi, I'm a sweet little elf. You can make one wish." - "I want to fly. Thanks a lot!" (a pun on the Dutch verb "vliegen" (:"to fly") and "vliegen" (the plural of "flies").
Peer de Plintkabouter
Together with Anton Damen, Van Broekhoven also created his signature character, 'Peer de Plintkabouter', a grumpy gnome living in a hole behind a mopboard. While the front of his home is situated in a human house, his backyard is in the fairytale world of "Plintrijk". By the time of its creation (1993), neither Damen nor Van Broekhoven could have expected that the character would last for thirty years. Originally, Peer was created as a short comic strip, appearing panel by panel during intermissions on the local Nijmegen cable television channel Kanaal Tien. These original gags were simple and child-friendly, with the artwork handcolored with crayons.
Between 1994 and 1999, 'Peer de Plintkabouter' appeared as a gag strip in Sjosji magazine and its successor Striparazzi. There, it was part of a new wave of Dutch gag strips, characterized by cynical, student-like humor and often crude artwork. Among the other Sjosji strips of this generation were Mark Retera's 'DirkJan' (1993), Mars Gremmen's 'Meneer Foutjes' (1994) and Marc van der Holst's 'Spekkie Big' (1995). When Striparazzi magazine folded in 1999, the 'Peer de Plintkabouter' comic went on hiatus. Between 2 May 2002 and 22 March 2003, it reappeared on a daily base in the free public transport newspaper Metro, where it instantly polarized readers. Some took offense to the comic's edgy and provocative humor style full of schadenfreude and violence. A series of gags with stereotypical Chinese characters even resulted in death threats. Ultimately, a set of blasphemous jokes starring Jesus caused the strip's cancellation within the year.
One of the infamous Jesus gags. Jesus is informed that he's not allowed to "walk on water."
In June 2003, Peer returned, this time in the pages of MYX, a new comic magazine published by Silvester Strips. Van Broekhoven was closely involved in the launch of the magazine, which for a while even had "Peer" as its working title. Remaining a regular feature in MYX until 2008, the comic additionally returned as a weekly strip in the national newspaper De Telegraaf (21 March 2004-2005). The new incarnation of 'Peer de Plintkabouter' in MYX and De Telegraaf marked the end of the collaboration between Anton Damen and Marq van Broekhoven. By then, both men were no longer living in the same city, making brainstorm sessions more difficult to organize, and Damen was interested in pursuing other things. For the new series of gags, Van Broekhoven began a collaboration with Myrna van der Oord as co-plotter. Between 2000 and 2007, publisher Silvester also released three book collections with 'Peer de Plintkabouter' gags.
'Peer de Plintkabouter'. Translation: "My new housemate is visited by her dream prince again." - "Must be a great lover, from what I gather." - "No, he quit his diet."
After the cancellation of MYX magazine in 2008, 'Peer de Plintkabouter' was again without pre-publication. It took a couple of years before Van Broekhoven revived the character once again, this time made directly for book publications by Strip2000/Syndikaat. After creating a new series of gag strips collected in 'Een Toffe Peer!' (2012), Van Broekhoven wrote and drew a longer adventure story with his gnome, 'De Tydfout' (2017). During the 2020s, new gag strips with 'Peer de Plintkabouter' appeared in Jump magazine. In 2023, a final book collection with both old and new material was released by Reboot Comics.
'Marq Denkt' episode about Marq discovering Hans G. Kresse's 'Eric de Noorman' comic.
Marq Denkt
In 1999, Marq van Broekhoven also began working on a series of autobiographical comic stories, in which he reflected on his childhood and passion for comics. Created in a sketchy drawing style, first in black-and-white, then with spot colors, the short stories offer childhood memories, everyday philosophies and other contemplations of a comic creator, told in a mild, ironic tone with much self-reflection. After a first series of episodes in the late 1990s small press comic magazines Incognito and De Stripper, the 'Marq Denkt' feature got a regular spot in the comic news magazines StripNieuws (2008-2012, 2021-2023) and Stripschrift (2013-2020). In 1999, Van Broekhoven already published a first comic book collection under his own Juttemis imprint. Since 2002, new 'Marq Denkt' books have been published by Silvester and Strip2000, and also in new Juttemis releases.
Jodocus de Barbaar
When publisher Rob van Bavel relaunched Eppo magazine, Marq van Broekhoven was present with an adventure comic, 'Jodocus de Barbaar'. The character had been years in the making, with early sketches dating from the early 1990s. During his Nijmegen years, Van Broekhoven had already used his clumsy barbarian in an audioplay for the local pirate channel Radio Rataplan, created with Jet Westbroek en Mau Stappers. A mix between the British comedy group Monty Python and the French cartoonist Lewis Trondheim, the comic version in Eppo took off in January 2010 with the story 'Een Prinses Ontsnapt'.
The young, dorky barbarian Jodocus is expelled from his tribe of rough guys. Through a coincidental turn of events, he is confused with Prince Folio and meets a lovely princess. His involvement with her incurs the wrath of her father, a dark magician, and everything turns for the worst. Unfortunately, Van Broekhoven's epic humor serial couldn't appeal to the Eppo readers, and the serialization was cancelled after the first story. However, between 2012 and 2019, Marq van Broekhoven created four additional adventures, published directly in book format by Strip2000 and Syndikaat.
'Jodocus de Barbaar' - 'Een Prinses Ontsnapt' (Eppo, 2010).
Scriptwriter
Even though he has frequently worked with scriptwriters, Van Broekhoven has said that he considers himself more a storyteller than an artist. As such, he has also worked as a writer for other artists. With the Italian artist Giuseppe Ferrario, he created 'Raveleijn - De Magische Pendel' (Silvester, 2018), a heroic fantasy story made for the Efteling amusement park. Another commercial assignment was 'Meander duikt in de Geschiedenis van Rheden' (Syndikaat, 2021), a comic book drawn by Irene Berbee for the municipality of Rheden. For Eppo magazine, Van Broekhoven scripted 'Harrie op Zolder' (2019-2020), a humor feature with artwork by René Uilenbroek about two women with a vegetarian restaurant and an alcoholic comic artist living upstairs. Between 2019 and 2021, he also wrote Eppo's title comic, drawn by Pieter Hogenbirk.
Graphic contributions
In 1999, Marq van Broekhoven contributed to the collective comic books 'A Bad Childhood' (published by De Stripper) and 'Big Brother' (Leidse Stripshop), an anthology with comics and cartoons about the popular reality TV show. He was also one of the participants in the chain comic 'Het Lieve Leven' (2000), initiated and published by Incognito magazine, and to Margreet de Heer's fairytale anthology 'Sprookjes in strookjes' (2006). In 2020, Van Broekhoven joined 75 Dutch & Flemish comic artists to make a graphic contribution to 'Striphelden versus Corona' (Oogachtend, Uitgeverij L, 2020), a free collective comic book in support of comic stores affected by the lockdown measurements at the height of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. In 2024, Van Broekhoven paid hommage to the late Dutch cartoonist Eric Schreurs in the tribute book 'Een Strip Hommage - Eric Schreurs' (Reboot Comics, 2024).
'De Tydfout' (2017), a longer story with Peer de Plintkabouter.
Other activities
Besides creating his own comics, Van Broekhoven also did editorial work for Reboot Comics and Syndikaat, and worked as a translator for Silvester Strips, most notably on the Dutch editions of Hal Foster's 'Prince Valiant' comic. In MYX magazine, he had his regular 'Marq Schrijft' column, in which he wrote about the Dutch comic scene. In 2022, he released a self-published book collection under the title 'De Wereld Die Strip Heet'.
Recognizable by his trademark beret, Van Broekhoven was present at many Dutch comic festivals, where he also hosted comics quizzes as his "Willy Vanderstrip" persona. For his die-hard fans, he set up the Fluxiewuxie Society, through which he sent monthly newsletters and special surprises. Using the Fluxiewuxie imprint, Van Broekhoven also released several of his older comics in book format, for instance 'Je Tante Zeker!' (2019) and 'Elsje en de Olivark' (2021). In addition, he organized cartooning workshops for children.
Retirement from comics
A productive cartoonist with an equally demanding fulltime dayjob, Van Broekhoven was for many years a prominent member of the Dutch comics community. In 2023, he announced his retirement, or at least a long sabbatical, from his comic activities in order to have time for other activities. As a symbolic final act, he auctioned off his beret to the highest bidder. In 2023, Reboot Comics released a final 'Peer de Plintkabouter' album with new and older material, an interview and tributes by fellow comic artists, including Eric Heuvel, Rob Derks, Pieter Hogenbirk and Dick Heins.
Recognition
In 2007, Marq van Broekhoven received the "Brabant Stripsympathieprijs", a prize awarded during the Brabants Stripspektakel comics festival.
Marq van Broekhoven at the Turnhout comics festival of 2011. Photo © Robin Schouten.