Dick Vlottes - 1 Original page - Senmoet - (jaren 1960)

Dick Vlottes was a Dutch comic artist, cartoonist, and commercial illustrator. He began by illustrating pulp strips, the so-called graphic novel, and started his professional career at Toonder Studios. He contributed to various productions of the company, most notably with his own newspaper strip 'Hinter en Minter' (1959-1961). From that point on, Vlottes contributed to a large number of other magazines and newspapers, working on his own creations or doing production work as a letterer, graphic editor, or colorist. In the sixties and seventies, notable solo strips by Dick Vlottes appeared in Olidin ('Senmoet the Egyptian', 1963-1966), Tina ('Ineke van Rijswijk' [1973-1977], 'Leonie, the Horoscope Girl' [1976-1981]), and Televizier ('The Kooks', 1975), while he also tackled art for licensed properties such as The Flintstones, De Fabeltjeskrant, and Disney characters. In the eighties, he was the regular sports cartoonist and illustrator for the daily newspaper De Telegraaf and created instructional strips like 'Johan Cruyff Gives Football Lessons' (1984) and the satirical gag strip 'De Krek' (1987-1990).

Dick Vlottes was born in 1932 in Uitgeest, North Holland. His true fascination with comic art began with the adventures of detective Rikki Visser, drawn by Jan Dirk van Exter for the Kennemer Dagblad, and Jean Dulieu's comic 'Paulus de Boskabouter'. At the age of 14, Vlottes started drawing his own comics and had his first jobs in advertising illustrations and window displays. After completing his military service, he fully committed to a career in the comic world. Since he always enjoyed drawing 'Tarzan', Vlottes tried to sell a homemade comic featuring the famous jungle hero to ATH, a Rotterdam publisher of so-called 'beeldromans'. These were pulp-like picture novels, full of action and adventure. Besides ATH, Vlottes also created picture storylines for the Bell Studio in Lunteren, run by Ben Abas and his father.

The now more experienced Vlottes then went to work at Toonder Studio's. At the studio, Marten Toonder and his team produced comic strips for Dutch newspapers and magazines, some of which were also sold to foreign publications. With their clever socially critical texts, provocative morals, and excellent use of the Dutch language, the family-friendly Toonder strips managed to avoid the wrath of moralists. One of Dick Vlottes' first studio assignments was the science fiction comic 'Martin Evans', written by Lo Hartog van Banda. For Toonder Studio's, Vlottes also created his first original comic series, 'MINTER and HINTER' (1959-1961), about two adventurous twin brothers. Between September 7, 1959, and July 29, 1961, ten stories appeared serialized in the newspapers Het Vrije Volk, Trouw, and De Stem, in which the globetrotting children encountered crazy scientists, pirates, and other villains during their adventures in Egypt, at sea, and in the forests around their hometown Pebbel.

During his freelance period at the studio, Vlottes also worked on comic series created by Marten Toonder himself. Between mid-1961 and 1962, he contributed to about eight stories of the newspaper comic 'Kappie', alongside fellow artist Piet Wijn and inker Richard Klokkers. He also participated in the production of the weekly balloon comic 'Tom Poes' in Donald Duck and contributed to a few 'Tom Poes' stories.

In the early sixties, Vlottes left the Toonder Studios and offered his services to Olidin, the magazine of the Shell Junior Club, published by advertising agency Van Maanen. His first contribution consisted of two stories about the children's comic strip DUMMETJE ('Botje Boons Balloon' 1962-1963), about a boy and a living balloon named Dummetje, written by Harry van den Eerenbeemt. Additionally, the editors of Olidin asked Vlottes for a new comic strip. This became 'Senmoet the Egyptian' (1963-1966), a historical balloon strip set against the end of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt, featuring the poor sailor Achat and his son Senmoet. 'Senmoet' was entirely realistic, well-documented, and highly detailed. Vlottes had been interested in Egypt since his early childhood, and the country and its history were recurring themes in his comics and paintings throughout his life. He wrote and drew the series entirely on his own. Vlottes paid close attention to historical accuracy. Through the Swan Features Syndicate – owned by Marten Toonder's former business partner Ton de Zwaan – Vlottes continued his series as a newspaper comic strip. For example, in the Nieuwe Haagsche Courant, 'Senmoet' appeared between November 16, 1964, and November 15, 1966. Because his strip appeared in newspapers with a Christian background, Vlottes noticed that the editors had omitted all swear words referring to Egyptian gods, resulting in strange blank spaces in the speech balloons. Readers also complained about the many female characters, modeled after Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. Believing that the edits did not do justice to his strip, he decided to stop the 'Senmoet' series after nine stories.

Between 1982 and 1983, Nico Noordermeers published four book collections with 'Senmoet' stories through De Lijn. A complete reissue followed in 2013, when publisher Amor Vincit Omnia reprinted all nine stories. In 2006, Ron Streppel from publisher Boumaar collected some early Vlottes comics, 'Dummetje' and 'De Krakers', in a limited edition. Vlottes also provided cover illustrations for Boumaar's reissues, including Henk Sprengers' 'Piloot Storm' (2008) and Loek van Delden's 'Smidje Verholen' (2008). 'Minter en Hinter' appeared in books by Bonte (2006) and De Keij-Positie (2013). Since most of the original artworks had been lost, Vlottes redrew a few illustrations for the reprints.

Later in his life, Vlottes was mainly active as a painter, often inspired by Egypt. A planned new comic project about the secrets of ancient Egypt never materialized. Until old age, Vlottes was a regular guest at Dutch comic fairs. On October 22, 2005, during the Stripdagen in Houten, Dick Vlottes received the Bulletje & Boonestaak Award for his contributions to the Dutch comic industry. He received the award together with fellow comic artists Dik Bruynesteyn and Jan van der Voo. On the morning of June 5, 2022, Dick Vlottes passed away at the age of 89. The penultimate photo shows Dick Vlottes working on Senmoet.

This lot features a beautiful original page from Senmoet. Original material by Dick Vlottes is rarely offered. Top quality—just look at how finely drawn and how delicately inked. A stunning page.

See also the photos that form part of the description and provide a good picture of what is offered.

This beautiful object is well packed and sent by registered parcel post.