Margreet de Heer's Blog, page 9

Dutch History part 6

This weekend Holland commemoratesthe 201st anniversary of the landing of William, the first King of our monarchy. Each year, this landing is re-enacted on the beach of Scheveningen – William arrives by boat from England, whence he was summoned to rule the newly “liberated” Netherlands (although some of the French occupants were still in the country at that time). It was a daring, risky enterprise, which turned out extremely well: most of the Dutch people (well orchestrated by politician Van H...

Religion in Korea

My comic book about Religion (yet to be published in the U.S., hopefully next year) has just been released in South Korea! It’s really strange to see my pictures combined with (for me) illegible signs – and even stranger (but very nice-strange) to find that people so far away are not only reading the book, but actually twittering about it!

Here are the tweets I found:

This cover is so different from the original one, but I do like it. I drew the front illustration especially for the Korean edit...

Dutch History part 5

And we continue the history of Holland – specifically, the life of William I, the first King, who found himself pretty down and out under Napoleon’s rule, until…

This comic is part of a travelling exhibition, initiated by Museum Meermanno. The exhibition consists of ten panels, telling the history of William I in comics (by me) and adjoining texts (by Marc Kleijnen). The exhibition can now be seen for free in the library of Eygelshoven.

Death of a Cat and a Character

Two weeks ago our beautiful sweet Siamese Boris died. We miss him greatly, not just as a petbut as a friend who always seemed so tuned in to our moods and feelings. He was almost eighteen and had a great life and a good death – yet this does not make the sadness any less, only “cleaner” perhaps, since there are no regrets.

Apart from all the “usual” mourning, I have an additional, specific problem. Boris was also a character in our books – a mostly silent one but still part of most of our back...

Dutch History part 4

Here’s the continuationof a bit of Dutch history in comics – thestory of Holland’s first King, William I.

This was probably his lowest point: exiled from The Netherlands, having to negotiate with Napoleon and England for a bit of compensation of his losses…

This panel and nine others are still on tour throughout The Netherlands. Check thesite of Museum Meermannoto see if they come to a library near you.

Global Power and the Game of Monopoly

Yiri and I are working hard on our next book and have just decided to call itGlobal Power: a Discovery in Comics, rather than World Domination:a Discovery in Comics. There’s a subtle difference there.

I’m so excited about it and really in a nice work flow right now. But the thing is, it won’t be out for at least a year – it’s scheduled for Fall2015 in The Netherlands, and Who Knows When, if at all, in the States. So marketing-wise there’s no point in talking about it yet.

But I’m so excited abo...

True story

This happened today.

The Foundation of Political Thought

The second part of our Oxford Experience, the deliciously enjoyable Summer school in Christ Church, Oxford’s biggest college, was devoted to the course The Foundation of Political Thought, by Dr. James Panton, who looks like a Scottish motorbike-riding construction worker and talks like Socrates.

It was an intense, fast-paced course in which we consecutively looked at the philosophers Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, Hegel, Karl Marx, Durkheim and Weber. Instead of taking notes, I made cartoons,...

A Week in the Life…

Last week, Yiri and I attended The Oxford Experience again – a Summer course in Christ Church, Oxford. For five days, we were immersed in an analysis of The Beatles, their music, lyrics and cultural significance. This course was taught by dr. Rikky Rooksby, a trueRenaissance Man, who is both schooled as a lecturer on English Literature and an accomplished musician and composer.

Of course I could not help myself doodling – and here are some of the results of my experiments with a blue biro pen:...

Dutch History part 3

School’s out, but I’m continuing my history lessons to you folks: here’s the next scene in the thrilling life of William I, Holland’s first king. In a previous post, we saw him fleeing to England; now we take a look at his military career:

This panel and nine others are still on tour throughout The Netherlands. Check the site of Museum Meermanno to see if they come to a library near you.