Suske en Wiske



Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy in English) is a long-running (since 1945) Flemish comic book series. It was created by Willy Vandersteen (1913-1990), and since his death, a dedicated team of writers and artists have continued publishing new stories. From the 1940s until the 1960s, the series was very popular in Belgium and the Netherlands thanks to the funny, engaging and suspenseful stories. Several books from this era have become classics, especially the stories Vandersteen drew for the youth magazine "Tintin".

The series started with a young girl named Louise (nicknamed "Wiske"), who lived with her brother Rikki and their aunt Sidonia. After their first adventure in the land of Chocowakije, Rikki vanished from the series, and Wiske was instead joined by the young boy Franciscus Antigoon of Amoras (nicknamed "Suske"), who was adopted into her family. After Vandersteen handed the series to his successors the quality of the stories gradually went downhill to the point that it has less and less to do with the original set-up.

Other characters include:


 * Lambik: Somewhat of a Small Name, Big Ego. Sidonia's love interest when the plot calls for it.
 * Jerom: A thawed-out caveman with super strength, who quickly adapts to modern life. Lambik's best friend.
 * Professor Barabas: Intelligent, but Absent-Minded Professor whose inventions often steer the plot, especially his time machine.
 * Schanulleke: Wiske's rag doll, who magically comes to life in a few issues.
 * Sus Antigoon: Suske's ancestor, an Off the Wagon ghost powered by alcohol.
 * Arthur: Lambik's long lost twin, who was raised by birds.
 * Krimson: The villain.

Many stories are inspired by fantasy elements and folkloric tales, but a lot of albums are also time travel or world travel stories. From the very start, "Suske and Wiske" had a strong moralistic undertone, which increased over the years.

A So Bad It's Good live-action film, De Duistere Diamant, was made in 2004. A stage musical also toured in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 1990s.

This series provides example of:

 * Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Characters sometimes do impossible things with their arms and legs. Usually for one gag.
 * Added Alliterative Appeal: A lot of "Suske and Wiske" titles have alliterative titles. A LOT!
 * Adventures in the Bible: "De Kale Kapper" (The Bald Barber)
 * Alien Invasion: The aliens in "De Gezanten Van Mars", "De Stervende Ster", "De Wolkeneters" (The envoys of Mars, The Dying Star, The Cloud-Eaters)
 * All Just a Dream: A hypnotist sends Suske, Wiske and Lambik into a dream adventure in "De Tartaarse Helm" (The Tartan Helmet) and they get so caught up in the adventure that they eventually forget that they are dreaming.
 * Amusing Injuries: Usually Lambik, Jerom and the villains.
 * Animate Inanimate Object: Vitamitje the living car.
 * A chair comes alive in "De Geverniste Zeerovers" (The Varnished Pirates).
 * Living trees in "De Koning Drinkt" (The King Drinks)
 * Playing cards come alive in "De Kaartendans" (The Dance of cards)
 * Objects come alive in "De Sputterende Spuiter" (The Sputtering Gusher)
 * Characters from paintings come alive in "Het Spaanse Spook", "De Raap van Rubens", "De Dulle Griet", "Het Rijmende Paard" (The Spanish Ghost, The Apprentice of Rubens, The Warrior Waif, The Rhyming Horse)
 * And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Many of the later albums end with a message to the readers, usually hoping that the world will change for the better.
 * And Now You Must Marry Me: Lambik is saved from being killed by Native Americans in "Bibbergoud" (Shivergold), but has to marry an old hag who fancies him.
 * Anti-Hero: Lambik and Wiske
 * Antiquated Linguistics: When the characters travel back in the time the people they encounter often use old fashioned words and expressions, typical of that time period.
 * Arabian Nights Days: Used as plot basis for "Prinses Zagemeel". (Princess Sawdust)
 * Art Evolution: The oldest albums were very crudely drawn. When Vandersteen wanted to publish "Suske en Wiske" in Hergé's magazine "Tintin" he was asked to change his style completely because it was simply too ugly. Vandersteen agreed. Later many of his earlier work was completely redrawn, although some stories were kept in the style they were originally created in.
 * Art Initiates Life: Characters from paintings are brought alive in "De Dulle Griet", "Het Rijmende Paard", "De Raap van Rubens". (The Warrior Waif, The Rhyming Horse, The Apprentice of Rubens)
 * Art Shift:
 * In "Het Rijmende Paard" (The Rhyming Horse) Jerom flies into another comic strip by Vandersteen, namely the more realistically drawn "Karl May".
 * "De Rode Ridder" (The Red Knight), the title character in a more realistically drawn comic strip of Vandersteen, passes by in the album "Wattman".
 * Another Vandersteen character, the dog Bessy, makes a cameo in "De Zwarte Zwaan". (The Black Swan)
 * Marcel Kiekeboe of De Kiekeboes has a cameo appearance in "De Speelgoedspiegel" (The Toy Mirror)
 * Snowy from "Tintin" passes by in "De Kleurenkladder" (The Colour Mess)and Lambik sadly notes: "Poor animal. It's just as if I recognize you from somewhere, but I don't know from where. You've lost your owner too, huh?" (Hergé has died a few years before the publication of this album).
 * At the end of "The Krimson Crisis" the characters from the comic strip "Nero" make a cameo appearance.
 * Atop a Mountain of Corpses: Jerom singlehandedly defeats an entire army of (relatively) intelligent apes in "De Tamtamkloppers" (The Tamtam Knockers) and is later found by his friends on top of one of the piles. He informs them that "the fight was so monotonously easy that he fell asleep while fighting".
 * Author Existence Failure: Creator Willy Vandersteen died in 1990, but the comic strip is still continued to this day by other contributors.
 * Belated Happy Ending / The Bus Came Back: Rikki eventually returns for one story.
 * Berserk Button: When Lambik senses danger coming to their house he grabs his weaponry from World War One and digs some trenches.
 * Big Bad: Krimson
 * Big Eater: Jerom
 * Bilingual Bonus
 * Wiske speaks untranslated French in "De Apekermis" (The Monkey Festival) when she is about to be shot by a group of ape soldiers.
 * An Indian who is hit on the head in "Twee Toffe Totems" (Two Swell Totems) also speaks untranslated French. A caption note to the reader advises them "to check a dictionary".
 * Black Bead Eyes: Most characters, except when wearing glasses.
 * Bonnie Scotland: The album "De Knokkersburcht"
 * Boomerang Comeback: In "De Blinkende Boemerang" (The Shining Boomerang)
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Happens a few times
 * In "De Schone Slaper" (The Sleeping Beau) Wiske dresses up her doll Schanulleke because the readers might see her unclothed.
 * At the end of "De Briesende Bruid" (The raging bride) Vandersteen erases every scene and explains he doesn't want Sidonia to marry because it would mean the end of their adventures.
 * Certain albums end with a moral explained to the readers and a message to change their behaviour.
 * Wiske's wink at the audience at the end of each story
 * During violent or painful scenes a piece of paper is used to cover the scene for sensitive readers.
 * Breakout Character: Lambik, who is generally the most popular character in the series.
 * Bullet Catch: Jerom is very good at this.
 * Butt Monkey: Usually Lambik.
 * The Cameo: Occasionally happens (See also "Art Shift" above)
 * Charles De Gaulle in "De Kaartendans" (The Dance of Cards)
 * Illustrator Anton Pieck in "De Belhamel Bende" (The Rascal Gang)
 * Lots of well known Flemish entertainers make a cameo in "De Krimson Crisis"
 * Peter Paul Rubens makes an appearance in "De raap van Rubens" (The Apprentice of Rubens) and "De Krimson Crisis".
 * Pieter Bruegel the Elder appears as a character in "Het Spaanse Spook" (The Spanish Ghost) and "De Krimson Crisis". Vandersteen was nicknamed "Bruegel of the comic strip".
 * Vincent van Gogh appears as a character in "De Kleurenkladder". (The Colour Mess)
 * Soccer trainer Raymond Goethals and astronaut Dirk Frimout in "De Stervende Ster" (The Dying Star)
 * Cyclist Eddy Merckx in "Het Kostbare Kader" (The Valuable Picture'')
 * And Willy Vandersteen himself, most notably in "De Briesende Bruid" (The Raging Bride) and "De Belhamel Bende" (The Rascal Gang)
 * Cash Cow Franchise
 * Catch Phrase
 * "Miljaar!" - Lambik
 * "Woeha!" - Typical scream of fear from all the characters
 * "Achiel, mijn pillen!" - Krimson
 * Character Development: often a big part of the plot, though it usually doesn't stick for any of the recurring characters.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Rikki disappears after the first issue.
 * Cliff Hanger: Since "Suske and Wiske" was published in newspapers Vandersteen often made use of cliff hangers at the end of each episode to keep his readers in suspense until the next day. He was so good at this that readers even read the comics section first before moving on to the other articles.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Whenever Suske seems to have some success with other girls Wiske is instantly jealous.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Mr. Van Zwollem is completely mad and is aided by his daughter Anne-Marie.
 * Comic Book Time: The characters never age, although Suske and Wiske were originally a lot younger, almost toddlers with babylegs. Depending on the Writer, they're estimated age would range from early teens to young adults.
 * Contemporary Caveman: Jerom was originally a frozen villain from the Stone Age, but later became part of the cast. In many of the early albums he was always dressed as a caveman. Later he changed his outfit and became more civilized, in a rare example of Character Development for a main cast member.
 * Conveniently an Orphan: Wiske has no parents and is raised by her aunt, Sidonia. Suske too is an orphan and is adopted by Sidonia. Vandersteen often told interviewers that he gave Suske and Wiske an aunt because real parents would never allow them to go on adventure. Indeed, Suske and Wiske never go to school, though they'd sometimes mention homework.
 * Creative Closing Credits: Happens a few times
 * At the end of "De Efteling Elfjes" (Fairies of the Efteling) Lambik tries to be the one to end the story instead of Wiske, but it turns out he is too early.
 * Cruella to Animals: Lambik hates Tobias the dog
 * Crossing the Desert: Suske and Wiske do this in "Prinses Zagemeel". (Princess Sawdust)
 * Cultural Translation: The comic strip is made in Flanders, but also hugely popular in the Netherlands. Unfortunately many concessions had to be made: since the 1960s the characters speak standard Dutch and use the Dutch airline KLM to travel instead of the Belgian one. Very specific references to Flanders were removed and replaced by more general references to Dutch society and culture. Like many tropes for this series, however, it's Depending on the Writer.
 * Deserted Island: The island in "Het Mini-Mierennest" (The Mini-Anthill).
 * Deus Ex Machina: Jerom, who could rival Superman when it comes to Powers As The Plot Demands.
 * Deus Exit Machina: To make the stories a bit more exciting: Jerom has so far been poisoned, drugged, cursed, put asleep, sent on vacation, working a new job, etc. to keep his power away from solving the plot too quickly.
 * The Door Slams You: Sidonia once slams the door so violently that Lambik's head, hands and feet are sticking through from behind it.
 * Dressing as the Enemy: An often used tactic
 * Drop in Character: Theofiel Boemerang, a vacuum cleaner salesman that the cast never seems to get rid off.
 * Early Installment Weirdness:
 * In the first album, "Rikki en Wiske in Chocowakije" Wiske is teamed up with a much older brother, Rikki. Vandersteen abandoned this character after only one album because he felt that Wiske needed a companion of her own age.
 * Suske and Wiske are five year olds with chubby baby legs in the early albums. In later albums they could be ten to eleven years old, teenagers or perhaps even twenty-something, Depending on the Writer.
 * Jerom was in a villain in his debut album "De Dolle Musketiers" (The Mad Musketeers). He also wore cave men clothing and only gradually, over the course of many albums, would start wearing modern suits.
 * In "Het Eiland Amoras" (Amoras Island) Professor Barabas originally was very fat and had a stuttering problem. Vandersteen cured him from this speech impediment because parents complained that their children started copying this behaviour.
 * Easy Amnesia: Used regularly.
 * Eat the Bomb: Jerom once swallowed a bomb and let it explode inside his body, without frazing him.
 * Elseworld
 * "Het Geheim van de Gladiatoren" (The Secret of the Gladiators) shows Suske, Wiske and Lambik as Gauls living in Ancient Rome rather than the present.
 * "Het Gouden Paard" (The Golden Horse) also takes place in 16th century South America instead of the present.
 * Epic Race: The race in "Het Sprekende Testament" (The Speaking Testament).
 * "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Used regularly
 * Evil Laugh
 * Exploding Closet: Wiske is Genre Savvy (or perhaps just knows the habits of the people she lives with): before opening a medicine cabinet, she places a basin before it and stands back, as the contents falls out of it.
 * Eye Pop: Lambik's eyes do this in the Suske en Wiske album "De Dolle Musketiers" (The Mad Musketeers) when he first sees Jerom.
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The isle Amoras is an exact copy of the city Antwerp, where Vandersteen was born.
 * FemBot: Tedere Tronica in "Tedere Tronica" (Tender Tronica).
 * Fictional Country:
 * Chocowakije in "Rikki en Wiske in Chocowakije"
 * The isle Amoras in "Het Eiland Amoras", "De Stalen Bloempot" and "Amoris op Amoras". (Amoras Island, The Steel Flowerpot, Amoris on Amoras)
 * Mocano in "De Bronzen Sleutel" (The Bronze Key)
 * Frigoria in "Het Bevroren Vuur" (The Frozen Fire)
 * Bazaria in "De Speelgoedzaaier" (The Toy Sower)
 * Fantasia in "De Lieve Lilleham" (The Sweet Lilleham)
 * Flanderisation:
 * Lambik was originally just a dumb, but good-natured buffoon. Later he became a vain and egotistical buffoon who sometimes has moments of pure genius.
 * Jerom was originally an uncivilized caveman. Later he started dressing and behaving more like a 20th century everyman with superpowers.
 * Tante Sidonia's neverending man hunt only became a defining trait of her character in later albums.
 * Wiske's jealousy towards Suske and other girls who fall for his charms only became more prominent in later albums.
 * The early albums were very Flemish, with references to typical 1940s and 1950s Catholic Flanders. Later the stories became more oriented to the Dutch market to the point that the characters even flew with the Dutch airline KLM and used standard Dutch expressions and references.
 * Flower Pot Drop
 * The Gambling Addict: Lambik in "De Gekke Gokker" (The Crazed Gambler)
 * Game Show Appearance: Lambik enters a TV game show competition in "De Speelgoedzaaier" (The Toy Sower) and accidentally wins the first price.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: In Wiske's case her stuffed doll, Schanulleke, whom she treats as if it was her own child.
 * The Ghost: Sus Antigoon is the ghost of Suske's deceased grandfather.
 * Gladiator Revolt: Grand finale of "Het Geheim van de Gladiatoren". (The Secret of the Gladiators)
 * Good Is Boring: The main problem with the very bland character Suske. He is so heroic, noble, gentle, brave, caring and uncorrupt that he is the least memorable of all the main cast members.
 * Gratuitous Iambic Pentameter: Vandersteen loved playing with language:
 * Characters that speak in rhyme are often encountered ("De Koning Drinkt", "Sjeik El Rojenbiet", "De Wolkeneters", "De Tamtamkloppers", "Het Rijmende Paard",...) (The King Drinks, The Cloud-Eaters, The Tamtam Knockers, The Rhyming Horse)
 * Characters that speak mangled Dutch with French loanwords (usually rich villains, as can be found in "De Zwarte Madam", "De Spokenjagers", "De Klankentapper",...) (The Black Madam, The Ghost Hunters, The Sound Drainer)
 * Characters who use sdrawkcab... sorry, backwards language ("De Ijzeren Schelvis", "De Brullende Berg", "De Begeerde Berg",...) (The Iron Haddock, The roaring Mountain, The Coveted Mountain)
 * And Jerom always speak in telegram language.
 * Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: In "Het Eiland Amoras" (Amoras Island) and "Het Wondere Wolfje" (The Miraculous Wolfy) people only fall when they notice the ladder beneath them has disappeared.
 * Harmless Electrocution
 * Harmless Freezing
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Lambik and Jerom both live in the same house, but since this a traditional comic nothing special is ever made of this. Both of them have a soft spot for women.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: A frequent plot device in the earlier, classic albums. Mysterious characters dressed in cloaks, hoods, masks, high collars, veils,... hide their identity for the characters and readers driving the suspense to the Berserk Button.
 * Housewife: Tante Sidonia
 * Inner Monologue Conversation
 * In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous: Characters frequently travel to the past with a time machine and usually encounter various historical characters.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Lambik
 * Living Toys:
 * In "Bibbergoud", "Het Vliegende Bed", "De Dulle Griet", "De Poppenpakker" Wiske's doll Schanulleke comes alive. (Shivergold, The Flying Bed, The Warrior Waif, The Dolltaker)
 * Long Neck: Lambik's neck becomes longer in "De Stalen Bloempot". (The Steel Flowerpot)
 * Magic Mirror: Appears in "De Koning Drinkt", "De Knokkersburcht" and "De Woelige Wadden" ( The King Drinks, The Knokkersburcht, The Turbulent Mudflats)
 * Man in the Iron Mask: A main character and plot device in "De Dolle Musketiers". (The Mad Musketeers)
 * Moral Dilemma: Characters often battle with it, but in the end they choose to do the right thing, though some might not agree exactly what 'the right thing' was.
 * Nervous Wreck: Both Tante Sidonia and Krimson often have mental breakdowns. In Sidonia's case her entire body bends over backwards and freezes still while she is shaking. Krimson simply gets mad and has to be fed with pills.
 * Ninja Prop: Jerom uses a thought balloon as an actual balloon in "De Tamtamkloppers". (The Tamtam Knockers)
 * Not Blood Siblings: Suske and Wiske are two orphans adopted by Tante Sidonia and therefore not brother and sister. Still, since Sidonia does raise them as siblings and their backstory wasn't always explained in every album: many readers assume that they are brother and sister. This sometimes lead to confusing and disturbing scenes, especially when Wiske shows jealousy towards Suske's success with other girls.
 * Out of Order: "Suske & Wiske" is unique in the sense that the official available color albums don't start with number one, but with number 67! The 66 albums before that were all in black-and-white and aren't available anymore (except in a different series, the "Suske and Wiske Classics" where their original chronological order is respected.) However these older black-and-white stories were colorized and in some cases redrawn and then republished in the official available color series. Yet no effort was made to keep these titles chronological. Older and newer titles follow each other up in one big confusing mess.
 * Painting the Fourth Wall
 * People Jars: People are shrunk and put into glass jars in "De Sprietatoom" and "De Texasrakkers".(The Lignite Atom, The Texas Rascals)
 * Playing Cyrano: Lambik does this literally by dressing up as Cyrano in "De Jolige Joffer". (The Jolly Maiden)
 * Product Placement: Some albums outside the regular series are in fact commercials for a certain product. Most of them are limited editions and only of interest to collectors.
 * At the end of "De Zingende Zwammen" (The Singing Mushrooms) the characters promote the toy "Op-Jerommeke".
 * Punny Name: Many characters have names that are puns on Flemish dialect expressions.
 * Put on a Bus: Wiske's brother Rikki, who disappeared afther just one issue and was never mentioned again. It took almost 50 years for the bus to come back and finally reveal Rikki's fate.
 * Race Against the Clock: In "De Gouden Cirkel" (The Golden Circle) the characters have to travel to various parts of the globe to collect stuff so they can save a very ill Professor Barabas.
 * Relax-O-Vision: It employs a flowery curtain when Jerom becomes particularly violent (since Jerom using enemies as melee weapons does show up, one does wonder what's behind this curtain...)
 * Running Gag: Several.
 * Seven Heavenly Virtues: A major plot device in "De Zeven Snaren". (The Seven Strings)
 * Shouldn't We Be in School Right Now??: Suske and Wiske always have spare time to have adventures in different corners of the world or history. They never go to school: it's not even hinted.
 * Single-Episode Handicap: Wiske is temporarily blind in "De Schone Slaper" (The Sleeping Beau). This happens after other characters question why the should help handicapped people by donating money. Eventually she is cured rather simplistically with a magic spell.
 * Slapstick: Many moments, usually with Lambik on the receiving end.
 * Smart People Wear Glasses: Professor Barabas.
 * Somewhere a Paleontologist Is Crying: Every time the characters travel to the Stone Age ("Wattman", "De Groene Splinter", "De Malle Mergpijp" , "De Slimme Slapjanus" ,...) cavemen and dinosaurs live together in the same time period.
 * Spin-Off: Jerom ("Jerom de Gouden Stuntman" ), Lambik ("De Grappen van Lambik" ), Schanulleke ("Schanulleke")
 * Spinoff Babies: The series "Klein Suske en Wiske"
 * Squashed Flat: Jerom is squashed flat in "De I Jzeren Schelvis" due to the water pressure.
 * Story-Breaker Power: Jerom has displayed enough Super Strength to beat a dragon over the head with a tank (After which he proceeded to smash the tank using the dragon), hold his breath long enough to make diving equipment obsolete, X-Ray vision, searchlights from his eyes, leaping over mountaintops, Super Speed, and a whole slew of other powers that appeared once or twice. He spends a lot of time being nowhere near the plot just so the other characters can have some trouble.
 * Super Speed: Jerom can run faster than sound, as demonstrated in "De Knokkersburcht". Lambik once ran so quickly in "De Stalen Bloempot" that he ran past himself!
 * Take That: Mostly general targets, such as "lying politicians", "thieving tax collectors", "tyrannic police officers", "lazy bureaucratics", "posh nobleman and women", "French-speaking Flemings"...
 * Talking Animal: Frequent plot device
 * Talking Plant: Plants are able to talk in "De Klankentapper".
 * Technology Is Evil: A frequent theme.
 * Temporary Blindness: Wiske in "De Schone Slaper" . She is cured by a magic spell.
 * That Didn't Happen: At the end of "De Briesende Bruid" Tante Sidonia marries, but Willy Vandersteen erases the entire scene and tells the audience that, while he wanted to reward her with the greatest happiness after years of adventures, Sidonia's marriage would mean the end of the series. So the story ends as if nothing ever happened at all, with Sidonia waking up after a beautiful dream.
 * Time Machine: The "teletimemachine" is Time Cop-type: the machine does not come with the time traveler, but an operator who stays behind can retrieve the time traveler at any moment, assuming he/she knows where and when the traveller is. This feature is often used for last second rescues.
 * In earlier albums like "De Koning Drinkt", "Lambiorix" and "De Ringelingschat" characters also travelled back in time, but in different ways.
 * Tower of Babel: The villains want to build it in "De Stalen Bloempot".
 * Vanishing Village: Plot of the album "Het Verdronken Land"
 * Villainous Breakdown: Krimson often has nervous breakdowns and has to take his pills to calm down.
 * Wicked Witch: De Zwarte Madam in "De Zwarte Madam", An Tanneke in "De Zeven Snaren"
 * Wild Take
 * Whole-Plot Reference:
 * "De Apekermis" and "James Bond"
 * "De Bevende Baobab" and "Tarzan"
 * "De Dolle Musketiers" and "The Three Musketeers"
 * "Het Dreigende Dinges" and "A Dog of Flanders"
 * "Jeromba De Griek" and "Zorba the Greek"
 * "De Jolige Joffer" and "Cyrano De Bergerac"
 * "De Junglebloem" and "The Jungle Book"
 * "Robotkop" and "RoboCop"
 * "Big Mother" and "Big Brother"
 * "Wattman" and "Batman"
 * "De Rebelse Reynaert" and "Van Den Vos Reynaerde"
 * "De Ringelingschat" and "The Ring of the Nibelung"
 * "De Ruige Regen" and "Robin Hood"
 * "De Schone Slaper" and several Fairy Tales
 * "De Speelgoedzaaier" and "The Prisoner of Zenda"
 * "De Straatridder" and "Don Quixote"
 * "De Texasrakkers" and "Tales of the Texas Rangers"
 * "De Kale Kapper" and "Samson and Delilah"
 * Why Do You Hate the Dog??: Lambik hates the new dog, Tobias, in "Het Hondenparadijs".
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The cast meets him as a child in "Het Wondere Wolfje".
 * World's Strongest Man: Jerom.
 * Write Who You Know:
 * The name of the character Suske was inspired by Vandersteen's father, who was named "Sus"
 * Krimson was based on a man who visited Vandersteens' daughters manège. Since Krimson is the villain in the story Vandersteen was forced to make him less recognizable.