Jean-Marc van Tol

Jean-Marc van Tol's comics career is closely linked to Galerie Lambiek. 'Twas on a night in November 1998, after a party at the Galerie in honor of the 80th anniversary of Don Lawrence, that van Tol, creative artist of the trio Reid, Geleijnse & Van Tol who created the popular 'Fokke & Sukke' cartoons, ended up in the pub across the street, together with comic artists Peter Pontiac, Gerrit de Jager and Windig & De Jong.

It was here that they, perhaps encouraged by the alcohol, persuaded van Tol to try his luck as a professional in the harsh world of Dutch comics. This 'Historic Event' has been described, as a cartoon of course, in the booklet with the same title that appeared as part 10 of the 'Pincetreeks'. In the late 1990s, van Tol was present in Striparazzi with 'Ronnie en Sjonnie'.

Van Tol had some publishing experience in several amateur magazines, but he only realized that comic writing can be a professional career when he saw the Great Four hanging at the bar. He gave up his job as a Dutch Literature Specialist and devoted all his time to the successful strip 'Fokke & Sukke', which he wrote together with Bastiaan Geleijnse and John Reid. These cartoons, about a canary and a duck, are published throughout Holland in many newspapers and magazines, and have been collected in several albums and gained such popularity that van Tol won the Stripschapprijs in 2003.

Van Tol participated in the 24 Hour Comics Day at Lambiek in April 2005 with several other artists. In 2006 he launched the collective project 'Strips in Stereo' with Gerrit de Jager, a book in which Dutch artists portray a Dutch song in comics format. He began his own publishing firm, Catullus, in 2007.