Ben Verhagen is one of the most successful Dutch Disney artists, and is heavily inspired by the work of Carl Barks. After his studies at the Art Academy in Den Bosch, Verhagen published his first cartoons in the magazine Taptoe. He also made the comic 'Gwenny en Florian' for this magazine. In 1974, Verhagen met Daan Jippes, who was art director of the Dutch version of Donald Duck magazine at the time, and started out inking one of Jippes' first 10-page Duck stories. Afterwards, he produced some Duck stories in collaboration with Jippes and the Danish author, Freddy Milton.
Ben Verhagen has illustrated about 60 Disney stories throughout the years, not only with 'Donald Duck', but also with 'Little Hiawatha'. In 2002, the album 'De Spannende Reisavonturen van Donald Duck' appeared, which collected the travel adventures that Verhagen has made with Duck characters over the years. In addition to his Disney work, Verhagen has drawn the commercial comic 'Railrunner' for the Dutch Railways, and has illustrated many schoolbooks for Wolters Noordhoff and Thieme. He has also made comics for the magazines Taptoe, Okki and Jippo.
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