'De avonturen van Schampie'.
Bavo Bobelijn is a Belgian cartoonist, notable since 2020 for drawing educational comics and cartoons commissioned by the mayor of the town of Brakel, Stefaan Devleeschouwer, whom he turned into a recurring character in his comics. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, his graphic talent was put to frequent use to either inform people or keep their spirits up. Since 2022, he works as a cartoonist for the student magazine Schamper, where he draws a gag comic series titled 'De Avonturen van Schampie' (2022- ).
Life and career
Bavo Bobelijn was born in 2003 in Kortrijk, West Flanders. His parents both worked as nurses. He grew up with classic Flemish comics and ranks Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske', Willy Linthout's 'Urbanus' and Marc Sleen's 'Nero' among his main graphic influences. Later, he also expressed admiration for Martin Lodewijk's 'Agent 327'. As a comic artist, Bobelijn is completely self-taught. While still a teenager, his cartoons gained local attention when they appeared on local news sites like 't Brakelt, a blog focusing on local news from the East-Flemish town Brakel. In 2021, he enrolled at the University of Ghent to study Communication Science.
Cartoon by Bavo, 20 February 2020.
Brakel municipal cartoons
In early 2020, Bavo first teamed up with Brakel mayor Stefaan Devleeschouwer to make some of the town's municipal measures and communication public. Devleeschouwer's approach was unusual in the sense that he let a local cartoonist visualize his message through humorous comics and cartoons, which then went in circulation on news sites and social media channels. On 20 February 2020, the Bavo cartoon about speed limits was made public. At the time, several speed cameras near the highway were out of order and had to be replaced. Since many drivers assumed that they could easily exceed the speed limits, Devleeschouwer and Bavo's cartoon informed them their impression was not true. Although the cameras didn't work, the local police still kept an eye on the road. In Bavo's cartoon, mayor Devleeschouwer is literally sitting on the camera pole taking flash photos of road hogs and speed demons.
Cartoon by Bavo, 18 August 2020.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 virus became a global pandemic. In many countries lockdowns were implemented on the population, to get the spreading of the coronavirus under control. Having proven the effectiveness of reaching the Brakel townspeople through cartoons, Bavo was asked to summarize and visualize methods of how to avoid COVID-19 in comic strip format. On 14 March 2020, the comic 'Corona: Wat Kan Ik Doen?' ("Corona: What Can I Do?") was distributed. It stars mayor Devleeschouwer and Belgian Minister of Health Maggie De Block as protagonists. The cartoon also references De Block's infamous blunt command "Blijf in uw kot!" ("Stay in your shack!") when she informed the Flemish citizens to stay home as much as possible during the lockdown.
Educational cartoon on how to take preventive measures against COVID-19, 14 March 2020. The portrayed politicians are Belgian Minister of Health Maggie De Block and mayor Stefan Devleeschouwer of the town Brakel.
Despite the lockdowns, many people died or got terribly ill. In June 2020, mouth masks became mandatory inside public buildings, while a curfew was implemented in Flanders between 1 and 7 AM. As could be expected, the measures caused much distress and despair, largely because the pandemic seemed such a dead-end situation. Insisting on patience, Devleeschouwer had another Bavo cartoon released on 18 August 2020. The drawing shows a group of citizens fighting the coronavirus, depicted as a monster that tries to pull them over a straight line. But the people are united and determined to "not give up".
When the vaccination campaigns finally got started, the COVID-19 info call center in Brakel was overwhelmed with questions. To help the medical teams, mayor Devleeschouwer ordered another educational cartoon. Released on 2 April 2021, 'Operatie Vaccinatie' ("Operation Vaccination"), summarized the frequently asked questions, so that people wouldn't have to bother the call center with them.
'De Avonturen van Schampie'.
Schamper
Since 20 November 2022, Bobelijn makes cartoons and illustrations for the student magazine Schamper, the independent publication of the University of Ghent (UGent). He also draws a satirical gag comic, 'De Avonturen van Schampie', about a student and his daily adventures at the student campus. Many gags are directly inspired by current events in and around the university. The series brings recognizable locations in the university and Ghent itself in view. University rector Rik Van de Walle is often featured in cameos.
Front cover of 'Operatie Vaccinatie', 8 April 2021.