'Nofret'.
Sussi Bech is a Danish comic artist, best-known for her internationally successful comic book series about Ancient Egypt, 'Nofret' (1986-2022). The comic features a Cretan princess who travels through the ancient Mediterranean world, witnessing (and participating in) the political and religious intrigues of the time. Specialized in historical adventures, Bech has also released comics set in 9th century Baghdad ('Zainab'), 1920s Egypt ('Aida Nur') and one-shots about scientific landmarks. Together with her husband Frank Madsen, she additionally created the comic 'Ex Libris'. Her comics and books have been published in 13 countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Estonia, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Chile, and Indonesia.
Early life and career
Susanne Ilsted Bech was born in 1958 in Birkerød, a town in the Danish province of Frederiksborg. After having her drawings published in her school paper, Bech's talent was noticed by the local newspaper, Folkebladet for Allerød og Birkerød. In 1978, the editors requested her to create a weekly comic strip for them, resulting in the 'Birkerødderne' feature, which told about the everyday life in Birkerød, and had the artist's own family as lead characters.
Shortly afterwards, she moved to Copenhagen, where she studied Illustration and Graphic Art at the School of Applied Arts, graduating in 1983. While still an art student, Bech joined the newly founded studio Tegnestuen Gimle, where she became colleagues with Peter Madsen, Freddy and Ingo Milton, Per Vadmand, Frank Madsen, and other like-minded artists. She eventually married fellow comic artist Frank Madsen, with whom she has frequently collaborated.
'Dalila den Drevne' (recolored version).
Dalila & Zainab
By the time Sussi Bech graduated from the Art Academy, she was already working on her first comic projects. They were based on the 'Arabian Nights' tales, but infused with Bech's own ideas and insights into 9th-century Baghdad during the reign of Harun al-Rashid. In her original story, Bech told the adventures of 'Dalila den Drevne' ("Delilah the Crazy") and her daughter Zainab. This story of nearly 100 pages wasn't published until 1993, when it appeared in two black-and-white albums under the banner 'Fra Sussi Bechs arkiv' ("From Sussi Bech's Archives").
When Sussi Bech approached the publisher Interpresse with this first effort, the editors asked her to create another story with Dalila and Zainab instead. This became 'Zainab', a story serialized as a weekly Sunday comic in the national newspaper Berlingske Tidende. In 1985, it was published in book format by Interpresse. The first print run of 10,000 copies sold out in less than three weeks, and an additional 5,000 copies were quickly ordered from the printer. 'Zainab' was also published in Norway.
Nofret #2 - 'Amons gemalinde' (1987, Dutch-language edition).
Nofret
Sussi Bech's major work in comics has been the 'Nofret' series (1986-2022). Set in approximately 1350 BC, the series stars the Cretan princess Nofret, whose adventures and ordeals bring her all over the ancient Mediterranean world. In the first albums, Nofret and her sister Kiya are abducted by pirates and sold to slave traders in the Levant. Nofret is then forced to marry a rich merchant from Babylon, but manages to escape to Egypt, where, in the Temple of Amon, she gradually sees her social status rise. In later volumes, Nofret returns to her native Crete, but also travels through Asia Minor, all the while falling in love with an Egyptian general, before reuniting with her sister in Egypt and becoming involved in another power play at Pharaoh Akhnaton's court.
Nofret - 'A Slave in the Levant' (2019).
A mix between adventure and historically accurate depictions of ancient Egypt, the stories of Nofret have been serialized in several Danish newspapers. Besides the Berlingske Tidende, the stories also ran in three regional newspapers, and Ekstra Bladet. Books have been published in both Denmark and abroad. In the fall of 2019, the stand-alone episode 'Slave i Levanten' ("A Slave in the Levant") was released, which told the origin story of the heroine. In April 2022, the final volume of the series, 'Tutankhamon' ("Tutankhamun"), was published, supported by a working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation. The stories have later been collected in large volumes, with digitally restored artwork and sometimes new coloring.
'Aida Nur'.
Aida Nur
Like her signature 'Nofret' series, Sussi Bech's crime story 'Aida Nur' (1991) was also set in Egypt, albeit in 1922. Appearing in two volumes, the main character is the dancer Aida Nur, who is drawn into dramatic intrigues after accidentally becoming a middleman in the illegal sale of antiquities from a previously unknown pharaoh's tomb. Before the book publication, 'Aida Nur' was serialized as a daily feature in the newspaper B.T. The series was also published in Dutch and French.
In 2021 and 2022, a redrawn and recolored version of 'Aida Nur' was published in the German monthly magazine Zack. This edition was released in Denmark in the fall of 2023 and also in Estonia in 2024.
'Eks Libris'.
Eks Libris
In September 2009, Sussi Bech launched her satirical comic strip 'Eks Libris' (2009-2020) in the BØGER ("Books") supplement of the weekly newspaper Weekendavisen. Initially, the feature was co-written with Mette Finderup, but after about a year, her husband Frank Madsen took over the scripting. The series mainly focused on the Danish literary scene but also addressed current political issues. Over 500 strips were created during the series' 11 year run and published in annual book collections.
In 2024, a collected edition, 'Den store Finn Sysholm' ("The Great Finn Sysholm"), was published, featuring the 235 best strips with commentary by Frank Madsen. The book also has an accompanying text by the fictional author Finn Sysholm, a character from the strip, recalling events in Danish and international literature from the period 2010-2020.
'Ørsted. He Electrified the World' (2020).
One-shot comics
One-shot comics by Sussi Bech have been a cartoon version of H.C. Andersen's fairy tale The Wild Swans ('De Vilde Svaner', Bogfabrikken, 1998) and a comic based on the Ebbe Kløvedal Reich musical 'Egtved Pigen' ("The Egtved Girl", NDMT, 2007).
In 2020, Sussi collaborated with Ingo Milton and Jens Olaf Pepke Pedersen to create the comic book 'Ørsted. He Electrified the World', in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Ørsted's discovery of electromagnetism. Published in Danish and English, the comic has since been reprinted several times and has sold over 6,000 copies, making it the best-selling Danish comic of 2020.
In the spring of 2023, Sussi Bech, Frank Madsen and Jens Olaf Pepke Pedersen released a new comic book with a scientific theme, 'Københavnermysteriet' ("The Copenhagen Mystery"), a thriller about the history of Physics featuring four high school students as the main characters. Published by Forlaget Eudor, the project was supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
'Kaj och Andrea'.
Writing and illustrating books
Sussi Bech has also illustrated books for a wide range of Danish publishers, including over 60 titles featuring the popular TV puppets 'Kaj and Andrea' for Danmarks Radio, 'Emmy' for Sesam, and 'Snus Mus' for Forlaget Bolden. Together with Frank Madsen, she has published the sci-fi book series for 9-12-year-olds, 'Gustav and the Rocket Brotherhood', with Madsen writing the text and Bech providing the illustrations.
In 2016, Sussi Bech debuted as a children's book author with the 'Aziru' series, set in ancient Levant. She co-wrote the books with Ingo Milton and provided over 80 illustrations. Before the book release, the story was serialized in 20 episodes in Weekendavisen's children's supplement, Faktisk. In 2020, Bech released her next illustrated children's book, 'Gravrøverens lærling' ("The Tomb Robber's Apprentice"), this time set in ancient Egypt.
'Snus Mus: Månetyven'.
Other activities
Sussi Bech is the chairman of the trade association Danske Tegneserieskabere (Danish Comic Artists & Authors). In 2010, she designed that year's Christmas Seal, unveiled at a reception at the National Museum, attended by Danish Crown Princess Mary, Count Ingolf, and Countess Sussie, along with children from the Christmas Seal Homes.
Recognition and legacy
In 1991, Sussi Bech received the Danish children's librarians' cultural award (BØ-FA) and in 1994 the comic industry's Ping Award. The 'Nofret' series has been chosen multiple times as the best comic and best comic character by colleagues at the annual Danish comic society's convention. In 2006, she was named "Artist of the Year" in her hometown of Birkerød. In 2015, she was invited to Stockholm, where the Swedish Comics Academy presented her with the Adamson Statuette at the academy's 50th anniversary gala. In 2017, Sussi Bech and Frank Madsen received the Hanne Hansen Award in Copenhagen.
Since 1978, Sussi Bech's comics and illustrations have been exhibited on numerous occasions, throughout Denmark, but also in England, Italy, Finland, Germany, Iceland, France (including at the Angoulême comics museum), Poland and Belgium (at the Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels).
One of Denmark's best-selling comic creators, Sussi Bech's entire body of work has been collected by Forlaget Eudor in the seven-volume series 'Sussi Bechs Samlede Værker' (2016-2020).
Sussi Bech (foto: Frank Madsen).