Lise op Monstereiland #3 -' De Madeliefjesoorlog' (2021).
Kristof Berte is a Belgian comic writer and occasional artist. After debuting with his solo comic 'Lise op Monstereiland' (2016-2021), he became a prominent writer for both the Dutch and Flemish comic book market. For the publisher Syndikaat, he has written historical adventure comics like 'De Bergenvaarders' (artwork by Joey Potargent, 2021-2023) and 'De Romeinen' (artwork by Tim Artz and Irene Berbee, 2023- ), while Standaard Uitgeverij hired him as a regular scriptwriter for the classic Flemish family comic 'Jommeke'.
Early life
Kristof Berte was born in 1983 in Oudenaarde, a city in the Flemish Ardennes. After his studies in Political Science at the University of Ghent, he returned to his hometowrn, where he has been living and working since. After his studies, he had a short career in local television, before beginning a part time job as provincial advisor for the Flemish Housing Fund. In his spare time, he has been working as a comic creator, largely inspired by the classic Flemish family comics, such as Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske', Jef Nys' 'Jommeke' and Merho's 'De Kiekeboes'. Among his other influences are André Franquin, Albert Uderzo and artists of the Clear Line, although he has devoured comics from all sorts of genres.
Lise Op Monstereiland #2 - 'Het Levende Land' (2018).
Lise op Monstereiland
In 2016, Berte debuted as a comic creator with the first volume of his 'Lise op Monstereiland' series, published by Strip2000 in the Netherlands. The main character is a little girl who isn't afraid of anything, much to the annoyment of the three little monsters underneath her bed. Unable to scare her on her own turf, they take the girl to Monster Island, where even the bravest of monsters tremble with fear. But not little Lisa, who seems to have the time of her life on the terrifying island. The adventures of Lisa and her monster friends were continued in two additional albums, published by Syndikaat.
Scriptwriting career
With Syndikaat and Standaard Uitgeverij as his main publishers, Berte became a prominent scriptwriter in the Dutch and Flemish comics landscape. Early projects were two volumes of 'Schets en Scheef' (Syndikaat, 2020-2021), anthologies with six Berte-written stories each, of which the storyboards, sketches and illustrations were made by a mix of artists. Among the contributors were Irene Berbee, Tim Bolssens (Tibo), David Felizarda Rael, Wouter van Ghysegem, Jimmy Hostens, Philippe Madou, Joey Potargent, Shirow Di Rosso, Yasmine Stalpaert and Maikel Verkoelen. In addition, Kristof Berte has written some short promotional comics for the Studio 100 production house, for instance the 'Samson & Marie' comic book for Bebat recycling (2021, artwork by Charel Cambré and Bert De Graeve). This book features the talking bobtail Samson and Marie Verhulst, of the children's TV show of the same name.
'De Bergenvaarders' and 'De Romeinen'.
Scriptwriter for historical comics
Berte's specialization became adventure comics set against a local historical backdrop, most of which were serialized in the Dutch comic magazine Eppo before the books were released by Syndikaat. With Joey Potargent as the artist, Berte created two volumes of 'De Bergenvaarders' (2021-2023), about two young troublemakers who embark on a medieval cog, and sail from the Dutch city of Deventer to Norway, along the rich Hanseatic cities of Northern Europe. Since 2023, he has been writing 'De Romeinen', a comic series in the tradition of 'Astérix & Obélix', telling the adventures of three Roman legionnaires with rebellious Dutch tribes like the Batavians and the Frisians. The first volume was drawn by Tim Artz, with art duties afterwards taken over by Irene Berbee.
In 2024, Berte was asked by Syndikaat to write 'Een Aanval op Grol', an educational historical comic book commissioned by the municipality of Oost Gelre, telling the events of a 17th-century battle during the Dutch Eighty Years' War of Dutch revolutionaries against the Spanish rulers. The artwork was again provided by Joey Potargent, and the coloring by Shirow di Rosso. In that same year, Standaard Uitgeverij hired Kristof Berte to write 'Het Lot van Brugge' (2024), a historical comic set in 14th-century Bruges, drawn by Frodo De Decker.
'Het Lot van Brugge' and 'Jommeke'.
Scriptwriter for Flemish comics
In 2022 and 2023, Berte appeared in the short-lived Flemish comic magazine Maxix with more personal projects. With David Felizarda Rael, he created the humor comic 'Barista' (published in book format by MENLU), and with Jimmy Hostens the science fiction serial 'De Piraten van Kamilo Beach'. During that same period, he joined Standaard Uitgeverij as one of the scriptwriters of their bestselling 'Jommeke' series, created originally by Jef Nys. His first story was album #308, 'Het Verpeste Kamp' (2022), and since then, he has alternated on writing stories with lead artist Philippe Delzenne. Berte's 'Jommeke' episodes have artwork by either Delzenne or Gerd Van Loock. In 2025, he also scripted 'De Vorsten van Onderland', the long-awaited cross-over between 'Jommeke' and another Flemish classic, Studio Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske'. The artwork of the latter story was provided by Dirk Stallaert.
Comic strip by Kristof Berte for a do-book against bullying (2021).
Graphic contributions
In addition to his scriptwriting work, Berte has made illustrations for a book against bullying and the Gezond Sporten Vlaanderen platform, promoting sports among the Flemish youth. In 2022, he appeared with a tribute drawing for Marc Sleen's 'Nero' comic in the 'Huldeboek Marc Sleen' (Bonte, 2022), and in 2023, he illustrated a recipe in Leon Verhoeven's second comic cook book 'Strip Kookboek', published by Personalia.
Illustration for Gezond Leven Vlaanderen.