De Rode Ridder #116 - 'In De Witte Hel'.
Karel Biddeloo was a Flemish comic creator, best remembered as the fourth and longest-running artist to continue Willy Vandersteen's chivalry comic series 'De Rode Ridder' (1959- ). With 36 years on his resumé (1969-2004), he put his personal stamp on the series like no other creator did. Biddeloo introduced new recurring characters such as the diabolical wizard Bahaal, the good fairy Galaxa and her demonic counterpart Demonia. Inspired by U.S. action comics, he used dynamic panel lay-outs, at the time innovative in Belgian comics. During Biddeloo's tenure, 'De Rode Ridder' evolved from a traditional historical adventure comic into sword & sorcery. Themes like horror and eroticism became more blatant, which some felt gave the series a pulpy turn. Others felt Biddeloo brought back excitement to an otherwise bland studio project. Whether one loved or hated his work, he managed to turn 'De Rode Ridder' into a bestseller. Together with 'Suske en Wiske', 'De Rode Ridder' is the only Vandersteen series that has continued after its creator's death. Also because of its unintentional camp appeal, Biddeloo's rendition of the comic still enjoys a cult following today.
Early life
Karel Biddeloo was born in 1943 in the town of Wuustwezel, but spent some of his early years in the Congo, at the time still a Belgian colony. He studied graphic arts at the Institute of Decorative Arts and Crafts ("Instituut voor Sierkunsten en Ambachten) in Antwerp, where, a few grades back, Ron van Riet was also a student. Willy Vandersteen was one of Biddeloo's main graphic influences, but he also drew inspiration from American comic creators like Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta, the fantasy novelists Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock and the horror magazines Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. Later in life, Biddeloo was pen pals with legendary bondage artist Eric Stanton. Their correspondence resulted in a couple of erotic mail-order comic booklets, which Biddeloo signed with "Joreb". From a young age, Biddeloo showed graphic talent, but one of his teachers dismissed him as useless, going so far as to state that "in the future 'being as dumb as Biddeloo' will become a saying." In a 2005 interview with Ron van Riet, conducted by Ronald Grossey for his book 'Studio Vandersteen. Kroniek van een Legende' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2005), the artist had the impression that this negative feedback severely traumatized Biddeloo. He always tried to prove his talent to others.
Biggles #15 - 'Barracuda Schaakmat'.
Studio Vandersteen
After graduation, Biddeloo worked for an insurance company, a printing company and as an advertising illustrator for the Grand Bazar department stores. A friend introduced him to Willy Vandersteen and from February 1967 on, Biddeloo was a studio employee of Vandersteen's Studio Bessy division in the Gretrystraat in Antwerp. Working in the team led by Karel Verschuere, his co-workers were Edgard Gastmans, Edward De Rop and Frank Sels. Accompanied by about four inkers, they were responsible for the production of a weekly full episode of the Wild West series 'Bessy' for the German publisher Bastei Verlag. However, Biddeloo's tenure with Andy and his Scotch Collie Bessy didn't last long.
Halfway through 1967, Frank Sels and Edgard Gastmans complained to Vandersteen that Verschuere missed his deadlines too often and strongly insisted that their taskmaster should fire him. So it happened, but Biddeloo was laid off too. His mother paid Vandersteen a visit and asked him to at least let Biddeloo stay until the end of his contract. During these three months, the young artist proved his talent and reliability. Biddeloo was not only rehired, but even promoted. In Vandersteen's Kalmthout studio, Biddeloo assumed inking duties over 'Karl May' (1962-1977) and 'Biggles' (1965-1970). 'Karl May' was another western series, based on the popular 'Old Shatterhand and Winnetou' stories by German novelist Karl May. 'Biggles' was loosely based on W.E. Johns' popular boys' novels about an R.A.F. aviator. After the thirteenth story, 'Objectief Boomerang' (1967), Biddeloo took over 'Biggles' completely and penciled and inked the series for two years. When 'Biggles' was canceled, Biddeloo worked on Vandersteen's short-lived jungle adventure series 'Safari' (1969-1974), which was inspired by the popular TV series 'Daktari' (1966-1969). However, the series the artist liked best was 'De Rode Ridder' (started in 1959).
Safari #2 - 'De Verboden Jacht'.
De Rode Ridder: before Biddeloo
Before Biddeloo took over, 'De Rode Ridder' already had a long history. In 1946, the character debuted in a children's novel series by Leopold Vermeiren, serialized in Kleine Zondagsvriend magazine. It featured the adventures of Johan, a heroic knight dressed in red, and his loyal squire Koenraad. Vermeiren's first illustrator for the feature was a pseudonymous artist named "Jan de Simpele", who was later followed by Gustaaf De Bruyne, Paul Ausloos and Karel Verschuere. In 1959, Willy Vandersteen and his team turned 'De Rode Ridder' into a comic series. Creator Leopold Vermeiren green-lighted the comic version, but stipulated that Vandersteen should only use Johan, and none of his other characters. As a result, the novels and comics don't take place in the same universe, giving Vandersteen creative freedom to write his own stories. Decades later, Karel Biddeloo gave Leopold Vermeiren a cameo in the album 'De Koningmaker' (1990) as Leopold van IJsendijck.
Illustration by Karel Biddeloo for 'De Nijlkrokodillen' by Leopold Vermeiren (1988).
Serialized in De Standaard from 5 November 1959 on, the early stories clearly reveal the influence of Harold Foster's 'Prince Valiant'. Johan is a lonely knight roaming through woods and fields, fighting for justice. Later, he becomes a Knight of the Round Table and serves under King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The 1964 story 'King Arthur' introduced Merlin the wizard, who remained a regular cast member. During the early years, several of Vandersteen's studio workers participated in the comic's production, including Karel Verschuere, Eduard De Rop and Frank Sels, as well as his son Bob Vandersteen. The constant shift in creators explains why there was no real focus in the character's universe. Some stories take place in different eras of the Middle Ages, often centuries apart from one another. Sometimes the stories are serious in tone, while in other episodes Johan meets dragons, witches, fairies, gnomes and wizards. The knight travels through Continental Europe, but his horse also brings him as far as Scandinavia, Iraq, Cambodia, Korea, China or Japan. But through it all, Vandersteen's storytelling talent shines through. The captivating, suspenseful and overall epic stories helped 'De Rode Ridder' become a bestseller.
De Rode Ridder - 'De Drie Huurlingen' (1969).
De Rode Ridder: the Biddeloo era
During the late 1960s, Biddeloo's long tenure on 'De Rode Ridder' took off. The first story he worked on was 'De Wilde Jacht' (1968), albeit only as assistant inker. Starting with the 1968 episode 'De Verzonken Klok', he became the main penciler and inker. With 'De Barst in de Ronde Tafel' (1969), Biddeloo made his debut as co-scriptwriter. The plot revolves around a crack in the Round Table, which causes division among Arthur's knights. The same story also introduced a new recurring character, created by Biddeloo: Bahaal, the Prince of Darkness, a demonic wizard who remained Johan's nemesis for the rest of the series.
Vandersteen was very pleased with Biddeloo's gift for storytelling. Most of his studio employees were excellent draftsmen, but rarely great on ideas. Up to that point, he seriously considered terminating 'De Rode Ridder', even killing off Johan in his next story. Instead, he axed off 'Biggles' and let Biddeloo continue 'De Rode Ridder'. Biddeloo's first full story was 'Drie Huurlingen' (1969). He continued to write and draw 'De Rode Ridder' for the next 36 years. In addition, Biddeloo kept helping out with the other studio series 'Safari' and 'Karl May' until both were canceled. At times, Biddeloo received assistance, for instance from Vandersteen's son Bob. Biddeloo's brother Dirk occasionally wrote scripts. In addition, Dirk Biddeloo also gave Vandersteen the idea for the 'Suske en Wiske' story 'De Kale Kapper' (1970-1971). And despite leaving the series in the capable hands of his successor, Willy Vandersteen wrote one more 'Rode Ridder' story after the Biddeloo take-over: 'Het Dodenschip' (1974).
De Rode Ridder #41 - 'De Laatste Droom'.
Cast expansion
Biddeloo quickly put 'De Rode Ridder' to his own hand. He designed the iconic image of Johan swinging his sword, which appeared on the back cover of every 'Rode Ridder' album since 'De Koraalburcht' (1972). Johan, Merlijn and Bahaal remained part of the main cast, but he also created new major characters. In 'Excalibur' (1971), Bahaal's equally demonic son Qrandar is introduced. 'De Toverspiegel' (1973) marked the debut of Galaxa, "Fairy of the Light". Her evil counterpart Demoniah, the femme fatale servant of Bahaal, was first introduced in 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (1984). In the album 'De Heren van Rode' (1989), Biddeloo gave Johan and his friends a home base, when they settled in the castle of Horst. The inspiration for the setting was the real-life castle of Horst in Sint-Pieters-Rode, Flemish Brabant, where the medieval society "De Pynnockridders" held their meetings. Biddeloo was a member, cosplaying as "knight Karel de Montabour". Starting with the book 'De Heren van Rode', he made Karel de Montabour - a self-caricature - a recurring character in 'De Rode Ridder'. Another self-portrait can be found in the guise of assassin Kilyon in 'De Vete' (1977). Biddeloo also gave himself a cameo in the 'Safari' story 'De Motorrijder', as well as a couple of 'Karl May' stories.
De Rode Ridder #105 - 'De Bewaker'.
Stylistic innovation
In 1972, 'De Rode Ridder' was briefly removed from the daily newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard to make room for Vandersteen's new creation 'Robert en Bertrand'. The noble knight's adventures were transferred to Pats, the weekly children's supplement of both papers. There, Biddeloo had a full page at its disposal instead of two strips. He took the opportunity to drastically change his lay-outs. Inspired by American, British, Spanish and Italian action and horror comics, he changed from the traditional four strips-per-page format to more playful panel lay-outs and larger illustrations. Actions became more dynamic by having hands, legs, swords and arrows jump out of the panel borders. All this gave Biddeloo's work a more three-dimensional, dynamic and lively look, unique in Belgian comics at the time. To speed up production, Biddeloo started to use photocopies of castles, ships or even drawings he used before and pasted the imagery in his panels.
However, just as Biddeloo was experimenting, De Standaard informed him that, due to enormous readers' requests, 'De Rode Ridder' was returning to the funny pages in Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard again. He was asked to quickly conclude his story in Pats, so a new daily 'Rode Ridder' story could start in the papers. When 'De Rode Ridder' made its spectacular comeback to the daily newspapers again, Biddeloo kept using this new style and made it his trademark.
Biddeloo used photographs for the depiction of the Horst castle and other buildings and landscapes, and the likeness of Flemish comedian Urbanus for the nar Urban ('De Heren Van Rode', album #131).
In terms of content, 'De Rode Ridder' also underwent major changes. The series evolved into sword and sorcery, influenced by genre novels, comics and films. Biddeloo was a huge cinephile and, under the pseudonym "Bik", wrote articles and drew caricatures about the subject for Jet-Magazine. For the same publication, he once interviewed Hollywood actor Charlton Heston. Many plots of 'Rode Ridder' stories were inspired by B-movies. 'De Riviergod' (1976) reminds of 'Godzilla', while the sharks in 'De Ster van het Oosten' (1977) and 'Heerser der Diepten' (1981) were based on 'Jaws'. The gold mine plot in 'De Bewaker' (1981) was inspired by 'The Shadow of Chikara' (1977), while 'Vrykolakas' (1985) was largely based on the horror movie 'The Keep' (1983). The giant woman in 'Gorgonia' (2001) appears to have been lifted from 'Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman' (1956). 'Nosferatu' (1921) and 'Der Golem (1920) stood model for 'Nosferatu' (2002) and 'De Golem' (2002). The 'Rode Ridder' story 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (1984) cashed in on the then current movie adaptation of Hendrik Conscience's novel 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' by Hugo Claus, going so far as to model the characters of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck after the actors who played them in that movie: Jan Decleir and Julien Schoenaerts. The twin sisters in 'De Monsterman' (1983) were based on Marilyn Monroe, while Urban the nar in 'Stille Getuigen' (1986), 'De Heren van Rode' (1989) and 'De Slag Bij Woeringen' (1989) shared his looks with comedian Urbanus. Galaxa's physical features were based on Austrian actress Senta Berger, while Demoniah's looks were lifted from Sophia Loren and Barbara Stock (best known as Cliff Barnes' girlfriend in 'Dallas').
Biddeloo was a fan of science fiction too. In 'De Vluchtelingen' (1978) and 'Karpax de Stalen Man' (1978), robots and extraterrestrials appeared in the series, obviously influenced by the success of 'Star Wars'. As movies became gorier and bloodier, 'De Rode Ridder' went along with the times. Rather than draw silly cartoony monsters, Biddeloo gave them creepy designs. Characters were frequently killed off in gruesome ways. Even though the series never became too gory, the macabre atmosphere and violence surprised and shocked several Belgian readers at the time. However, it also appealed to young readers who were pleased to see something else in Belgian children's comics for a change.
De Rode Ridder - 'De Vluchtelingen' (1978).
Eroticism
Another reason why Biddeloo's 'De Rode Ridder' gained a cult following was the sly eroticism. Just like Hec Leemans' 'Bakelandt' (1975), the series was infamous for being sexually suggestive. Starting with the 1970 episode 'De Hamer van Thor', the appearances of young, attractive and voluptuous women in revealing dresses started to increase. Some even skip around in highly anachronistic mini-skirts. Such degree of eroticism was unprecedented in Flemish comics, particularly in a family comic published in a daily newspaper. However, actual nudity only appeared twice in the entire series. In 'De Witte Hel' (1986), empress Amargith is bare-breasted, while in 'Necronomicon' (1987), Demoniah takes off her clothes. Still, it was enough to make 'De Rode Ridder' one of the most talked-about comics of its time. Biddeloo's taskmaster Vandersteen wasn't very fond of this element. He frequently asked Biddeloo to tone it down, sometimes personally drawing a bit more cloth around the bodies. But the young artist kept finding new ways to "accidentally" rip off dresses in the appropriate places.
'Necronomicon' (1987).
None personified the eroticism better than the characters Galaxa and Demoniah. In many stories they each try to seduce the gullible knight. Johan loves Galaxa, but since she is a fairy, she can never stay in the mortal world for long. Demoniah is a genuine femme fatale. She often exploits Johan naiveté and wraps him around her finger. In 'Gilgamesj' (1986), Demoniah is tied up, teasing Johan to "liberate her". Johan is aware that she is evil and only wants to eliminate him. Yet they feel a mutual attraction and can never bring themselves to kill one another off for good. And thus Johan finds himself in a vicious circle. A platonic ménage-à-trois where two sex bombs have cat fights over him while he struggles to suppress his urges.
The sexy women in 'De Rode Ridder' might be explained by the fact that Biddeloo was a long-time bachelor. As written before, he often gave his female characters the physical features of famous movie actresses. The artist had several scrapbooks full of pictures. One of them was not devoted to a Hollywood starlet, but to Princess Caroline of Monaco. When he gave an Amazon in 'Xanador' (1981) Caroline's looks, his colleagues joked that he ought to send a copy to the Royal Palace of Monaco. Biddeloo actually did it, sending the scrapbook along with it. Weeks later, Princess Grace's private secretary sent back a letter. It stated that Her Highness was grateful for the interest in her daughter, but that it was kind of difficult to have her appear in a comic book. Nevertheless, the image stayed in the comic without any legal consequences.
It took until halfway through the 1980s before Karel Biddeloo finally met the woman of his life: Ursula (sometimes spelled Urslla) Lundmark. From 1987 on, she became his colorist and she also provided the Swedish dialogue in 'De Duinenabdij' (1987). The couple got married in 1989.
Rode Ridder novels
The success of the 'Rode Ridder' comic series also gave a boost to the sales of Leopold Vermeiren's original novels with the character. During the 1970s and 1980s, new volumes were released, illustrated by Chris Fonteyn, Stef Vanstiphout and Robert Wuyts. Even Karel Biddeloo illustrated a couple of 'Rode Ridder' novels, namely 'Aspis, de Gifslang' (1980), 'Het Griekse Vuur' (1981), 'De Magische Ring' (1981), 'Dodenvallei' (1987), 'De Wraak van de Farao' (1987), 'De Nijlkrokodillen' (1988), 'De Wurgslang' (1988), 'De Betoverde Ringen' (1995) and 'In De Spookstad Petra' (2000). His fellow comic artists Ronald van Riet and Marvano also served as book illustrators and some reprints editions were illustrated by Jeff Broeckx. Until his death in 2005, Leopold Vermeiren kept publishing new novels. Marck Meul also wrote a couple of stories. In 2013, 'De Rode Ridder' novel series was rebooted with two new volumes written by Marc Legendre.
De Rode Ridder #125 - 'Medusa'.
Criticism
Critics often accused Biddeloo of reducing 'De Rode Ridder' to pulp. Sensational action, horror and eroticism became the comic's major selling point. Several readers felt the series jumped the shark once extraterrestrials and robots were introduced. The endless affairs and catfights between Johan, Galaxa and Demoniah resembled a campy soap opera. Equally ridiculous were the B-movie level monsters, witches, wizards, zombies, gnomes, demons, werewolves, mummies, dragons, vampires and giant beasts. A few verged on silliness, such as fish-faced monster men ('De Koraalburcht', 1972), colossal shrimps ('De Terugkeer', 1971) and a cross between an ant and a caterpillar ('De Maagdenburcht', 1983). Many storylines recycled the same clichés. In his wonderfully funny book 'Geheimzinnige Sterren' (Daedalus, 1996), author Rik Pareit noticed that in Biddeloo's stories, Johan's horse has a tendency of dying once per album. The knight is quite preachy when telling others how they should behave, yet isn't all-knowing either. Time and time again he fails to recognize his enemies when they wear a paper-thin disguise. Another formulaic plot element are arrows hitting characters in the back. Pareit observed that both the action itself as well as the accompanying sentence are always staged the same way. Usually among the lines of: "Suddenly an arrow hits [name] and he crashes down with a raw yell." In fact, cartoonist AAaaRGh... actually derived his pseudonym from a corny yell found in 'De Rode Rider'.
'De Maagdenburcht' (1983).
Biddeloo defended himself that he was merely an entertainer who just wanted to give his readers some escapism. He saw no reason to put a lot of care and precision in his work, even if he wanted to, because he had to whip it out at such a high production rate. This also explains why Biddeloo occasionally recycled plotlines and imagery from his older stories and, more controversially, from other comics. Kalidiah and Kogorka in 'De Duivelszee' (1979) were modeled after two characters from the Batman and Aquaman comic 'The Best of the Brave and the Bold 3' (1969) by Bob Haney and Neal Adams. Hans van Adrichem proved in issue #133 (March 1980) of Stripschrift magazine that the monster Grawwar in 'De Beelden van Djomaz' (1979) was plagiarized from Larry Ivie and Frank Frazetta's comic book 'Werewolf'. Biddeloo admitted that the "inspiration from the work of colleagues had been a bit too much", yet added: "Can the artist without 'copy sins' throw the first stone at me?"
Vandersteen came to Biddeloo's defense about the accusations of declining quality. Several old-time fans abandoned the series, yet others actually loved this new direction. Vandersteen stressed that sales of 'De Rode Ridder' had actually increased tenfold over the years. Marc Sleen, who sometimes jokingly referenced the nudity of 'De Rode Ridder' in his own 'Nero' comic, also liked Biddeloo. He gave him a cameo as a cowboy in the 'Nero' stories 'De P.P. Safari' (1979-1980) and 'Het Monster van Sarawak' (1982). Biddeloo returned the gesture by giving Jan Borluut from Ghent in 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (1984) the looks of Sleen, since the comic legend was also born in Ghent.
'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (1983), featuring a caricature of Belgian politician José Happart.
Personality
While 'De Rode Ridder' was dramatic in tone, Biddeloo was well-known for not taking things too seriously. He loved giving certain celebrities a cameo for fun, like the previously mentioned movie stars and colleague Marc Sleen. In 'De Heren van Rode', he gave notorious quack doctor Herman Le Compte a small role, while Albert Einstein appeared as Dr. Alberstein in 'De Zwarte Toren' (1987). In 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (1983), the artist even indulged in a rare bit of political satire when one of the French knights attacked by Flemish peasants happens to be a caricature of José Happart, then-major of Voeren/Fourons, who was controversial for his refusal to learn Dutch, despite Belgian language laws. Some side characters in 'De Rode Ridder' are played for laughs, like the bickering alchemists Jork and Muulsh in 'De Verrader van Yarkand' (1975), 'De Ster van Het Oosten' (1976) and 'De Scharlaken Brigade' (1982). In 'De Galeislaaf' (1977), Storkas the barbarian and his tall tales about his "adventures" are another example of Biddeloo's comedic side. A running gag is the self-important and loud-mouthed Yacki (also spelled as "Jakke", "Yakki", "Jacqui", "Shaky" and "Dzaky"). This ridiculous little bragger reappeared in several albums from 'Xanador' (1981) on, and was based on a teacher Biddeloo used to know. Some of the short 'Rode Ridder' stories Biddeloo made for special occasions are also deliberately silly. As a joke, Marc Sleen and Hec Leemans once drew a couple of characters on page 18 of 'Het Dievengilde' (1980). The break in style might have been noticed by some readers, but certainly not everybody.
Stories for seasonal books were often a parody of the series itself, full of anachronisms ('Een Droomvakantie voor De Rode Ridder', Zee Zon Zand Stripboek, 1986).
Many of Biddeloo's colleagues have remembered the man as a joker and a prankster. At Studio Vandersteen, he loved to fool his co-workers or have them play out humorous stories, which he photographed scene by scene. Afterwards, he pieced the snapshots together to make photo comics. As mentioned before, Biddeloo was a member of the medieval society De Pynnockridders in Horst, but later left them in favor of another similar medieval-themed club, de Tempelierridders.
Oddly enough for someone associated with comics about knights, he was a huge western fan. Biddeloo was a member of a gun shooting club and two western-themed clubs, the: Arizona Ranch in Halle-Zoersel and El Paso in Wuustwezel. For years, El Paso was a small street designed to look like a western village. Tourists could come and watch cowboy performance acts there, while TV crews often used the setting for cowboy-themed sketches or music videos. Biddeloo did cosplay too. His stage name was "Johnny Reb" (or "Johnny Rebel") and his mustache and black costume made him look like cowboy actor Lee van Cleef. Yet it was far from a risk-free hobby. During a stage act in 1972, Biddeloo fell off a roof and broke his wrist. Until his recovery, his colleagues Eugeen Goossens, Edward De Rop, Eric De Rop, Merho and Willy Vandersteen himself had to continue the 'Rode Ridder' story 'De Verborgen Berg' (1972). In 1988, Biddeloo was accidentally shot in the eye. He was hospitalized for four days. Even though it was only loose powder, it damaged his eyesight by 50 percent. When he left the hospital, he was deeply hurt by the fact that Studio Vandersteen had already been looking for a permanent replacement to continue the 'Rode Ridder' series.
Karel Biddeloo as Johnny Reb (from Brabant Strip Magazine #191).
Difficult relation with the studio
Karel Biddeloo's 1988 temporary hospitalization was not his only unpleasant experience with his bosses. Despite its success, 'De Rode Ridder' remained for many years the only Studio Vandersteen series to still appear in black-and-white. Vandersteen felt that since children bought the series, rather than their parents, the sales price had to be low. It wasn't until the album 'De Levende Doden' (1983) that 'De Rode Ridder' finally appeared in color. At the same occasion, Biddeloo's name was mentioned in the credits, an honor that other Studio Vandersteen members didn't receive. Originally, Marita Bayens and Hannelore Vantieghem were the comic's colorists, but by 1987 Biddeloo's wife Ursula Lundmark took this job upon her. In 1998, she had enough and left the colorizing to Vantieghem again.
Biddeloo often tried to convince his publisher Standaard Uitgeverij to organize more media events, but since 'Suske en Wiske' was their cash cow, they were more willing to invest in that series. Only once did they actually grant him his request, at the occasion of the 200th album 'Oude Vijanden' (2003). When the album 'Olavinlinna' (2003) came out, Biddeloo went so far as to organize a press meeting on his own, paid out of his own pocket. The script was written by Martin Hofman, host of a 'Rode Ridder' fansite. Since the story took place in Finland, Biddeloo held the event at the Finnish church in Antwerp. He had obtained a devil throne, which was a prop used by the Norwegian black metal band Ancient during their European tour. In an interview with Hofman, Ursula said that it actually amused Biddeloo that he was seated on a Satanic throne in a church. The press meeting was a success and even Antwerp mayor Leona Detiège paid an official visit.
Nevertheless, Biddeloo kept suffering under the high production tempo of four full comic books a year. Starting with the episode 'De Holle Aarde' (1997), the page count was reduced from 34 to 30. Yet this didn't relieve his tension. Rather than draw four albums a year, he was now expected to publish six! Predictably, this had a negative effect on the overall quality. Artwork and plotlines started to get a rushed-out feeling. For fans of unintentional comedy, these stories are a goldmine worth of drawing mistakes, recycled narratives and odd, unresolved transitions. But the stress started to take its toll. The two-parter 'Reis naar Atlantis' (1997) and 'Magiërs van Atlantis' (1997) was such a mess that both De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad decided to quit their serializations. Biddeloo was strongly advised to reduce the amount of eroticism and bring the series back to its roots. Yet without the prepublication, album sales went further downhill.
More cartoony Biddeloo art than usual in 'Het Geheim van de Kousenband' (2001).
Graphic contributions
Karel Biddeloo was one of several former Bronzen Adhemar winners to make a graphic contribution to 'Marc Sleen. Een Uitgave van de Bronzen Adhemar Stichting' (1993), which paid homage to Marc Sleen. In 2001, he also contributed to the crossover album 'Het Geheim van de Kousenband' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2001), where heroes from various Standaard Uitgeverij series appear together in one album, drawn by the respective artists themselves. Besides him, Marc Sleen, Dirk Stallaert, Merho, Hec Leemans, Marc Legendre, Paul Geerts and Urbanus & Willy Linthout also took part in the project.
Recognition
In 1979, Karel Biddeloo was the third artist to receive the Bronzen Adhemar, the most prestigious Flemish comics prize. In 1996, a comic book mural depicting De Rode Ridder was erected in Hasselt. On 21 Augustus 2009, De Rode Ridder received a statue in the coastal town of Middelkerke, where an annual Comics Festival was held. A month later, on 27 September, Biddeloo received a statue of his own in his birth city of Wuustwezel. He is one of the few Belgian comic artists to be honored this way, as in most cases characters receive a sculpture, not the actual creators. Another statue for De Rode Ridder was erected on 12 October that same year in Sint-Pauwels.
Death
In 2004, Biddeloo felt a pain in his right arm, which he suppressed with pain killers to keep on working. His 205th album, 'Het Scheepskerkhof', was partially finished by his wife Ursula. By that time, the comic veteran was already gravely ill. He turned out to have cancer in his lungs and bones, of which he succumbed that same year. He was 60 years old. His funeral was attended by his many friends and colleagues. As a special tribute, an actor dressed up as the Red Knight also attended the service.
After Biddeloo's death, Dutch comic artist Martin Lodewijk, of 'Agent 327' fame, became the series' new writer while Claus Scholz provided illustration work. In 2012, Marc Legendre became co-writer, and eventually took over completely. Since 2016, Italian artist Fabio Bono is the series' new illustrator. He took the opportunity to give the always clean-shaven Johan a stubble.
The Jozeph Aldenzee single about De Rode Ridder from 1984.
Cultural impact
Thanks to Biddeloo's successful run, 'De Rode Ridder' remained a bestseller for decades. In Belgium and the Netherlands, it is arguably the most famous chivalry comic. Attempts have been made to translate 'De Rode Ridder' into different languages. 'De Levende Doden' (1983) appeared in English, but failed to find a market there. The series was also translated into German as 'Der Rote Ritter' by Wick Comics, but in limited print runs. Some merchandising was created around the franchise as well. The album 'De Overlevenden' (1984) came with a musical single, sung by Joseph Aldenzee. This 'Rode Ridder' song also received a low-budget music video in which TV star Bart Peeters played Johan, carrying a blond wig. In 2004, a 'Rode Ridder'-themed CD-ROM game, 'Gebroken Kracht' was issued. In 1990, an official fan club was established, "De Orde van de Rode Ridder", which came with its own quarterly club magazine. An official subscription card could be found inside the album 'De Slag van Woeringen' (1990).
In 1990, writer Ronald Grossey and artist Marvano came up with a more adult take on the series, modeled after Frank Miller's reboot of the 'Batman' franchise in 'The Dark Knight Returns'. Their version, 'Red Knight', was fiercely criticized by readers and it never received a sequel. Even Biddeloo disliked it. In hindsight, the idea was probably too far ahead of its time, seeing that two decades later 'Amoras' (2013), an adult reimagining of 'Suske en Wiske', did manage to find an audience. In 2017, the old idea of modernizing 'De Rode Ridder' was dusted off, but by changing the knight into a biker named 'Red Rider'. Cartoonist Lectrr wrote the script, while Stedho illustrated the story. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the comic version of the character in 2019, comic creator Patrick Cornelis made a modern rendition of Karel Biddeloo's 'Rode Ridder' story 'De Toverspiegel'.
Parody
Like any famous franchise, 'De Rode Ridder' has been an irresistible target for parody, particularly because of its dry, serious tone, archaic "medieval" language and camp appeal, but also because the high production level resulted in many unintentionally funny plotlines, continuity errors and drawing mistakes. In 1996, Matthias Sercu played Johan as a campy, effeminate knight nicknamed "De Roze Ridder" ('The Pink Knight") in the episode 'Kitsch en Kunst' of Bart De Pauw's TV sketch show 'Buiten de Zone'. In 2001, cartoonist Jeroom created the character 'Ridder Bauknecht' whose physical appearance is a deliberately bad copy of Johan's looks. His sidekick, "Frans de Dode Ridder" ("Frans the Dead Knight") was another nod. Tom Bouden and Kim Duchateau made another homosexual version named 'Herman de Lichtrode Ridder' ("Herman, the Slightly Red Knight", 2003). In the 2010s, illustrator Pascal Agotha created an anti-hero named 'Nahoj, de Groene Ridder' ("Nahoj, the Green Knight"), while Geinz and Jean Deras came up with 'De Rode Ruiter' ("The Red Horseman") on the online comics portal www.stripelmagazine.be.
'The Escape', one of Biddeloo's erotic mail-order comics under the pen name Joreb.
Besides Marc Sleen, Hec Leemans also caricatured Karel Biddeloo in his comics, giving him a cameo in the 'Bakelandt' story 'Op Leven en Dood' (1980). In the 'Rode Ridder' story 'De Sluier van Wuustwezel' (2009), both Biddeloo and his wife Ursula are caricatured by Claus Scholz. Biddeloo and his colleagues Eugeen Goossens and Lucienne Van Deun can also be spotted in the background of strip #214 of the 'Suske en Wiske' story 'De Briesende Bruid' (1968-1969), when aunt Sidonia leaves the city hall after getting married.
Books about Karel Biddeloo
For people interested in Biddeloo's life and career, 'Johnny en Ik: Herinneringen aan Karel Biddeloo' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2012) by comic expert Danny De Laet is a must-read. A thorough essay is 'De Rode Ridder Story' (2011), written by Ivo De Wispelaere, Bert Gevaert and David Steenhuyse for www.stripspeciaalzaak.be. The most hilarious analysis of Biddeloo's 'De Rode Ridder' can be found in Rik Pareit's book 'Geheimzinnige Sterren' (Daedalus, 1996).
Karel and Ursula Biddeloo have important roles as Lady Urssla and Karel De Montabour in 'De Sluier van Wuustwezel', written by Martin Lodewijk and drawn by Claus D. Scholz.