'Jaguar'.
Flemish artist Jan Bosschaert was born in 1957 in Borgerhout, and attended the Sint-Lukas School of Arts in Brussels. At age 16 he managed to get two of his comics published in the weekly amateur section 'Plant 'n Knol' of comic magazine Robbedoes (the Dutch-language version of Spirou). They ran in issues #1821 (8 March 1973) and #1849 (20 September 1973). He has been working as a freelancer since 1981. That year he debuted as a comic artist with his pantomime comic 'Icarus', published by Albino. It was followed by 'Omni - 20.000 Millirem Onder Zee', a book published by Oberon.
'Sam'.
In 1983 he and Humo journalist Guido Van Meir made 'Pest in 't Paleis', a satire on Belgian politics. The story was serialized in Humo, from issue #2237 (21 July 1983) on. The comic was well received and brought him to the attention of critics and general audiences alike. He left comics for a while, but made his comeback with the album series 'Sam' in 1990, a sympathetic series about a girl mechanic in a garage with scripts by Marc Legendre. In 1991, he won the Bronzen Adhemar, the official Flemish Community Cultural Prize for Comics. In 1993 he was one of several Bronzen Adhemar winners to pay a graphic tribute to Marc Sleen in the book 'Marc Sleen. Een uitgave van de Bronzen Adhemar Stichting' (1993).
Since 1998 he is the artist of 'De Geverniste Vernepelingskes', a satirical comic written by Urbanus that pokes fun at countless famous Flemings and is published in Panorama. In a more realistic fashion, he has drawn four books of the series 'Jaguar' between 2001 and 2005. This comic was written by Jean Dufaux and published by Casterman. Bosschaert has additionally worked with Peter van Gucht on humorous comics like 'Zapman' and 'Dario'. 'Zapman' ran in the weekly TeVe Blad from 19 September 1995 until the end of the decade. It was a gag comic about a superhero who helps people surf to other TV channels. In most episodes he does something TV-related, while trying to "save the day", but nobody takes him seriously. References to real life TV shows were another staple of the series.
In 2015, he was one of the six Flemish artists to draw a comic book starring Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske' for S.O.S. Children's Villages, based on a story by a celebrity. Bosschaert made the story 'De Verwoede Verzamelaar' with film maker Jan Verheyen. The other artists involved were Ilah, Charel Cambré, Ivan Adriaenssens, Kim Duchateau and Kris Martens.
'De Geverniste Vernepelingskes'.
Besides being a comic artist, Bosschaert is also known for his paintings and illustrations. He has made numerous illustrations for broadcasting company BRT, but also for publishers like Averbode, Kluwer, and Lannoo, magazines like Panorama, Humo, NWT and Playboy. He has illustrated books by Marc de Bel and Katie Velghe, and record covers for Pitti Polak. On 29 April 2005 a comic book wall designed by him was inaugurated in the Wolstraat in Antwerp, as part of the local Comic Book Route.
In 1995 he paid a graphic tribute to Belgian cartoonist Gal (Gerard Alsteens) in 'Gal. De Overspannen Jaren' (Epo, 1996). In 2005 Bosschaert made a graphic contribution to 'Suske en Wiske 60 Jaar!' (2005), which paid homage to Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske'. He also paid tribute to Marc Sleen in 'Marc Sleen 80. De enige echte' (2002) and 'Marc Sleen 90. Liber Amicorum' (2012), as well as Jef Nys in 'Jommekes Bij De Vleet' (2010). On 28 December 2010, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kim Duchateau's character Esther Verkest, P-Magazine organized a special, where various artists, including Bosschaert, drew a graphic tribute.
He was one of many artists to pay tribute to Ever Meulen during the 'Ever Meulen & Friends' exhibition in October 2017 in Brussels. In 2020 he joined 75 Dutch & Flemish comic artists to make a graphic contribution to the free collective comic book ‘Striphelden versus Corona’ (Oogachtend, Uitgeverij L, 2020). The book is intended to support comics stores who had to close their doors for two months during the lockdown at the height of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. He also paid homage to Merho's 'De Kiekeboes' in the collective tribute album 'Vier door Derden' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2022).
'Pest in 't Paleis'.