'Cleef Coombe'.
Ross Cappaert is a Belgian comic writer and artist, who is also simply known as Ross. As an artist, he was responsible for 'Cleef Coombe' (1981), a western comic published in Robbedoes Speciaal 81-82. He later wrote comics like 'De Kinderen van de Regeling' (1988-1994, art by Yurg), serialized in Sjors & Sjimmie Stripblad, and 'De Ever en de Roos' (2010-2017, art by Kurt Cassauwers). Cappaert has also been active as a translator of French and English texts.
Early life and career
He was born in 1952 in Flanders as Rosita Cappaert, but nowadays goes by the name of Ross Cappaert. In terms of drawing, he was self-taught. During the 1970s, Cappaert wrote several stories in the 'Vlaamse Filmpjes' children's book series, most of which were set in historical eras, with an educative tone. This also became a recurring theme in his comics, which mostly had juvenile protagonists and often dealt with nature preservation, ethics and humanitarian causes. Ross Cappaert was a founding member of the Vlaamse Onafhankelijke Stripgilde, a comic appreciation club established by Eddy Ryssack, Danny De Laet and Berck.
Comics drawn by Ross
In the early 1980s, Cappaert created twelve adventures of 'Cleef Coombe', a realistic western comic about a group of kids in a peaceful town in the South of Texas. Only one story was published in Robbedoes Speciaal 81-82, a one-shot supplement to the Dutch-language version of Spirou magazine. In his comic series 'Wartoons', he adapted novels into comics. It is unknown if, when or where these were ever published.
'De Kinderen van de Regeling' (Sjors & Sjimmie Stripblad #3, 1994), art by Yurg.
De Kinderen van de Regeling
Ross Cappaert has since then mostly focused on scriptwriting. In Spirou #2377 (1983), his short story 'La Récolte de Satan' ('De Oogst van de Haat') appeared, illustrated by Malik. He also scripted the science fiction comic series 'De Kinderen van de Regeling' (1988-1994). Some test pages were made by Jeroen Steehouwer, but the series was eventually drawn by Jurgen De Muynck, AKA Yurg. Three stories were serialized in the Dutch comic magazine Sjors & Sjimmie Stripblad in 1988, 1990-1991 and 1993-1994. In 1991, Big Balloon released one album collection.
Brussel in beeldekens
Cappaert also contributed to the collective comic book 'Brussel in Beeldekens: Manneken Pis en Andere Sjarels' (2009), in which various artists interpret anecdotes about the history of Brussels in comic strip format. Cappaert scripted the final story in the book, 'Huwelijk Op Het Schavot', which was drawn by Patrick van Oppen.
De Ever & De Roos
Between 2010 and 2017, Ross Cappaert scripted 'De Ever en de Roos', a romantic adventure comic set in the Middle Ages, drawn by Kurt Cassauwers. It follows the adventures of the wayward lady Alienor. Three albums were published by Peter Bonte.
'De Ever & De Roos'.