'De Blauwe Planeet #1: De Mariane'.
Yan Gevuld is a Flemish comic artist and illustrator from the Ghent region. He started out during the 1970s and 1980s, making illustrations and strips for local magazines. Since 2011, he is known for comics like 'De avonturen van Razor' (2011-2014) and the webcomic 'Grueson' (2014), which he self-publishes as YG-Promoties.
Early life and education
Yan Gevuld is the pseudonym of comic artist and illustrator Guy Van de Velde, who was born in 1960 in Wetteren. In 1977, he began publishing under his own name, when his illustrations appeared in Stipkrant, a Tuesday juvenile supplement of the newspapers Het Nieuwsblad, De Gentenaar and De Landwacht. In the same period, he studied animation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent (1977-1978), and got his Bachelor of Arts at the RNS Gent (1978-1980). Van de Velde ranks Franco-Belgian authors like André Franquin (1950s period), Edgar P. Jacobs, Maurice Tillieux, André Juillard and Patrick Cothias among his major influences. He also enjoys the humor of Dik Browne and Bill Watterson, while film director Alfred Hitchcock is an inspiration for his storytelling (Hitchcock receives a cameo in each of Gevuld's 'Razor' stories).
'Jawadde'.
Jawadde
Gevuld eventually got a job with the Ghent-based magazine Metro, making illustrations for the supplement De Uitkrant. The paper also ran his gag strip 'Jawadde' (1983), for which he first used the pen name Yan Gevuld. 'Jawadde' was an absurd pantomime comic without recurring characters. The word "jawadde" is a Ghent dialect expression, meaning as much as "Yes indeed". The comic came to an end when Metro ceased publication, although the artist has continued to make occasional new (and unpublished) strips.
Wakkere Wuggers
As Yan Gevuld, he also made illustrations and comics for local monthlies like Trude, Vilain, as well as Kroonblaadje, the City of Ghent's environmental magazine. His informative comic 'Wakkere Wuggers' was published in Capita Selecta, the quarterly magazine for subscribers of the loose-leaf informative literature series of the publishing house Kluwer.
'Dad's Life'. Translation: "Pff, very exhausting. Time for some rest."
Attempts at U.S. publications
Gevuld dropped off the comic radar when the magazines he worked for were discontinued. He tried his luck with U.S. syndicates, but none picked up the strips he submitted. Among his efforts from this period are 'Jeez' (a translated version of 'Jawadde'), 'Zero, the Almost Hero', 'Dad's Life', 'Expedition', 'Dig-Its' and 'Whodunit: The Chinese Owl'. In 1991, he had a story printed in Jet issue #10, the French-language comic magazine for new talent, published by Le Lombard. Many of these unused strips from the period 1985-1995 were collected by publisher Peter Bonte in the book 'Yan en de Syndicates' (2017).
'De Rechtvaardige Rechters'.
De avonturen van Razor
In 2011, Gevuld made a comeback with 'De avonturen van Razor' (2011-2014), a locally oriented crime fiction comic book. The author self-published the first issue, 'De Rechtvaardige Rechters', in March 2011 with the help of sponsors and presubscriptions. It was his first longer story, made in a retro drawing style and lay-out, reminiscent of the early Lombard albums, particularly of E.P. Jacobs and Hergé. The story also tackled more serious subject matters, such as nationalist extremism in Flemish politics. The second and third album, published in 2013 and 2014, formed the ecological science fiction diptych 'De Blauwe Planeet', criticizing the way mankind treats our planet.
Grueson - 'Onthuld' (2015).
Grueson
In 2014, Gevuld launched his webcomic 'Grueson', a series of weird black-and-white stories with absurd superhero humor. At the height of its production, 'Grueson' appeared with one page a week on nine websites, both in English and in Dutch language. This was later scaled down to two websites with one page every two weeks. Since 2014, YG-Promoties has released print collections of the 'Grueson' strip.
Grueson - 'Six' (2018).
Panzer
In 2025, Yan Gevuld self-published his graphic novel 'Panzer - Een Symfonie van Horror', which appeared simultaneously with the French edition 'Panzer 'Une symphonie d'horreur'. This anti-war story deals with the effects of war on people. Set in Germany at the end of February 1945, the life of seventeen-year-old farmer boy Hans changes drastically when he is called up for his military service.
Graphic contributions
In addition to his own comics, Yan Gevuld has contributed to tribute albums to Jef Nys ('Jommekes bij de vleet', 2010) and Pom ( 'Op Het Spoor van Pom', 2011). He also contributed to the collective comic book 'De Pierkes' (Stripbeurs Gent, 2013), starring the Ghent folkloric character Pierke Pierlala. The proceeds of all three albums went to the Belgian Children's Cancer Fund (Kinderkankerfonds). Yan Gevuld additionally illustrated school books published by the City of Ghent and packaging for Van Damme marshmallows and Colpaert chocolates.
'Panzer - Een Symfonie van Horror' (2025).