Jacques Vermeire - 'Reumatik Park'.
Geert Kinnaert is a Flemish advertising designer, comic artist and radio host. As a cartoonist, he is best-known for his celebrity comic series about Flemish actor and comedian Jacques Vermeire (1993-1995). In the election year 2004, Kinnaert also created a propaganda comic to support former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene and his son Tom.
Early life and career
Born in Leuven, Geert Kinnaert grew up as an avid doodler. In issue #2125 (4 January 1979) of the comic magazine Robbedoes (the Dutch-language version of Spirou), one of his comics was published in the amateur section 'Plant 'n Knol'. Kinnaert received his graphic education at the Sint-Lukas School of Arts in Brussels, and eventually ran his own advertising firm. In the 1980s, he was also active as a local radio host at Radio Scorpio in Leuven. Between 1982 and 1996, he was involved with Radio Sinjaal, co-founded by him and his good friend Jan Dewijngaert (who later became a journalist for the commercial TV network VTM). The duo hosted the children's radio show 'De Rekel en de Mier' and the talkshow 'De Tokshow'. Together with Daniel De Laet, Kinnaert appeared as the fictional hosts De Haes & Van Mol in the satirical radio show 'Krikkedol' (1984). Although Radio Sinjaal went off the air in 1996, it returned on 4 January 2019 under a slightly different name, "Radio Singjaal", but with Kinnaert present again.
Jacques Vermeire - 'Den Boer Op'.
Jacques Vermeire
In 1993, Kinnaert took the initiative to create a celebrity comic based on popular Flemish comedian Jacques Vermeire. Vermeire reached a wide audience through his folksy cabaret shows, broadcast every New Year's Eve on public television, and as a panel member in the humorous game show 'De Drie Wijzen' (1989-1999). His fame increased when he played the antagonistic garage owner DDT in the TV sitcom 'F.C. De Kampioenen' (1990-2011) during its first seven seasons. Since both his New Year shows and 'F.C. De Kampioenen' were constantly repeated during the holiday seasons, he was one of the most recognizable Flemish media stars during the 1990s.
Written and drawn by Geert Kinnaert, 'De Ongelooflijke Belevenissen van Jacques Vermeire' (1993-1995) is a humorous adventure comic, serialized in the TV weekly Dag Allemaal, after which albums were released by Creadis-Schelle and Inodis-Ruiselede. One album, 'Reumatik Park' (1994), was notable for spoofing the blockbuster 'Jurassic Park'. Through a high production tempo, seven albums appeared on the market within two years. As such, the 'Jacques Vermeire' comic managed to last far longer than average Flemish celebrity comics, defying many people's expectations. Nevertheless, it didn't receive much serious attention, nor praise, among average comic readers.
In 1995, the TV debate show 'Schermen', hosted by Jan Van Rompaey, devoted an episode to the recent controversy over an anonymous porn parody of Jef Nys' children's comic series 'Jommeke'. This parody comic book, 'Pommeke: Hete Avonturen!' (1995), was sued by Nys for copyright infringement. During the broadcast, censorship, parody, plagiarism and freedom of speech were discussed. Nys was also invited in the studio to explain his position. At one point, Van Rompaey made a live phone call with Jacques Vermeire to give his opinion on the matter, "since he also has a comic strip". Vermeire kept an open mind, saying that while he wouldn't be flattered to be featured in a porn parody comic, he also felt the genre shouldn't be banned. This marked the only time that the 'Jacques Vermeire' comic strip was ever given any attention in Flemish media. Even so, the creators of 'Schermen' interviewed the comic's subject Vermeire, rather than ask its creator Geert Kinnaert for his opinion.
The 'Jacques Vermeire' comic was discontinued in 1995. In 2021, all 'Jacques Vermeire' stories were re-released in a special luxe edition, at the occasion of Vermeire's 70th birthday.
'Jacques Vermeire'. Cover of 'Reumatik Park'.
Geert Kinnaert's comic series wasn't Jacques Vermeire's only entry in the comic world. He appeared in the 50th 'Urbanus' story 'De Hete Urbanus' (1995) by Willy Linthout and Urbanus, presented in the style of a photo comic, with Vermeire playing himself as a "celebrity guest". When in 1997 Hec Leemans launched a celebrity comic based on 'F.C. De Kampioenen', Vermeire's role was also turned into a comic character. However, the comedian left the sitcom soon after to join the commercial TV channel VTM. Nevertheless, Leemans kept giving Vermeire's character a recurring role in the comic series.
De Dehaenes
When the 'Jacques Vermeire' comic was terminated in 1995, Kinnaert went back to his old job in advertising. In 2004, he made a brief comeback with yet another celebrity comic, 'De Dehaenes', starring former Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene and his son Tom. However, this was not a commercial series, but rather a propaganda comic to promote the Christian Democratic party CD&V during the upcoming elections. It appeared in pamphlets distributed to people's mail boxes. Other Belgian cartoonists who once made party propaganda comics have been Rik Clément, Luc Cromheecke, Shirow Di Rosso, Ian and Mark Janssen.
Self-portrait.