'De Groffe Grapjas'. The superhero is a caricature of Flemish comedian Alex Agnew, who was also its scriptwriter. The pose he strikes is a reference to the opening titles of 'Batman: The Animated Series'. In the panels one can also spot cameos of Stanley Kubrick (the ice cream salesman), Alfred Hitchcock (letting his dog out) and Stan Lee (behind the pointing girl).
Kris Martens is a Flemish cartoonist, drummer and graphic designer. He illustrated the 'Suske en Wiske' parody 'De Groffe Grapjas' (2015), scripted by comedian and band member Alex Agnew.
Life and career
Kris Martens has been making cartoons and comics since his childhood, and he has published his work in a couple of magazines and on some websites. He studied Animation at the RITS in Brussels, where he specialized in the stop-motion technique. Martens is a teacher in Audio-Visual Training at the Cadix High School in Antwerp. He has also made artwork for expositions, band merchandising, contests and the magazine Humo. Martens is also a drummer with the bands Diablo Blvd (with comedian Alex Agnew) and Tangled Horns.
Suske en Wiske
In 2015, Martens 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. Martens made the story 'De Groffe Grapjas' with comedian Alex Agnew. Other artists involved were Ilah, Charel Cambré, Jan Bosschaert, Ivan Adriaenssens and Kim Duchateau.