Cartoon from 2015. Translation: "The difference of the difference. ... Winter fun! ... No fun!'.
André Nollet is a Belgian political, sports and advertising cartoonist. Since 2002, he has been a house cartoonist for the right-wing satirical magazine 't Pallieterke. Nollet created two comic books, 'Wervik, Vroeger en Nu' (1968) and '50 Jaar Wervik 2000' (2018), about the history of the village of Wervik. During the 1980s, he drew the children's comics 'Joch' and 'Krol en Bol' for Stipkrant, and his comic series 'Toontje & Denis' ran in Raak.
Life and career
André Nollet was born in 1946 in Wervik as the son of a stairs repairman. Nollet studied graphic arts at the Sint-Lucas School of Arts in Ghent, where one of his fellow students was Ever Meulen. Even through he stayed in the city of Ghent after graduation, he never lost his heart for his city of birth. In 1968, he created a full comic book about Wervik's centuries-old history, titled 'Wervik, Vroeger en Nu' (Publi Almar). Fifty years later, he created a sequel, '50 Jaar Wervik 2000' (2018), addressing all the events that happened in his village during the past half century.
Translation: "Tomorrow I go to the first primary school. And I'll be strong and won't cry! Although..."
Between 1972 and 1985, André Nollet worked for the advertising agency Group Seghers/Dynamic. In 1980, he became sports cartoonist for Het Nieuwsblad, while drawing the comics 'Joch' and 'Krol en Bol' for the paper's juvenile supplement Stipkrant. For monthly magazine Raak, a publication of the Christian Workers' Movement, he made the comic strip 'Toontje & Denis'.
From 1982 until his retirement in February 2011, Nollet was a teacher at Sint Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp, specializing in digital design. In May 1986, he established his own advertising studio, Nollet Cartoons & Create, which worked on campaigns for companies such as UNILIN/Quick-Step, Volvo, OilTanking, the NMBS, Audi, Infrax, BASF, Fluxys, Palm and ICL. Between 1987 and 1988, Nollet made several advertising cartoons, the so-called 'Oscar Palmkes', to promote Palm beer. These ads ran in all of the Flemish newspapers at the time.
In 1999, Nollet, using the pseudonym "Nollie", commented on the regional news in his daily cartoon 'Wabliefteruhoastemblieft?', published in the Ghent edition of Het Laatste Nieuws. Since May 2002, he has also been a political cartoonist for the right-wing satirical weekly 't Pallieterke, where he succeeded one of the longest-running contributors, Brasser, after his death in 2001. He was also responsible for introducing the cartoonist Griet (a former pupil of his) in the magazine in 2004. In 2019, Nollet designed the cover of the album 'Milieudju Stop!' (2019), a protest album to criticize pollution, recorded by teacher Wim Pauwels.
Recognition
On 11 July 2009, André Nollet was named an honorary citizen of his hometown of Wervik.
'Wabliefterhuoastemblieft?'. The man holding a piece of paper is a self-portrait.