Thomas Rindt - 'Moessonregens'.
Erika Raven is a former Belgian comic artist, and in 1987 the first woman to win the Flemish comics prize the Bronzen Adhemar. Her work is characterized by socially conscious adventure stories set in exotic countries, as can be seen in her main comic series 'Thomas Rindt' (1987) and 'Ripley' (1992-1995). During the 1990s, she also made the weekly gag comic 'Erika' for the women's magazine Libelle. Raven was also the first female cartoonist to establish her own publishing imprint, Studio Raven. Despite a promising start, she eventually left the comic industry, citing frustrating experiences with publishers and lack of promotion as major reasons.
Early life and career
Erika Raven was born in 1963 in Halle, Brabant (nowadays Flemish Brabant), as Erika De Ceuckelaire. At age 11, she saw one of her comic strips published in the amateur section 'Plant 'n Knol' of the comic weekly Robbedoes, the Dutch-language version of Spirou (issue #1927 of 20 March 1975). For three years, Raven studied at the St. Lucas Institute in Brussels, one year in the Graphic Arts department and one year in the Painting section, but she eventually dropped out to dedicate all her time to comics. In addition, she took evening courses from the Art Academies of Anderlecht and Halle. Her main graphic influences are Hugo Pratt, Renaud, Ptiluc and François Walthéry. Besides comics and art, Erika Raven also developed a fascination for helicopters and archaeology, inspirations reflected prominently in her later comics.
'Zimbabwe'.
In 1984, Raven responded to a call for new talent by Kuifje/Tintin magazine, and the editor sent her a four-page script by Jean Dufaux to draw. This story, 'Les Coquillages de la Mort', saw print in Tintin issue #30 of 1985, both in the Flemish and Walloon edition. In that same year, she began working on her debut solo story 'Zimbabwe', a one-shot adventure set in Africa, which was printed in a 1986 special short story issue of Wordt Vervolgd, the Dutch edition of Casterman's À Suivre magazine. It tells the story of an aviator who gets caught up in a chaotic situation in Zimbabwe. In this country he meets Ebbekopje, a black woman who fights alongside a group of ZIPRA rebels, who uses him to rob a gold transport.
Also in 1986, Raven returned to Kuifje/Tintin with her 16-page comic 'Lotus', set in South East Asia. However, she was very displeased with the way her story was printed, especially with regard to the coloring and edited dialogues. In interviews, she also expressed her dislike of the company policy of editors amending stories and then taking credit as the scriptwriter, in this case Jean-Luc Vernal. It was a rocky start, and the first of several personal negative experiences in the Belgian comic industry. When she later published 'Lotus' in book form, she printed her own original 18-page version and added the butchered and, in her opinion, laughably bad version, as an extra.
Thomas Rindt
At a gathering of the Vlaamse Onafhankelijke Stripgilde (Flemish Independent Comics Guild), Raven met the scriptwriter Marcel Rouffa, who was already working on a first draft of the script for 'Moessonregens'. Initially, he planned to produce it as a comical story with Marc Legendre, but he was so impressed by Raven's artwork, that he reworked the story and had her draw it as a serious comic instead. The title hero is the war correspondent Thomas Rindt, who is accompanied by the photographer Hendrik Lissauer and the female local guide Chay on a journey through the fictional South East Asian country of Meotham, which is at the brink of civil war. Despite their intended distance, events drag them down so much that, whether they like it or not, the two men have to choose sides, especially after Chay brings them into contact with the MBF rebels. In 1987, two books were published by Den Gulden Engel, the short-lived comic imprint of Marvano: 'Moessonregens' (1987) and 'De Stad Van De Engelen' (1987). In the second volume, after Hendrik's tragic death, Thomas flees into the jungle, where he is divided by his memories of Western Europe and the reality of South East Asia with its heat, mosquitoes and revolution.
'Ripley'.
Studio Raven
In December 1987, Erika Raven's debut album 'Moessonregens' earned her the Bronzen Adhemar, a prestigious Belgian comic prize. As the first female recipient, it put her on the map as a promising newcomer. However, the prize also put an enormous pressure on her shoulders, not in the least because of all the interview requests. Also, while working on 'Thomas Rindt', Erika Raven discovered that collaborating with a scriptwriter wasn't her thing and she rather told her own stories. On top of all that, her publisher Den Gulden Engels went out of business, so she had to shop around. Besides a short story made in collaboration with Bert van der Meij ('The Parachute', 1987) and the gloomy short solo story 'Spinrag' (1988), both in Wordt Vervolgd, it took several years before new comics by Erika Raven were published.
Despite the award and all the media attention, she couldn't find a publisher interested in picking up her work, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. Now based in Zoersel, near Antwerp, she took a daytime job in a store and began creating comics part time. With support of Ad Hendrickx of the comic store Tistjen Dop in Turnhout and Johan Van Torre of De Galliër in Sint-Truiden, she ventured into self-publishing, creating her own imprint Studio Raven. Between 1992 and 1997, five comic books appeared, all in Dutch language and in black-and-white. The first Studio Raven release was 'Zimbabwe' (1992), collecting her 1986 short story for Wordt Vervolgd, and adding a sequel story, 'Ebbekopje'.
Ripley
In the late 1980s, Erika Raven slowly began working on her own comic project. As the lead character, she returned to the female helicopter pilot Maywood Ripley from her 1986 short story for Tintin, 'Lotus'. However, she couldn't find a publisher, so production stalled after the short stories 'Lena' (1988) and 'Conversations' (1990). In 1992, Studio Raven collected these stories, along with the original version of 'Lotus', in the book 'Ripley (1986-1993)'. In the next couple of years, Raven self-published two more 'Ripley' books, containing one long narrative, 'Kota Base' (1994) and 'Kentangau River' (1995). Amid ethnic and social unrest, Ripley has to fight out her own conflicts with colleagues. This indirectly leads to the death of her co-pilot during a rescue operation, whom she strongly despises for his cowardice. Suspended and torn by remorse, Ripley travels to Borneo, where she gets caught up in an intrigue involving her photographer friend Mary-Lou and a sceientic team that has vanished without a trace after sailing up the Ketangau River.
'Icebound'.
Icebound
Simultaneously with 'Ripley', Raven began working on a story with new characters, the polar explorers Nash Lemonnier and Marcel Leconte. In 1994, she self-published the first volume, 'Icebound'. A second story set in Polynesia, 'Nan Madol', appeared as a 33-page story on the artist's website, in the hope of attracting a publisher. When this didn't work out, Erika Raven left the comic industry for good. In 2004, the book was eventually released in book format by Boumaar.
Style
For her adventure comics, Raven drew in a photorealistic style, giving her work a cinematographic, and at times almost documentary, quality. Her drawings often make use of clair-obscur techniques, and many of her stories were set in exotic locations, like Africa and Asia. Raven's graphic skills are complemented by her talent for creating multilayered characters. As topics, she doesn't pick crowdpleasers: her adventure comics may be action-packed and suspenseful, but also dare to bring socially conscious messages.
Erika
During the 1990s, Raven also had a weekly three-panel gag comic, 'Erika', in the women's magazine Libelle. The gags centered around the trials and tribulations of a young couple, living in the Belgian countryside. The woman, referred to as "SHE", is a young artist, who searches for passion, both in her relationship and in her work. Her husband, "HE", is more pragmatic and serious in his attitude. Since the comic carried Raven's first name, it was inevitable that readers interpreted the gags as autobiographical. In 1996, one compilation album, 'Elke Week In Libelle: Erika', was published by the artist's own company Studio Raven.
'Erika'. Translation of the first gag: 'Freedom depends on deals. It ends where it starts with another." - Man: "Ends?". Translation of the second gag: "Promises! Promises! That's all I get! I'd prefer you to keep them too." - Man: "Okay, I promise to never promise anything again."
Graphic and written contributions
Together with scriptwriter Erik Meynen, Erika Raven paid homage to François Walthéry's 'Natacha' in the collective comic book 'Natacha: Special 20 Ans!' (Marsu Productions, 1990), celebrating the comic's 20th anniversary. In 1993, she was one of several Bronzen Adhemar winners to draw a tribute to Marc Sleen in the book 'Marc Sleen: Een Uitgave van de Bronzen Adhemar Stichting' (1993). In 1997, she appeared in 'Old Cake Comix', an anthology with comics by female comic creators, compiled by Maaike Hartjes. Raven also contrbuted to Yaack and WEgé's comic strip 'Suske Wiet' (1998) and co-wrote the script of Maarten Vande Wiele's graphic novel 'I Love Paris' (2008), a comic book about three young women who want to make it in the Parisian jet-set. She declined to contribute to the sequel, though.
Recognition
On 5 December 1987, Erika Raven received the Bronzen Adhemar from the hands of animator Nicole Van Goethem. As of today, she and Judith Vanistendael (in 2022) are the only women to have won this prestigious Belgian comic prize.
Post-comics career
Unfortunately, Raven's career in comics was thwarted by several setbacks. Debuting at a time when many comic magazines and publishers disappeared or cut down on their production budgets forced her to turn to self-publishing, with all the associated financial and organisational hassle. Working on comics part time, she also explored other activities, like graphic design and painting. When sales of her comics were disappointing, Raven retired from the comic industry, and tried her hand at writing novels. When she couldn't find a publisher for her debut novel 'Idahi' (1996), starring a young archeologist, she self-published it in a print run of 50 copies for her friends and relatives. As an experiment, she serialized the chapters of her next novel, the "botanical thriller" 'De Vlindertuin' (2003), for free on her website. Labeled as the "first Dutch internet novel", the story about a mysterious website about butterflies was eventually also published in print by Studio Raven. In 2004, The House of Books published her controversial novel 'Het Kreng', about a bitchy career woman. Offering sharp criticism of radical feminism, Raven's book urges women to think about the choices they make and not blindly chase a gold-plated career ideals.
Legacy and influence
Erika Raven is often erroneously cited as "the first female Flemish comic artist". In reality, the earliest known female Flemish comic artists that can be identified by name were Tonet Timmermans and Kaja Grunwald (who published under the pseudonym Kari), both active in the 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, May Claerhout, Greet Liégeois and Ann Van De Velde also drew comics. However, by winning the 1987 Bronzen Adhemar, Erika Raven was indeed the first female Flemish comic artist to receive considerable media attention. She was also the first Flemish woman to create more serious and socially conscious comic stories, that would nowadays be labeled as "graphic novels". Comic historian Jan Smet once wrote in his 2014 book 'Vlaamse Reuzen - De Complete Stripgids Interviews (1974-2001)': "Erika Raven may claim she paved the way for several other female comic artists in Flanders: Ilah, Judith Vanistendael, Ephameron, Shamisa Debroey, Inne Haine, Delphine Frantzen, Charlotte Dumortier... A small comfort, because predecessors only exist by the grace of those whom they predecess. Erika Raven deserves better."
Erika Raven in 1993.