'Joachim en Iris'.
Theo Steeman worked on a variety of comics in the 1980s, until undertaking a major career change in the 1990s. His best-known work includes 'Joachim en Iris' in Taptoe (1981), 'Witte's Dagboek' with Fred Julsing Jr. for Donald Duck (1986) and a newspaper comic version of Janwillem van de Wetering's detective novel series 'Grijpstra en De Gier' (1984-1985).
Early years and career
Born in 1958, Theo Steeman is the eldest son of the Dutch comic artist Jan Steeman, co-creator of the popular girls' comic 'Noortje' in Tina magazine. His younger brothers Lucas (1960) and Sander (1964) have also become illustrators/designers, while his brother Peter has worked as a journalist. Theo Steeman was a pupil of the comic artist Fred Julsing, who also remained one of his main artistic influences.
Early comics
During the early 1980s, Theo Steeman was present in the Malmberg school magazine Taptoe with the serial 'Het Wonderlijke Beestenboek' (1980-1981) and the fantasy series 'Joachim en Iris' (1981-1982). He subsequently published the 16-page realistic fantasy story 'Dat Volkje Dat Kon Vliegen' ("The Little Folk That Could Fly", 1984) in Kuifje (it also ran in the French-language edition Tintin, as 'Le Petit Peuple Qui Vole'). An uncompleted project from this early period was a series of comic strip variations based on the Dutch legend of the cat and the cradle, called 'De St. Elizabethvloed' (1983). In the original folk tale, a cat floats off with a baby in a cradle after a flood. The noise he makes alarms a farmer who helps the two ashore. Writer Patty Klein, who also worked extensively with his father, came up with several different and cynical endings, drawn in three-panel comic strips by Theo Steeman. The two creators however couldn't find a newspaper interested in the project, and it was aborted. The six completed strips were printed in a special issue of comic news magazine Stripschrift about unfinished works (issue #211, 1986).
'Dat Volkje Dat Kon Vliegen' (Kuifje #37, 11 September 1984).
Grijpstra en de Gier
Teaming up with Dutch crime novelist Janwillem van de Wetering, Steeman created two comic stories based on the author's novel series about the detective duo 'Grijpstra en De Gier'. Van de Wetering was personally involved in the plots of both 'De Mosseleters' and 'De Kat van Brigadier De Gier', which were serialized in Leeuwarder Courant between 1 May 1984 and 22 April 1985, and collected in book format by Musting/Loeb in 1985. The second story was also serialized in the newspaper De Telegraaf. While Steeman applied a fully realistic drawing style for the first 'Grijpstra en De Gier' story, he turned to semi-realism for the second one. 'Grijpstra en De Gier' was also adapted into two films starring Rijk de Gooijer as Grijpstra and Rutger Hauer/Peter Faber as De Gier (1979, 1987), as well as a TV series starring Jack Wouterse and Roef Ragas/Waldemar Torenstra (2004-2007).
'Grijpstra en De Gier' (1984).
Donald Duck
Steeman worked with Fred Julsing Jr. on the reprise of the sci-fi adventure serial 'Witte's Dagboek' in the Dutch Disney weekly Donald Duck in 1986. Julsing had created the first story for Taptoe in 1979. Steeman provided the inking for the second story, 'De Tijdruimer' (1986), and for the first pages of the third and final episode, 'De Zijnfontein' (1989). Steeman also provided illustrations for text stories in Donald Duck, such as 'De Paarden van de Stonedustwoestijn' by Bies van Ede (holiday book 1986), 'De Draak en zijn Pleegmoeder' by Paul van Loon (issue #9, 1987) and 'De Ezel' by Anton Kuyten (issue #42, 1987).
Later career
With Peter van Trigt, Steeman made a booklet called 'De Avonturen van Drup & Drop' (1988) by commission of FOSAG, an entrepreneurs' organization for painters.Theo Steeman continued to work as a designer until the 1990s, when he dropped his artistic activities. Since 1996, he has been working as an undertaker, running Capella Uitvaartverzorging in Heiloo with his wife Henny Stoop. In 2014, Steeman's comics work for Taptoe was collected in book format by André Wijntjes' publishing imprint Kippenvel.
Two strips for 'De St. Elizabethvloed', Steeman's unpublished project with Patty Klein. Only the final panel differs.