De Avonturen Van Tony & Co #2 - 'Crocodile Blunder' (1993).
Tody en Tony are Belgian comic creators, whose production flourished between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. The duo mostly made advertising comics and comics in the dialect of the Belgian province Limburg, with Tony D. serving as the scriptwriter and Tody as the artist. Their most enduring creation was the self-published 'Tony & Co' series (1993-1997), which spawned five albums. In 1996, they made a celebrity comic about the TV clown Papa Chico.
Early life
Little to nothing is known about Tody and Tony's background. Given that most of their stories are set in the Belgian province Limburg, they probably hailed from this part of Flanders.
Tony & Co
In 1993, Tony and Tody created the humorous adventure series 'Tony & Co', which they self-published under their Hasselt-based T&T's Art imprint. The main characters are Tony, a bespectacled, clean-shaven man wearing a cap, and his best friend Lenzo, who has a stubble, black mustache and a beret. A total of five albums were released: 'De Rubberdief' (1993), 'Crocodile Blunder' (1993), 'De 24 Uren van Zolder' (1994), 'Basket Magic' (1995) and 'Truck Racing' (1997). The stories have a heavy emphasis on cars, races and chases, and feature product placement from sponsors like Group GL, Daihatsu, Koerier and Q8. Apart from a Dutch-language version, some of the albums were also translated into English, French and Esperanto.
'Gaspar Als Speurder' (1995).
Advertising comics
Apart from their own sponsored comic books, Tody & Tony created an advertising comic for supermarket chain Spar and the cookie brand De Beukelaer, titled 'De Avonturen van Gaspar: Gaspar Als Speurder' (De Spar, 1995). It stars an anthropomorphic version of the spruce tree from the Spar logo, and also has product placement by M&M's, Milky Way, Ola and De Beukelaer. Other important characters are the Prince of Lu - mascot of the Lu cookie brand - and Willy Vandersteen's comic characters 'Suske & Wiske', who at the time appeared on the wrappers of De Beukelaer biscuits. The appearance of the latter characters is remarkable, since the comic book is no official Studio Vandersteen production and the two heroes look off-model from their official house style.
'De Avonturen van Papa Chico: De Reddende Schoentjes' (T&T's Art, 1996).
Papa Chico
Another promotional comic by Tody & Tony featured the Belgian TV clown Papa Chico. In the late 1980s, the Flemish restaurant keeper and clown Pierre Hauters performed at children's parties as Papa Chico. When the commercial TV channel VTM first aired in 1989, Papa Chico made regular appearances in their children's shows, including 'Schuif Af' and 'De Kinderclub'. This increased his fame and inspired a stream of merchandising, including the comic book created by Tody & Tony. 'De Avonturen van Papa Chico: De Reddende Schoentjes' (T&T's Art, 1996) was partially a celebrity comic, partially an advertising comic, promoting both Papa Chico and the shoe brand tied to his public image.
Dialect comics
Tody and Tony also made several comic books written in the dialect from the Belgian province Limburg, some with regional variations found only in certain villages and towns. Scenes in the stories are set in recognizable hotspots, with cameos from notable local villagers. For their background research, the duo collaborated with local history organizations and the non-profit organization Veldeke BL. Most of the scripts were written by Guido Dressen and Jan Neyens, while dialect experts also lent a helping hand. Their first effort, 'De Zjeneverzoeper van Hasselt' (F.O.C. Hasseletum, 1997), is set in the provincial capital Hasselt. It was followed by 'Hoesseltse Kènnërspèlkes Aut Grutmoederstijd' (Gemeente Hoeselt, 2003), taking place in Hoesselt, 'De Kontente Boggetenaer' (Veldeke BL, 2003), set in the village Bogget and 'Kan, Het Döbbel Däorepke' (2005), with Kanne as main stage. In collaboration with the local history association of the village Diepenbeek, they made '"Aonjaoge kan” alleen in Diepenbeek: Straffe verhalen uit Diepenbeek' (date unknown) and 'De Benkeleke Vrijage van Trieneke: 'n Êch Wooër Verhaol van den Düvel' (date unknown). Both stories are based on folkloric legends from Diepenbeek.
T&T's Art team, portrayed on the back of the 'Tony & Co' books.