Nachtwacht #9 - 'De Machinegeest' (2021).
Steve Van Bael is a Belgian comic artist, best known for his secret agent comic series 'Figaro' (2008-2010) and the female journalist 'Iris' (2013). In addition, Van Bael created the political satire gag comics 'De Osschotse Romeintjes' (2014-2017) and 'Ergerlijk Eliootje' (2014) and collaborated on various celebrity comics based on Flemish media stars and TV shows, including 'Marc Coucke' (2016), 'Baba Yega' (2018), 'Nachtwacht' (2019-2023) and 'Milo' (2024- ). For several periods of time, he was an assistant for the productions of Studio Max! and on Merho's humorous adventure comic 'De Kiekeboes'.
Early life
Steve Van Bael was born in 1978 in the Flemish city of Aarschot. Drawing since early childhood, he was nine years old when he participated in a drawing competition organized by singer Paul Severs, in which a drawing had to be made based on the theme of his latest hit, 'Ik Zou Willen Vliegen'. A few weeks later, Van Beal learned that he had won the competition, with Severs himself coming by to his home to present the prize, a small black-and-white television with radio and cassette. By the time he completed high school in 1997, Van Bael was praised for his many contributions to the school's newspaper. That same year, he was contacted to do a promotional comic for a comic festival in Diest. Appearing in a print run of 400 copies, the book 'De Diestse Stripboekenbeurs' also allowed Van Bael to do his first signing session, sitting among many of the artists he admired. In the following years, he first tried higher studies at the Provincial University of Limburg in Hasselt and at the St-Lucas Institute in Brussels, but dropped out from both schools and went to work in the catering industry instead.
After two and a half years, Van Bael decided to stop his daytime job and have a sabbatical year to reflect. During this time, he picked up drawing again and joined the Stripgilde, an organization of comic creators. As an artist, Van Bael draws his inspiration from Flemish classics like 'De Kiekeboes' by Merho, 'Jommeke' by Jef Nys, as well as the Franco-Belgian crime/detective series 'Gil Jourdan' by Maurice Tillieux, 'Soda' by Bruno Gazzotti and Tome and 'Jérôme K. Jérôme Bloche' by Alain Dodier.
Studio Max!
At a Stripgilde meeting, Van Bael was reintroduced to the comic creators Marc Daniels and Rik Dewulf, owners of Studio Max!, from whom he had received drawing lessons at one point as a teenager. About a month later, on 19 February 2002, he joined them in their studio as a background inker for 'Stam en Pilou', a comic starring the mascot characters of a junior philately club. The series originally appeared exclusively in the official magazine of De Post, but was so popular that they appeared in book format too. In 2004 and 2005, Van Bael was also the inker of 'De Planckaerts', a Studio Max! comic based on the reality TV series about Belgian cyclist Eddy Planckaert and his family. He also had an important role in the production of 'Het Geheim van de Boskapel' (2004), a comic book by Studio Max! celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Buggenhout Forest Chapel.
'Link' #2 - 'In Hart En Nieren'.
Assistance work
In 2002 and 2003, Van Bael also assisted Merho on his 'Kiekeboe' comic (nowadays 'De Kiekeboes'), contriibuting backgrounds and finished sketches of three stories. However, when Dirk Stallaert was hired as Merho's main assistant, Van Bael rejoined Studio Max!. By the time Stallaert left the 'Kiekeboes' comic to join Studio Vandersteen, Van Bael returned to Merho for another two years of assistant work. During this period, he also provided a couple of plot ideas. Between July 2019 and 2023, Van Bael again worked for Merho. In between, Steve Van Bael has also been an assistant inker on Charel Cambré's satirical royal celebrity comic 'Filip en Mathilde'. On 31 July 2025, it was announced that Van Bael and Kristof Fagard were joining the artists' team of 'Jommeke', the popular children's comic originally created by Jef Nys.
Link/Figaro
In addition to his assistance work, Van Bael also began creating his own projects. Between January and March 2005, the first episode of his crime series 'Link', starring police detectives Fleur and Tibo, was serialized in the papers Het Belang van Limburg and Gazet van Antwerpen. Under its imprint Mezzanine, Balloon Books released two books of the series. In 2008, Van Bael launched his next comic, 'Figaro', at Standaard Uitgeverij. For the inking, he was aided by his Studio Max! colleague Jos Vanspauwen. The main heroes are the private investigators Emma and Peck and the inventor-technician Maxim, who work at the Figaro detective agency. Its offices are secretly located underneath a Brussels hair salon, where customers are directed downstairs when ordering a "Coupe Figaro".
While sales and reviews of the comic were decent, the publisher terminated the series in 2011, after six volumes. As Standaard Uitgeverij simultaneously dropped Charel Cambré's 'Jump' and Thomas Du Caju's 'Betty & Dodge', it marked the end of an era where mainstream Flemish comic book publishers invested in new adventure comics for a juvenile audience, and instead focused on celebrity comics or spin-offs of existing franchises. In 2014, Saga reprinted the entire 'Figaro' series, and for Strip2000, Van Bael began working on a seventh installment, which so far has remained unpublished.
Figaro - 'Het Masker van de Wereld' (2008).
Iris
Van Bael's most beloved comic creation among fans is perhaps 'Iris' (2011), about a voluptuous female journalist. According to legend, she was modeled after a real-life person, but Van Bael has thus far refused to reveal her identity. Written by LeON, the 'Iris' comic strip ran in men's magazines like Menzo, Clint, P-Magazine and Ché. In 2016, Mediageuzen released one book collection with her adventures.
Ergerlijk Eliootje and other political comics
For the official magazine of the village of Aarschot, Van Bael has created the gag comic 'De Osschotse Romeintjes' (2014-2017), which caricatured local politicians, among them mayor André Peeters. In March 2014, Van Bael also launched the satirical gag comic 'Ergerlijk Eliootje', based on then Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, who was also head of the Walloon socialist party PS. Published on the news site Clint.be, the comic depicts the fictitious youth of Di Rupo. The comic was similar to Falzar and Marco Paulo's political gag comic 'Bad Bartje', which satirized Flemish politician Bart De Wever of the Flemish-nationalistic and separatist party N-VA and also depicted him as a child. Originally, 'Ergerlijk Eliootje' was signed with the pseudonym "Spiritius", as the artist preferred to stay anonymous. The scriptwriter nicknamed himself LeON. However, many recognized Van Bael's graphical style, although Van Bael himself denied the rumors, claiming he "knew the actual artist well". When a signed election poster for the political party ROSSEM featuring Di Rupo on a paper plane surfaced, the mystery was finally solved. Van Bael had to admit he was the series' artist, but was insistent that he didn't draw the first few installments, which were made by a friend who preferred to stay out of the spotlight. The series was terminated when Di Rupo resigned as Prime Minister in the fall of 2014.
'Ergerlijk Eliootje' ('Horrible Little Elio'). The gag depicts Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and party colleague Joëlle Milquet, then known as the head of the Parti Socialiste (PS). Di Rupo is shown being rejected by Milquet, which causes him to swear: "I never want a girlfriend again". This is a nod to Di Rupo's sexual orientation, since he was the first homosexual Belgian Prime Minister, and to Milquet's nickname "Madame Non", which she received after her firm resistance against constitutional reform.
Celebrity comics in the 2010s and 2020s
After his first experiences with celebrity comics at Studio Max! with 'De Planckaerts' (2004-2005), Van Bael became more active in this genre from the late 2010s on. In 2016, he and scriptwriter LeON returned to satire with a celebrity comic book about Flemish businessman and chairman of the Belgian association football teams KV Oostende and Anderlecht, Marc Coucke. This was no easy task for Van Bael, since he happened to be more of an Anderlecht supporter than KV Oostende. Thirty supporters of KV Oostende also received a cameo in the series after winning a special contest organized on Facebook. In 2017, Van Bael signed a deal with the local restaurant Brasserie Gempemolen in Sint-Joris-Winge, for whom he has created a monthly gag comic that is printed in their menu cards. In each gag, the owner Hans Meus has a cameo.
'Baba Yega'.
A new celebrity comic by Van Bael saw the light in 2018, when he created a one-shot comic book about the mysterious Belgian dance group Baba Yega who won the TV talent show 'Belgium's Got Talent' and managed to make it to the final of the German equivalent 'Das Supertalent'. The plot of the comic book, 'De Orde van S.N.O.T.' (Ballon Media, 2018) was based on the similarly titled movie about the band. In line with the group's pantomime stage performance their comic book personas also perform without any dialogue.
In 2019, Van Bael and scriptwriter Peter van Gucht created the celebrity comic 'Nachtwacht' (Ballon Media, 2019- ), based on the children's TV series of the same name, broadcast on Ketnet. Assistance on the artwork was provided by Louis Clement, Patrick Cornelis and Patrick Van Oppen. Since 2023, the stories have been written by Nico De Braeckeleer, while Patrick Van Oppen and Louis Clement have alternated on the artwork. By then, Van Bael moved over to make another TV-based comic series with De Braeckeleer, 'Milo' (Standaard, 2024- ), based on the telenovela of the same name.
Graphic contributions
By commission of Eureducation, Steve Van Bael made a couple of educational comic books in collaboration with Jan Kragt, such as 'De 9 Levens Van Van Bommel (2012), 'Brandgevaar' (2013) and 'Vechten voor Vrede' (2014).
Van Bael paid tribute to Pom in the collective tribute album 'Kroepie en Boelie Boemboem. Avontuur In De 21ste Eeuw' (2010). He was one of several artists to make a comic strip for the artbook 'Building Bridges in Europe’ (2012), published by the European Association of National Builders' Merchants Associations and Manufacturers (UFEMAT). He also paid homage to Merho's 'De Kiekeboes' in the collective tribute album 'Vier door Derden' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2022). In 2025, Van Bael made a contribution to the erotic comic series 'Rooie Oortjes'.
Legacy and influence
Steve Van Bael was an influence on Sylvia Tops.
'Iris'.