'Le Weekend Sportif', Le Soir, 14 July 1966.
Fernand Van Horen was a Belgian sports cartoonist, who worked under the pen name Horn, and sometimes Jonko. He was mainly affiliated with the Walloon newspaper Le Soir (1936-1940, 1947-1990), for which he produced over 10,000 drawings. His sports-themed comics chronicled current events under the titles 'Le Week-End sportif' (1946-1978), 'Le Sport Souriant' (1978-1982) and 'Il Y 50 Ans' (1972-1990). Apart from sports comics, Horn also made a one-shot comic series, 'Jim et Sa Bande' (1947-1948), serialized in Le Petit Monde.
Early life and career
Fernand Van Horen was born in 1909 in Djokupunda, a town in the Belgian colony Congo, but spent most of his life in the Brussels area. His father worked for the Compagnie du Kasai, and his mother was a native Congolese, making him multiracial. He enrolled at the Academy of Brussels in 1926, where one of his teachers was the painter Anto Carte. An avid sportsman himself, Horn made his first caricatures of sportsmen for Le Soir in 1936. He remained a contributor to this Walloon newspaper for many decades to come. He sometimes signed his work with 'Horn', a contraction of his last name, or 'Jonko', a contraction of his birth town.
'Le Weekend Sportif', 11 December 1958.
World War II
During World War II, Horn served as a lieutenant in the 2nd Lancers. He was also a member of the Secret Army and took an active part in the fight against the Nazi occupation of Belgium. He was arrested on 24 February 1943 and spent the rest of the war in the concentration camps of Esterwegen and Flossenbürg. During his ordeal, he made many drawings.
'Le Weekend Sportif', 16 December 1965.
Jim et sa bande
After the Liberation (1944), Horn resumed his cartooning activities in May 1945. Between 1946 and 1948, he made a comic strip called 'Jim et Sa Bande' for Le Petit Monde, a promotional weekly published by the Brussels-based department store Le Bon Marché. Other contributors to this publication were Peyo and Willy Vandersteen.
Le Week-end sportif
From December 1946 until 1978, Horn covered all types of sports in his section 'Le Week-End sportif', which appeared every Thursday on the last page of Le Soir. He became especially known for his humorous drawings of the Tour de France. Famous Belgian cyclists like Rik Van Steenbergen and Rik Van Looy, as well as soccer player Rik Coppens were often given guest roles. Later sections by Horn were 'Le Sport Souriant' (September 1978 - December 1982) and 'Il Ya 50 ans' (February 1972-April 1990). Horn also illustrated several serials, historical series and sports articles, not only for Le Soir, but also for Het Laatste Nieuws and Le Soir Illustré. Horn remained with Le Soir until 1990.
Graphic contributions
Horn drew advertisements for Surdiac, Philips, Citroën, Tricidine, Caltex and the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, and illustrated record covers for Belgian comedian Virgile (Léon Crabbé), movie posters and a couple of horse-related books by Edouard de Loménie. Horn also contributed a cartoon of iconic Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx for the book 'Il Était Une Fois... Les Belges' /Er Waren Eens... Belgen' (1980), a collection of columns and comic pages published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Belgium.
Recognition
Horn was honored with the title Officer in the Order of Leopold, Knight in the Order of the Crown, Knight in the Order of Leopold II and received a Croix de Guerre and Croix du Prisonnier Politique for his war efforts. He has been the president of the group La Mine Souriante, an association of humorous cartoonists.
Death and legacy
In 2005, Horn passed away in Uccle, at the age of 96. An overview exposition of Fernand Van Horen's work was held in the Maison de l’Image in Brussels between May and June 2018.
Horn.
Website with Horn's experiences and drawings from the concentration camps
Facebook fanpage dedicated to Horn