'Margriet Hermans'. Cover of 'Het Zeemeerminelixir'. The song 'Alle Mooie Mannen Zijn Zo Lelijk', sung in the sixth panel, was a real-life hit by Margriet Hermans, but is misquoted here as "vind ik lelijk" instead of "zijn zo lelijk".
Erik Vancoillie was a 20th-century Flemish comic artist, who seemingly only made one comic book in his career: a 1993 one-shot comic based on Flemish media star Margriet Hermans, which remains one of the most bizarre and nowadays obscure Flemish celebrity comics. Vancoillie additionally made several Christmas cards for Lannoo Graphics.
Early life
Erik Vancoillie was born in 1959 in Kruibeke, a town in the province of East Flanders. He ran a shop with drawing supplies in another town, Temse.
Margriet Hermans
In 1993, Vancoillie made a comic book based on Flemish singer and TV host Margriet Hermans. Since 1989, Hermans had her own talk show, 'Margriet', broadcast every summer from the casino in the coastal town of Middelkerke. She was also a permanent panel member in the radio game show 'De Zoete Inval' and the TV game show 'Zeg Eens Euh!' (of which the format was based on the British program 'Just a Minute'). Hermans was a former teacher and by no means a professional entertainer. Her musical training was limited and during public appearances she couldn't keep things straight. She reacted to anything remotedly funny with spontaneous and notoriously loud and infectious laughter. As a result, she appealed to a certain segment of Flemish listeners and viewers who liked her jolly, aimable attitude. Hermans didn't mind people joking about her obesity: she even mocked it herself. To her fans she was "one of them": a regular, everyday woman who, despite her success, always remained true to herself.
By 1993, Margriet Hermans was one of the most recognizable Flemish media celebrities. In the wake of many other celebrity comics about Flemish TV stars, the Londerzeel-based publishing company Promar released the comic book 'Het Zeemeerminelixir' (1993). The script was written by Peter Verbelen, with Erik Vancoillie providing the drawings and coloring. The plot stars Margriet and her real-life daughter Celien, niece Mieke and pet bulldogs, Big Mac and Netje. In the story, Margriet becomes a cruise singer, but she and her friends and relatives are taken hostage by a criminal gang. The title is explained when Margriet drinks an elixir and transforms into a mermaid for a few pages.
'Margriet Hermans'. Cover of 'Het Zeemeerminelixir'.
The artwork in the comic is characterized by stiff action scenes, sometimes almost expressionless faces and little sense of proportion and perspective. When Margriet is changed into a mermaid, Vancoillie suddenly draws her with a much slimmer body, which never is explained. At the time, Hermans' daughter Celien was just born, but the authors took the decision to portray her as a five-year old, diaper-wearing toddler who has the same face as Margriet, giving the infant a grotesque look. Despite some media promotion and the announcement of a sequel hook at the end of the story, the 'Margriet Hermans' comic was a commercial flop. Over the years, it gained infamy for its sheer bizarreness, especially the idea that somebody thought that this could be a commercial success. Though it should be pointed out that few of its critics have actually read the comic book.
In an interview by Raf Sauviller for Humo (10 March 1994), publisher Jef Meert of publishing company Loempia gave his own explanation why this celebrity comic failed: "It's an extraordinary stupid idea (...) Margriet Hermans (...) isn't funny! I would rather publish a comic about that awful dog of hers, or her baby. It's not because a bunch of housewives watch your TV show on Saturday night during summers, that somebody might be interested in your life." In the book 'Strips, Aha!: De Wereld van het Beeldverhaal' (WPG Uitgevers, 1996), journalist Patrick Van Gompel and comic store owner Ad Hendrickx (of Tistjen Dop in Turnhout) explained the difference in "supply and demand" in the comic industry by comparing a first print copy of 'Tintin' with the 'Margriet' comic: "The former sells for millions, while the latter interests nobody." Cartoonist Jean-Pol (of 'Kramikske' fame), once said: "Normally I never say anything bad about the work of colleagues, but the 'Margriet' comic looked atrocious. If this worked with her, then a comic book about 'Samson en Gert' done by professional artists could be better." Indeed, the 'Samson en Gert' comic series, drawn by Jean-Pol, Wim Swerts and Luc Van Asten became a bestseller.
Later life
In 2012, Vancoillie was diagnosed with colon cancer. In 2019, he joined a cancer prevention organization Stop Darmkanker to tell his story and inspire others to contact their doctor more quickly if they notice health problems. He died from the disease in November 2023.
'Kaartje gaat op reis?'. Comic strip about pets being abandoned by their owners during the holiday period, posted by the artist on Facebook in 2020.