'Luk'. Translation: "Well, I'll be." - "Hi, brother, we've come to bring you the true light!" - "The true what? Oh, I understand! One moment! Stefan! Come here! There are two people here from the electricity company!'.
Jos Vanspauwen is a Flemish comic artist, who is mainly known as an inker for Studio Max, Dirk Stallaert, Marc Verhaegen, Merho and Charel Cambré. He had his own gag comic, 'Luk', printed in De Vinstermik, and additionally worked as a cartoonist and comic artist for local papers from the Genk and Hasselt region. Vanspauwen is also active as a caricaturist for commercial clients, and he gives workshops in comics art and cartooning.
Early life and career
Jos Vanspauwen was born in 1954 in Genk and attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Hasselt. He ranks Marc Sleen, Willy Vandersteen, Jef Nys, Hergé, Franz and Yves Swolfs among his artistic influences. His first professional work was the comic 'Het Web van Hij', scripted by Noël Slangen, the well-known communication advisor and spin doctor for various Flemish politicians. The project was however never finished.
Studio Vandersteen
Between 1981 and 1989, Vanspauwen found employment at Studio Vandersteen as one of the pencillers and inkers of the western comic 'Bessy'. He was part of the subdivision who produced 'Bessy' stories exclusively for the German market, supervised by Jeff Broeckx. When the series was canceled, he contributed to several local weekend papers.
Luk
In the 1990s, Vanspauwen made cartoons for Jet Magazine, and the bi-weekly gag strip 'Luk' voor De Vinstermik, a local paper from Hasselt. Luk is a corpulent, bearded man who frequently makes witty blunders.
Het Borrelmanneke/ Studio Peyo
Vanspauwen additionally worked with Ivan Claeys on a comic story about "Het Borrelmanneke". The so-called "drink lad" is a statue which personifies the connection between Hasselt's rich connection with the jenever industry. Vanspauwen drew the 16-page comic album under the pen name "Joseph Vance" in 1996. In the early 1990s, Vanspauwen also worked on properties like 'The Smurfs' for Studio Peyo.
Inking career
Vanspauwen returned to the mainstream comic industry in 2004, when Studio Max (De Marck & De Wulf) searched an inker for their 'Stam & Pilou' series (2004-2010). He since then worked as an inker for a great many authors. He inked Dirk Stallaert's 'Mieleke Melleke Mol' since 2007, and nearly every production of Marc Verhaegen since 2006, including 'Senne en Sanne' and the educational comic albums for Eureducation. Since June 2011, he inks the popular comic series 'De Kiekeboes' for Merho, and the work of Charel Cambré ('Albert & Co', 'Jump' and his productions for Studio 100) and Steve Van Bael ('Figaro', 2010-2011). Since 2006, Vanspauwen does his inking work completely digital.
Graphic contributions
Jos Vanspauwen paid homage to Pom in the collective tribute album 'Op Het Spoor van Pom' ('t Mannekesblad, 2011). He also contributed to the collective comic book 'De Pierkes' (Stripbeurs Gent, 2013), starring the Ghent folkloric character Pierke Pierlala