The L1 Nieuwsshow's 'Vergulde Voorgloeier' strip of 5 April 2022.
Robin Vinck is a Dutch freelance journalist and news editor, with a focus on radio and podcasts. Besides working as a senior editor and director for several news broadcasts, he has also made cartoons and comic strips for news media like BNR Nieuwsradio and the provincial Limburg channel L1. On his website Stripjournaal.com, Vinck hosts a popular podcast in which he talks with people from the Dutch comic industry. He also has a pivotal role in the Comic Artist Laureate of the Netherlands initiative and the presentation of the annual Stripschapprijs awards.
Early life and career
Robin Vinck was born in 1984 in Maastricht, the largest city in the southern Limburg province. As a child, he grew a fondness for comics, resulting in a particular passion for the Belgian 'Suske en Wiske' comics, created by Willy Vandersteen and his successors. He also picked up drawing, and in 2000 he won a comics contest organized by the magazine Suske en Wiske Weekblad. His winning submission was printed in both Suske en Wiske Weekblad and Robbedoes (the Dutch-language version of Spirou).
Between 2002 and 2008, Vinck studied at the School for Journalism in Utrecht, where he was also co-founder and cartoonist for the school paper WhiteBoard, as well as other student publications. After graduation, he continued to make weekly cartoons for the Maastricht city newspaper De Ster (2009-2012), and launched his webcomic 'B&W Woerel' (2009), about the council of a fictional rural community.
Robin Vinck's final cartoon for De Ster (30 March 2012). His spot was taken over by Ruben L. Oppenheimer.
Journalism & cartooning
While still a student, Vinck began working in radio journalism, starting as a freelance reporter for the regional channel L1. Between 2007 and 2020, he had several roles with the news radio channel BNR Nieuwsradio, first as editor and director, then as senior editor for the online and social media team and finally as compiler of the interview program 'BNR's Big Five' (2018-2020). Between 2014 and 2016, he commented on the news in his weekly cartoon 'De Vraag Die Niemand Durft Te Stellen' ("The Question Nobody Dares To Ask"), published on the BNR website.
In 2020, Robin Vinck moved back to Limburg, settling in the town of Meerssen, and working as a freelance editor, director and producer for the 'L1 Nieuwsshow' on L1 Radio. In addition, he has been adapting the called-in stories and experiences of the show's listeners in the weekly comic strip 'De Vergulde Voorgloeier' (2022- ), which is presented every Tuesday morning in L1's radio and TV broadcasts, and also on the channel's website and social media platforms. A limited edition book compilation was published by Personalia in 2024.
BNR cartoon of 3 July 2015. "The question that nobody dares to ask to the Hague police force: 'Aren't you reacting a bit overheated?'"
Stripjournaal
Combining his passion for news with his passion for comics, Vinck is also a prominent promoter of Dutch-language comics. In 2014, he launched his website Stripjournaal, on which he posts reviews, news items and columns. Since November 2016, the site also hosts the Stripjournaal Podcast, in which Vinck talks with professionals from the Dutch and Belgian comic industry. Over the years, the Stripjournaal podcast has become one of the main sources for news, discussion and background information related to comics in the Netherlands. For a couple of years, Vinck was joined by co-hosts like Seb van der Kaaden (head of publishing house Personalia), comic artist Margreet de Heer (who also presented her own "reading section"), and illustrator Kees de Boer. Since 2025, Vinck rebooted his podcast with co-host Kurt Morissens, a prominent Belgian comic promoter, accompanied by a column on comic history by Comiclopedia editor Bas Schuddeboom. Together with cameraman Jan Willem Winter, Vinck has also made occasional video reports.
Between 2017 and 2021, Vinck had a column about comics in Stripglossy magazine. Since 2017, Vinck is also on the board of aaStrips, the foundation behind the Comic Artist Laureate of the Netherlands ("Stripmaker des Vaderlands") initiative. Every three years, another Dutch comic creator is elected to promote and explore the possibilities of the comics medium in the Netherlands. So far, Margreet de Heer (2017-2020) Herman Roozen (2021-2023) and Jan Vriends (2024-2026) fulfilled the role. Since 2020, Robin Vinck has hosted several Stripschapprijs award shows, in collaboration with comic appreciation society Het Stripschap.
The team of the Stripjournaal podcast in 2021: Margreet de Heer, Robin Vinck, Seb van der Kaaden.