* translated editions and additional information *
from Piet Wijn and Thom Roep
Bermudillo, Timpe Tampert, Daniel Dudek, Gammelpot, Dusty Dabbert, Teobald, Nicky Bommel, Danny Doodle, Bobo Pak Janggut ..... and Barbie, published by the United Arab Emirates
See for the Dutch website: CLICK HERE
The illustrator Piet Wijn was approached in 1974 by Thom Roep, who was then screenwriter and editor of Bobo magazine, to create a fairy-tale illustration. The drawing, which Wijn made was not used, but Roep saw something in the dwarf drawn by Wijn. They decided to create a one-off adventure around this figure. This resulted in the first story featuring Douwe Dabbert, "De Verwende Prinses / The Spoiled Princess". From the success of this story was born the comic series in which Douwe Dabbert plays the main role. The drawing style is realistic, detailed, colorful, historicizing and with a lot of nature.
A total of 23 comic books appeared in the Dutch language featuring Douwe's adventures. The last story "De Wonderlijke Raamvertelling / The Amazing Frame Story" was partially drawn by Dick Matena (from page 17 onwards), due to Piet Wijn's ill health.
The kind gnome Douwe Dabbert experiences fun, action-packed and imaginative adventures in which magic is never far away. For example, he has a magic knapsack that often helps him out of trouble. The nice thing about the knapsack is that it only works when Douwe uses it. The atmospheric stories are beautifully drawn with an eye for detail.
Piet Wijn was a versatile Dutch cartoonist known for his poetic style. Exactly what historical period the stories are set in is not always clear. In most stories it seems to be the 17th or 18th century, but sometimes the Middle Ages (as in "Florijn de Flierefluiter / Florijn the Loafer"). In a number of stories Douwe Dabbert encounters fairy tale characters, such as witches and wizards.
Douwe Dabbert is a fantasy comic set in an undetermined past, though in two stories “De Weg naar west” (“The Way to West”) and “De zee naar zuid” (“The Sea to South”) he meets representatives of the West-Indische Compagnie, which would put his adventures in the 17th century. Despite the historical context the comic makes use of many fantastic elements such as witchcraft, fictitious kingdoms and anthropomorphic animals.
The Douwe Dabbert series appeared as sequels in the Dutch weekly magazine Donald Duck from 1975 to 2001.
In addition to the stories, Douwe Dabbert announcements, advertisements and posters appeared with great regularity in the Donald Duck magazines.
Douwe also participated in various contests, and he sometimes appeared in corporate advertising campaigns. See page:
"All stories/inserts"/Netherland/Donald Duck.
In 1977 Douwe Dabbert first appeared in album form - not in the Netherlands, but in Denmark. Douwe Dabbert was given the name “Gammelpot” there.
The series was eventually translated into many languages. Below is an overview of the 1st editions:
Fries (Douwe Dabbert - 1 album): PublicerOberon.
Danish (Gammelpot)- Several publishers.
SC - 7 albums - Williams Forlag
HC - 2 albums - Williams Forlag
SC - 9 albums - Carlsen Comics
SC - 7 albums - Interpresse
SC - 2 albums - Interpresse/Carlsen (Albumklubben Trumf)
HC - 22 albums - Cobolt
Indonesian (Pak Janggut). Several publishers. Illegal editions.
SC - 6 albums - PT Penerbitan Majalah Bobo
SC - 23 albums - Zonadjadoel
HC -23 albums - SIRIUS
SC - 1 album - PT Penerbitan Majalah Bobo (bundel)
Spanish (Bermudillo - 8 albums). Several publishers.
SC - 7 albums Editorial Bruguera
HC - 8 albums - Dolmen
Portuguese (Danny Doodle - 3 albums). Publisher Editora Amigos do Livro
Engelish (Dusty Dabbert - 1 album). Publisher Creston Books
German (Timpe Tampert - 3 albums). Publisher Carlsen
Polish (Daniel Dudek - 1 album). Publisher Prószyński i Spółka
Swedish (Teobald - 3 albums). Publisher Carlsen Comics
Luxembourgish (Nicky Bommel - 1 album). Publisher Editions Saint-Paul.
Tidbits about Douwe Dabbert, Piet Wijn and Thom Roep
Douwe Dabbert sketches by various illustrators as gesture
Information about Piet Wijn, Thom Roep, bio's & bibliographies, video's
Contact information and thanks to those, who helped me
Accessories
Christmas & New Year cards
Promotion material from several countries
Publi's, Newspapers and interviews
Curiosities
Specials and Particulars
Drawings and Paintings
