Uproar after letter from Standard Uitgeverij to former employees of Suske en Wiske | general

Since this week, the message below has gone viral on social media. Delivered by Standard publisher For cartoonists who have previously worked Vandersteen Studio on Sousuke and whiskey It worked, in this case Paul Geerts, Mark Verhagen, Eric de Robe, Eugene Goossens, Ron van Riet And Jeff Brooks. In all kinds of comic exhibitions, at the request of fans and in other ways, they make drawings, whether for a fee or not Sousuke and whiskey In albums or on other carriers. After years of turning a blind eye and warnings, Standard Uitgeverij, which manages the exploitation rights to the comic series, stopped the matter and indicated that the copyrighted work had been infringed.

Existing painters are only permitted to make drawings by “express agreement with the Vandersteen heirs.” Sousuke and whiskey Or “represent the series promotionally at public events such as comic festivals, book fairs, etc.” Everything else happens without permission and is considered an illegal production by the publisher. This practice will no longer be tolerated. […] These agreements enter into force immediately and compliance with them will be monitored.”

This created a huge buzz among the artists and their fans. Some readers called for a boycott, but most did not accept the disrespect. This also applies to one of the targeted cartoonists, Paul Geertz, the man who… Sousuke and whiskey For unprecedented distributions, more than Willie Vandersteen And he fulfilled himself. in Antwerp newspaper And The importance of Limburg “I think this is disrespectful to former employees,” he said on March 15. “Although that won't make me bite my pillow. I have my own series of books that I could sign, but it often happens that people at comic galleries ask me to put a drawing in one Sousuke and whiskey-Album. Which I do for free. I think the publishing house is dealing with this matter itself. They will be less Sussex and Whiskey For sale. And yes, as far as I'm concerned Seuss and Weiss Now a thing of the past. To me, now they can go to the moon.” And elsewhere it sounds like: “Of course I asked for something for it, but I didn't get rich from those drawings I made. But from now on I won't do that anymore, I don't want to file a lawsuit over my leg.”

Oral Dirk Vanlaer, business manager at Standard Uitgeverij, the publisher responded in the press that the contents of the letter had been misinterpreted. “The intention is that no more individual drawings will be made by former employees of Willie Vandersteen figures because there has been a bit of a trade in drawings commissioned by collectors or fans for years. […] In the meantime, I was in touch with Paul and all the mystery was cleared up. It was never our intention to insult our former employees, with all the respect we have for them. But maybe communication could have been different and better.” Also: “We're not the big bad wolf. “We are simply demanding that this bizarre and illegal trade between some former employees and collectors stop.”

We have learned from our own source that a few collectors have been causing quite a stir recently by placing orders worth hundreds of euros. Therefore, it is not the signature itself that is at stake, but rather the trade in illustrations intended for fans, or “commissions” in collectors’ parlance. According to Eric de Roop, a new agreement has now been reached whereby painters can still sign albums to which they have contributed themselves, but not on loose pages (which can be circulated). “In consultation with Standard Uitgeverij, we have now been given permission to sign albums, but not loose pages. So I will only sign albums that I have worked on as inker and illustrator, and there are quite a few: Sousuke and whiskeythe first three stories of The two walnuts And albums Chanolic. Great news for the fans and also for myself. Vandersteen's studio has defined most of my life. “You can't just erase that.”