DirkJan
Encyclopedia
DirkJan is a comic, the creation of Dutch author and artist Mark Retera
. It is also the name of its main character.
DirkJan is a loser who stumbles through life in mostly three-panel comic strips. He started out in 1989 as a student at the current Radboud University Nijmegen
in the Netherlands, where he lived in a typical student house with all the stereotypical side-kicks, such as the fat boy, the beer drinker, the bossy girl who checks if everybody keeps to the house rules, and the tramps who use the heated shared hallway to stay the night. Early DirkJans contained many references to the student life of Nijmegen.
DirkJan was first published in Critic, the magazine for the local union of psychology students. It then moved on to monthly publication in the student magazine of Nijmegen (Algemeen Nijmeegs Studentenblad
, ANS). DirkJan became known nationally when the then only commercial comics magazine of the Netherlands SjoSji (now defunct) started publishing the strip.
With the last move, the nature of the strip changed. Most of the student side-kicks got cancelled and DirkJan left university, first for jail (DJ is a notorious Kabouter
abuser) and then to wander the globe and indeed space.
As of November 2007, there are thirteen DirkJan albums, tentatively named 'DirkJan 1' through 'DirkJan 13'. Several newspapers in the Netherlands
publish the comic in their daily edition.
The amateur comics magazine Iris
(1990 - 1995) (re)published a number of DirkJan comics, some of which were refused for publication in SjoSji.
Mark Retera
Mark Retera is a comic strip writer and artist.He studied cognitive science at the current Radboud University Nijmegen before turning full-time artist.He is the author of DirkJan and also draws caricatures for the Dutch weekly "Panorama".*...
. It is also the name of its main character.
DirkJan is a loser who stumbles through life in mostly three-panel comic strips. He started out in 1989 as a student at the current Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University Nijmegen is a public university with a strong focus on research in Nijmegen, the Netherlands...
in the Netherlands, where he lived in a typical student house with all the stereotypical side-kicks, such as the fat boy, the beer drinker, the bossy girl who checks if everybody keeps to the house rules, and the tramps who use the heated shared hallway to stay the night. Early DirkJans contained many references to the student life of Nijmegen.
DirkJan was first published in Critic, the magazine for the local union of psychology students. It then moved on to monthly publication in the student magazine of Nijmegen (Algemeen Nijmeegs Studentenblad
Algemeen Nijmeegs Studentenblad
The Algemeen Nijmeegs Studentenblad is an independent student magazine for the Radboud University Nijmegen. Founded in 1985 by the local student union AKKU, it is now published by the Stichting Multimedia....
, ANS). DirkJan became known nationally when the then only commercial comics magazine of the Netherlands SjoSji (now defunct) started publishing the strip.
With the last move, the nature of the strip changed. Most of the student side-kicks got cancelled and DirkJan left university, first for jail (DJ is a notorious Kabouter
Kabouter
Kabouter is the Dutch/Afrikaans word for gnome or leprechaun. In folklore, the Dutch Kabouters are akin to the Irish Leprechaun, Scandinavian Tomte, the English Hob or Brownie and the German Klabauter or kobold. The term kabouter was also adopted by a 1970s hippie movement in Amsterdam that sprang...
abuser) and then to wander the globe and indeed space.
As of November 2007, there are thirteen DirkJan albums, tentatively named 'DirkJan 1' through 'DirkJan 13'. Several newspapers in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
publish the comic in their daily edition.
The amateur comics magazine Iris
IRIS Magazine
IRIS is an English and Irish language magazine which focuses on Irish republicanism, Irish politics, history and foreign affairs. The first issue of the magazine was published in 1981.-Name:...
(1990 - 1995) (re)published a number of DirkJan comics, some of which were refused for publication in SjoSji.