I had to be in Arnhem for work yesterday and spotted this poster on a building opposite the station. As you no doubt have recognised, this is an image of Eric the Noorman, drawn by Hans Kresse, no doubt Holland’s greatest realistic cartoonist, comparable to a Burne Hogarth or Hal Foster in stature. The poster is a remnant from the 2006 celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the first appearance of the Eric de Noorman newspaper strip. More than 21 Kresse drawings and some ten homages from other Dutch cartoonists had been made into art projects and put together around the city, a bit like Brussels also long has had its comics route. Whether or not the other drawings are still in place I don’t know, as I’ve only had to visit the station and a dreary office building in the outskirts of the town.
But still, nice to see one of the comic strip heroes of my youtfh blown up more than life like in the middle of a city.