Flipje (Comic Serie)

The Adventures of Flipje is a Dutch comic series starring the fictional character of the same name. This comic strip was drawn from 1935 to 1953 as a text strip. The title character serves as the mascot, originally of the jam factory De Betuwe in Tiel and later of the city of Tiel. It was conceived in 1935. In Tiel he is honored with a museum, a statue and comic book fragments on benches in and around the center.

Mozaïek van Flipje in Tiel, Nederland — Flipje Mosaic in Tiel, The Netherlands

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Figurine de Flipje dans une Vitrine (Tiel, Pays-Bas) — Flipje Figurine in a Shop Window (Tiel, Netherlands)

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Flipje (Serie de Cómics)

Flipje in de Speeltuin (Vijverberg Park in Tiel, Nederland) — Flipje in the Playground (Vijverberg Park in Tiel, The Netherlands)

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The stories show the development of Flipje from his birth (from an enchanted raspberry) in Kabouterland (= Leprechaun Land), where he leaves for good after a few episodes, albeit by accident (by hot air balloon). He then ends up in Dierenland (= Animal Land), where he apparently likes it because he stays there. Much later he goes back for a visit, together with a few friends he has made in the meantime. He moves into Miss Schaap’s boarding house.
The stories all have about the same course: a problem arises, someone is playing a trick, and so on. Ultimately, Flipje is the one who ensures that everything ends well, after which he treats with lemonade or jam or apple juice from … “society De Betuwe in Tiel”, the sponsor of all this exciting. The stories are intended for small children and have a bit of an “educational” character around the good main character.

Flipje na koszu na śmieci w Tiel w Holandii — Flipje on a Garbage Can in Tiel, The Netherlands

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In addition to Flipje, the following main characters are prominent in Flipje’s comics:

– Floppy Ear Elephant, a bit bulky and heavy, quickly sinks through something. Standard dressed in a suit with yellow trousers and black jacket.
– Bertje Big, dressed in yellow trousers with a red check, and a green jacket. He is a bit lazy and likes to eat a lot.
– Jasper Aap, with beret, blue pants and orange jacket. Takes naughty tricks and is severely punished for that.
– Miss Schaap, a strict landlady, always busy with cleaning, knitting and other typically feminine tasks, and sometimes hands out nasty jobs to the aforementioned young people. Her actual name is Mien, but it is rarely used. Although dressed in a somewhat dull black dress, she is still vain, especially when it comes to hats.
– Uncle Klaas, a ram, dressed in sailor clothes and fitted with his inseparable pipe. He is Miss Sheep’s brother, who went to the sea as a lamb and returned after twenty years as an old ram. He is extremely stubborn, especially when it comes to boats and the like.
– Kroesje Beer, appears in a blue sailor suit and is a bit better than the rest of the bunch.
– Mauwmauw, a cute cat girl in a pink dress with a white apron in front, but less cute when she chases mouse Spitsnose. Her brother is called Gray and he is also dressed in a blue sailor suit.

फ्लिपजे (कॉमिक सीरीज़)

Statuette of Flipje in Tiel, The Netherlands

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Flipje (Seria Komiksów)

Flipje Stripverhaal op een Bankje in Tiel, Nederland — Flipje Comic Strip on a Bench in Tiel, The Netherlands

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Flipje (Çizgi Roman Dizisi)

Flipje was conceived by advertising agency Van Alfen on behalf of the factory. He wanted a crowd puller like the Verkade albums were at the time. Van Alfen also invented the name, which reads in full: “Flipje, the fruit boss of Tiel”. The drawings were first made by Daan Hoeksema (they were not stories at the time) and later by Henk Rotgans, who built a story around them for the first time. The real start of Flipje was in 1936. From then on the pictures were drawn by E.M. ten Harmsen van der Beek and the lyrics written (in rhyme) by his wife Freddie Langeler. They ran an illustration company together. Their daughter, the later famous poet Fritzi Harmsen van Beek, helped her parents as a child with coloring the Flipje cartoon drawings. After the death of her father, Fritzi completed series 46 at the request of De Betuwe. Series 47 is also from her hand. She did draw and write series 48, but after an argument with the jam factory, this series was not released. Only sixty years later, in 2015, De Bezige Bij published ‘Flipje in Kabouterland’.
From the adventures of Flipje and his friends, fifty comic strips were published up to 1954, published by the Tiel jam factory De Betuwe. Flipje can be seen in person at the annual fruit parade in Tiel, but also at various TV recordings or fairs in the Netherlands, such as the holiday fair and 50+ fair. From 2002 to 2010, five new comic albums have been released.