Robert en Bertrand ("Robert and Bertrand") is a Flemish comic strip series set during the 19th century, in the Low Countries and France. The comic series was created by cartoonist Willy Vandersteen, known for the Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy) series.[1]
Vandersteen drew inspiration from the main characters in a 19th-century play written by Benjamin Antier and Fréderick Lémaître and from the novels of the same name by Koen Ravestein.
Setting
Title characters, Bertrand (l) and Robert (r)
The main characters are two vagrants, but later evolve into useful crooks. They are often chased by a cop/detective ("Number 17") who tries to charge them with vagrancy. Other characters include Joeki and Evelyne. During their wanderings, the sympathetic vagrants always help anyone who needs them, even the occasional Number 17 when needed for safety.[2]
The series, which did not shy away from fantasy and a humorous note, remained realistic and socially critical. During the late 1980s, early 1990s, with illustrator Ronald van Riet and scriptwriter Marck Meul, Robert and Bertrand were back in their country of origin: France, with drawings in an Art Nouveau style. New characters made their appearance.[3]
Anachronisms
Although Robert and Bertrand's stories are mainly set in the 19th century, no specific period is mentioned. Thus, the album Secret Document may involve the duo in the Franco-German War of 1870–1871, and the later album The Hell of Solferino in the Battle of Solferino in 1859. The album The Icarii refers to the first aeroplanes, making this story set in the early 20th century.[4]
Although the historical events in the stories are fairly correctly depicted - as mentioned, the Battle of Solferino - elements do pop up that do not belong in the chosen era. For instance, cars appear in the aforementioned albums when they did not yet exist.
Other anachronisms aim for a humorous effect - a cameo by a young Eddy Merckx or the reference to the book Bartje, which "has yet to be written".[5]
Publication history
Willy Vandersteen produced sixty-five albums from 1972. Vandersteen also wrote the screenplay and pencil drawings for the 66th story. From 1985 Vandersteen concentrated more on "De Geuzen", and illustrator Ron Van Riet took over the series, with scripts by Marck Meul (with the exception of album 72 and 74 by author Jacques Bakker). The drawing style became less caricatural and semi-realistic.
The series was pre-published in De Standaard from 30 November 1972 to 6 July 1992, publishing an average of four albums a year. The small but enthusiastic fan base could not stop the series being discontinued in 1993. Zilvertand was the last album. 47 titles were translated in French.
From 2021, the stories were bundled in a series of omnibus editions, released in Belgium and the Netherlands[6]
