'Ben X'.
Veerle Colle, who often signs with NDurlie, is a Flemish illustrator and (web) comic artist. Her cartooning career took off as a creator of humorous autobiographical web comics. She made her debut in print with the graphic novel 'Ben X' (2015), based on the award-winning 2007 film by Nic Balthazar.
Early life
Veerle Colle was born in 1988 and hails from Ghent. She studied film at the RITS department of the Free University of Brussels, graduating with a master's degree. Afterwards, she worked as a script supervisor, recording leader and editor of several film and television productions. After a near burn-out, she decided to work for more socially conscious projects, among them 'The Climate Express' and campaigns to ban plastic. One of her short videos against bullying was nominated for an award on the Belgian music video channel TMF. Between August 2018 and December 2022, Veerle and her brother Kristof hosted the weekly podcast 'Zero Waste' on how to contribute to a cleaner environment. To illustrate this lifestyle, she developed a 'Zero Waste' calendar, that can be reused every year. She has also hosted workshops on eco-friendly living.
From: 'Colle' (2016).
Ben X
Between 2011 and 2012, during her student years, Colle created a weekly gag webcomic which she posted on her Facebook page nDurlie's Art. Most episodes feature herself and were set at her university campus. As her next comic project, she set out to make a graphic novel adaptation based on the award-winning movie 'Ben X'.
In itself, the film was based on a 2002 novel by radio and TV host Nic Balthazar, 'Niets Was Alles Wat Hij Zei', about a bullied teenager with Asperger's syndrome, whose only escapism are video games. The story was based on a real-life teenager who jumped off the top of the Gravensteen castle in Ghent. In his suicide note, he claimed that bullies drove him to desperation. Balthazar knew the boy's mother personally. The novel received good reviews and in 2006, Roel Vanderstukken adapted the work into a theatrical play. Subsequently, Balthazar adapted this into a screenplay and directed the feature-length film 'Ben X' (2007). The picture was an unexpected critical and commercial success, even outside of the Belgian borders. It won the Grand Prix des Amériques, the Black Pearl Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film in Abu Dhabi, the Efebo d'Oro at the Film Festival of Agrigento in Italy and the Audience Award and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival. In 2012, 'Ben X' received a Swedish remake, 'IRL' (2013), directed by Erik Leijonborg. The same year, Frank Van Laecke adapted it into a theatrical musical.
'Ben X'.
Veerle Colle was one of many people who was touched by the themes of the 'Ben X' movie, particularly because several of her own family members have autism. She contacted Balthazar for permission to adapt the story into a graphic novel. In 2015, the title was published by Lannoo and marked her print debut, for which she still used the pseudonym nDurlie. For her adaptation, Colle followed a script by creative producer Senne De Beul, while mimicking the color schemes used in the film. Her graphic novel makes use of two different graphic styles, one portraying Ben's real-life world, the other his video game fantasies. It's notable that she sometimes draws Ben without eyebows or a mouth, which - according to her - reflected the fact that he shows no emotions.
Following the media attention surrounding her 'Ben X', Veerle Colle self-published a comic book collection of her webcomics, 'Colle' (2016). In 2024, Colle restarted her online 'Colle Comic', using memories, self-mockery and entertainment as their main ingredients. Instead of relying on the algorithms of the major social media platforms, she began sharing them as a blog/newsletter via Ghost.
Self-portrait from 'Colle Comic'.