'Anders-man'.
Ralph Dikmans is a Dutch primary school teacher, who works as a comic artist and illustrator in his spare time. Since 2015 he has released several albums of his superhero spoof 'Anders-Man', together with scriptwriter Peter Busschots. Over the years, several additional comic projects followed, such as the 'Tom & Bram' comic book for Qmusic (2023), the 'Verhalen van Vroeger' series with writer René Riva (2022- ), and his collaborations with befriended artists and the publisher Reboot Comics.
Early life
Born in 1975 in Eindhoven, Dikmans was raised in Eersel, a town in North Brabant, not far from the Belgian border. He has lived and worked in Boxtel since 1998. He joined the comic scene as an avid collector of all things surrounding the Belgian 'Suske en Wiske' comic, created by Willy Vandersteen. He gained such notoriety that Marc Verhaegen gave him and other prominent collectors, including Jack Moonen, a guest appearance in the 'Suske en Wiske' story 'De Laatste Vloek' (2002-2003).
Cartooning
Around 2015, Dikmans picked up cartooning himself to blow off steam from his daytime job in the special education system. He developed the not too fearsome 'Anders-Man' ("Different-Man"), and began showing his artwork at comic festivals and other events. Belgian publisher Catherine Dejonghe was interested and gave Dikmans the opportunity to release his first album through her non-profit organization 't Mannekesblad. Within a couple of months, the cartoonist cranked out a full album worth of gags, all situated at the International Signing Day in Westerlo, where the album was presented in April 2016.
'Andersman'.
Anders-man
The release of 'Nu Even Iets Anders, Man!' gained a lot of local press coverage, and the print-run of 150 copies was quickly sold out. This prompted Dikmans to make new stories of his vagrant wannabe superhero. He teamed up with writer Peter Busschots, and within two years published three more albums in collaboration with publisher Peter Bonte. Initially an amateur artist, he gradually improved his skills, thanks to guidance from other artists. Over the course of the stories, Dikmans began working with professional coloring tools, more thorough scriptwork and documentation.
Even though the outset is extraordinary, Dikmans remains close to home for his inspiration. His hometown Boxtel is the setting of several stories, and many friends, relatives and colleagues have stood model for characters. His daughter appears as the anti-hero's daughter Anders-an, and his son appears as the villain Killer Cheese. The series' main nemesis is however the tattooed Bad Stickerman, who shares his looks with the Belgian comics collector Michel De Stickere. In 2022, this character also appeared in a spin-off solo comic.
After eight albums published by Bonte, the 'Anders-man' series was continued at Reboot Comics. With the launch of 'De Nieuwe Avonturen van Anders-man' (2026- ), Dikmans began writing the stories himself. For the debut release at Reboot, 'Multievers', a host of additional guest artists was invited to draw two pages of Dikmans' story, including John Heijink, Ralph Brendt, Edwin Stierman, Marq van Broekhoven, Dinie de Zeeuw, Leon Verhoeven, Marc Scherbateyev, Max Rugers, Jorin Evers, Marc Verhaegen, Frank Smit, Sylvia Tops, Rob de Vries, Adrie Janssen, Joost Eijkholt, Ferry Segers, Nalldo Ribeiro, Martin van der Schuijt and Steffen Houben.
'Arie de Boskanarie'.
Commercial assignments
The attention in the local press for his 'Anders-man' books earned Dikmans several assignments. Since 2017, he has combined his work as a primary school teacher with commercial art jobs under the banner R@lph Dikmans Design. He has made illustrations for advertisements and folders, a comic strip for the rock band Hippe Gasten, and portraits for private individuals. Several people have commissioned Dikmans to draw a portrait of his idol Willy Vandersteen! In 2019, Dikmans won the StripBattle in comic magazine Stripglossy, which also earned him a spot in Leon Verhoeven's comics cookbook 'Strip Kookboek' (Personalia, 2019).
'De Avonturen van Tom & Bram' (2023).
Expansion of comic projects
Dikmans has also expanded his comic activities to collaborations with others. With writer Ahmad Resh, he made 'Arie de Boskanarie' (2020-2021), a weekly strip about animal cruelty in the free local newspaper DeMooiBoxtelKrant. After the release of the book collection by publisher Cliché in November 2021, it was announced that Arie de Boskanarie would become the official ambassador of the Zwarte Dennen forest around the town of Staphorst. On the occasion of the annual Sinterklaas celebrations in the Netherlands, Dikmans and writer René Riva created the landscape-formatted text comic book 'De Betoverde Pepernoten' (Cliché, 2022). Subsequently, Dikmans and Riva launched the historical text comic series 'Verhalen van Vroeger' (2022- ), which was first serialized on a weekly basis in the Mooi Boxtel Krant, and then published in book format by Cliché.
As a scriptwriter, Ralph Dikmans has also worked as a scriptwriter for Stanley Heinze ('Dik Dieet', 'Monstober'). For his friend Ferry Segers, he has illustrated the covers for the 'Fred Dommelaar' comic books (2021-2023), also published by Cliché. An avid listener of Qmusic radio, Dikmans got in touch with DJ's Tom van der Weerd and Bram Krikke while calling in to their show. In April 2023, he completed the celebrity comic book 'De Avonturen van Tom & Bram', which can be won every weekend by listeners of the Tom & Bram show.
Reboot Comics
Since 2023, Ralph Dikmans has been affiliated with Reboot Comics, the publishing imprint of former cook and avid comics fan Leon Verhoeven. In 2024, he made a contribution to the publisher's homage book to the Dutch comic creator Eric Schreurs ('Een Strip hommage - Eric Schreurs'), and he has been the translator the relaunched Dutch series of Francisco Ibáñez's 'Mortadelo y Filemón' comic, known in the Netherlands as 'Paling en Ko' (2025- ). Along with Ronald Kroon, he has been writing new episodes of the classic Dutch funny horror comic series 'Professor Ambrosius', originally created in the 1970s by Lo Hartog van Banda and Gideon Brugman, but since August 2026 appearing in comic books drawn by Max Rugers. In 2026, Dikmans' 'Anders-man' comic also transferred to Reboot Comics. In addition to Reboot's publishing activities, Ralph Dikmans has also been a regular guest of the affiliated Stripkaast podcast, hosted by Leon Verhoeven and Bram Pepermans.
Self-portrait.