'Japie Lef', 1936.
Hanni Bal was the pen name of a presumably Dutch comic artist working for the Catholic publishing house De Spaarnestad during the 1930s.
Identity
No information is known about the artist's identity or background. The name "Hanni Bal" alludes to the name of the Carthagian general Hannibal and "Hannie", a Dutch girl's name. Art by the mysterious Hanni Bal appeared in the children's and humor supplements of the family magazine Katholieke Illustratie by the Catholic publishing house De Spaarnestad in Haarlem. Since most comic pages were printed uncredited at the time, it is all the more remarkable that Hanni Bal's pseudonymous name appears prominently in the headers. Other Dutch creators like B.J. Reith and Piet Worm were not given the same treatment. In the Netherlands, there was a painter by the name of Hannie Bal (Johanna Anna Maria Bal, 1921-2012), but she would have been fifteen years old by the time of the Spaarnestad publications.
OKKI
Hanni Bal's comics appeared predominantly in De Kleine K.I. and its successor OKKI ("Onze Kleine Katholieke Illustratie"), a children's supplement with an edifying Catholic nature. This included the feature 'Hannies Droom' ("Hannie's Dream", 1936-1937), as well as 'Japie Lef' (1936), a picture story series about a young boy who tries to get out of doing chores, but always gets the short end of the stick. 'Japie Lef' also appeared in the humor supplement of Katholieke Illustratie, Humor en Ontspanning and its successor De Narrenkap.