'De Groffe Grapjas'. The superhero is a caricature of Flemish comedian Alex Agnew, who was also its scriptwriter. The pose he strikes is a reference to the opening titles of 'Batman: The Animated Series'. In the panels one can also spot cameos of Stanley Kubrick (the ice cream salesman), Alfred Hitchcock (letting his dog out) and Stan Lee (behind the pointing girl).
Kris Martens is a Flemish musician, cartoonist and graphic designer, whose cartoons and comic strips have appeared in a few magazines and online. He is most notable as the drummer in the hard rock band Diablo Blvd, fronted by the popular comedian Alex Agnew. In 2015, Martens illustrated the special 'Suske en Wiske' celebrity album 'De Groffe Grapjas', written by Agnew. Martens is also one of the few Belgian musicians who had a notable excursion in comics, alongside Serge Buyse, Hugo Matthysen, Jean Bosco Safari, Urbanus and Bent Van Looy.
Life and career
Born in 1982, Kris Martens has been making cartoons and comics since his childhood. He studied Animation at the RITS in Brussels, where he specialized in the stop-motion technique.Based in Antwerp, Martens has worked on illustrations, logo/label designs and infographics for band merchandising, local breweries, expositions, and contests. Some of his cartoons and comics appeared in magazines like Brainfreeze, Humo and De Streekkrant. In addition, Martens has been a teacher in Audio-Visual Training at the Cadix High School in Antwerp. Among his favorite comic artists are Jan Bosschaert, Lectrr, Todd McFarlane and Bill Plympton.
Comic about the Flemish educational system and Minister of Education Ben Weyts (portrayed in the comic), which Martens sent to the magazine Humo, along with a critical readers' letter, published on 27 June 2022, as a way to "let his frustrations out."
Music
Since 2005, Kris Martens has been co-founder and drummer of the hard rock band Diablo Blvd, flanked by Andries Beckers and Tim Bekaert on guitar and Alex Agnew on vocals. Frontman Agnew has been active as a stand-up comedian since the turn of the 20th into the 21st century and had won first prize at the Leids Cabaret Festival (2003), increasing his notability. By 2006, he was performing stand-up in large halls all across Flanders and was broadcast on television for the first time. This also brought more attention to Diablo Blvd, with the only negative side effect that they were now referred to as "Alex Agnew's band". Martens has also played drums in another hard rock band, Tangled Horns.
Cover design for the 2013 7" Diablo Blvd single 'Rise Like Lions'.
Suske en Wiske
In 2015, Kris Martens was one of the six Flemish artists to draw a comic book in a special series with Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske' for SOS Children's Villages, the largest non-governmental organization focused on supporting children without parental care and families at risk. Each of the six albums was written by a Flemish celebrity. The installment drawn by Martens was 'De Groffe Grapjas', written by comedian Alex Agnew. Other comic artists involved with this project were Ilah, Charel Cambré, Jan Bosschaert, Ivan Adriaenssens and Kim Duchateau.
Self-portrait.