'Kayeko'.
Boris Peeters is a Dutch comic creator and illustrator, as well as a founding member of the Lamelos collective, also consisting of Aleks Deurloo, Jeroen Funke and his brother Sam Peeters. After teaming up at the art academy in the 1990s, the Lamelos team has given color to the Dutch small press comics scene with both their collectively created zines and as hosts of playful happenings and events. Their best-known joint creation is the superhero spoof 'Kaasheld en Poephoofd' (2002-2018). As a solo creator, Peeters' signature character is Kayeko, a Japanese monster appearing in pantomime strips. His comics and cartoons have appeared in magazines like BoekieBoekie and Brul!, and in 2021, Peeters released his comical bird guide, 'Wie Is Die Vogel?'.
Early life and career
Boris Peeters was born in 1974 in Venray, a town in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. The Peeters family eventually moved up north, setting in the city of Groningen. During his childhood, Sam developed a keen passion for comics and art, an interest he shared with his brothers Joshua (b. 1973) and Sam (b. 1976). Between 1995 and 2000, both Boris and Sam studied Illustration at the Constantijn Huygens University of the Arts in Kampen (nowadays part of the ArtEZ University of the Arts). Among their fellow students there were Aleks Deurloo, Jeroen Funke and Hans Klaver (Schwantz), artists who would all become prominent members of the Dutch indie comics scene. Important inspirations for his work have been Benito Jacovitti, Windig & De Jong, Jeroen de Leijer, Jochen Gerner and his fellow members of the Lamelos collective, as well as pop culture in general.
'Kaasheld en Poephoofd'.
Lamelos
At the Art Academy of Kampen, Boris and Sam Peeters began collaborating on joint comic projects, initially accompanied by fellow students Aleks Deurloo and Bouwe Brouwer. They called themselves Lamelos ("Lemmego"), a name derived from the VPRO children's TV show 'Rembo & Rembo', where a character was chained to a fence while constantly yelling "Hellepie, lamelos!" ("Help! Let me go!"). Under this banner, they began working on collectively created and self-published DIY comic zines through their "Prima Titel" imprint, starting with 'Lamelos: Mission 1' in 1997. Shortly afterwards, Jeroen Funke joined the team, and after their third release, Brouwer left - he eventually became a primary school teacher and part-time photographer and haiku writer. At the Academy, the Illustration teachers were not too happy with the comic activities of the four students. They all had to repeat a grade, and were sent home with additional tasks. But when Boris won the VPRO Comic prize for new talent in 1998, the teachers changed their tone, and the Lamelos team could continue to build on their cartooning exploits.
As a four-piece collective, Lamelos spearheaded the 21st century generation of Dutch indie comic creators, innovating the scene with their playfully absurd and experimental creations and events. Inspired by the 1990s wave of alternative "non-art" cartoonists like Jeroen de Leijer and Marc van der Holst, they tried out different ways of making comics for each release. Sometimes, they alternated on artwork per page or panel, on other occasions they divided the tasks for doing characer art and backgrounds. While some of the Lamelos productions are made by only single or selected members of the group, their body of work remains a collective effort, prevailing over the invidivual contributions of each creator.
During their heyday in the first decade of the 21st century, Lamelos released over a 100 self-published comic books, which they presented and sold at comic conventions and other events. In addition, their comics have appeared in alternative comic magazines like Beeldstorm (1998-2000), Zone 5300 (2001- ), Gr'nn (2001-2004), Zozolala (2002-2007), MYX (2003-2007), Parcifal (2005-2006) and the football monthly Johan, as well as the online portal Cutie Magazine.
'Kaasheld en Poephoofd' from Haags Straatnieuws (2017).
Lamelos characters
For the short-lived satirical magazine PIM ("Politically Incorrect Magazine", 2002), they made their signature creation 'Kaasheld' ("Cheesehead"). A superhero spoof, the character's head is modelled after one of the least impressive traditions of Dutch gastronomy during birthday celebrations: little blocks of cheese on a cocktail stick adorned with the Dutch flag. While PIM magazine folded after only three issues, Kaasheld proved to be more than a one-time character. Continuing their comic in magazines like Zone 5300, MYX, Vice, Parcifal, Lamelos gave their cheesy superhero the side-kick Poephoofd ("Poophead"), in reference to the general Dutch annoyance of dog poop on the streets. Combined, this typically Dutch superhero team-up fought against their enemies in an absurdistic as well as mundane superhero world. Between 2006 and 2014, MYX publisher Silvester collected the series in five volumes. From 2011 to 2018, the 'Kaasheld en Poephoofd' comic appeared on the back page of the homeless newspaper Haags Straatnieuws, where it replaced Marnix Rueb's 'Haagse Harry'. During this final incarnation, the strip was mostly created by Boris Peeters and Jeroen Funke, who were both living in The Hague at the time. In these new adventures, the Peeters-Funke duo introduced several new superheroes, like Vogelpoephoofd ("Bird poop head"), Konijnenkeutheldje ("Little rabbit poop hero") and Superkut ("Supercunt", a flying vagina with a large tampon inside).
Other characters created by Lamelos are 'Popo & Bobo' (2003-2006), whose absurdistic adventures were published in three silkscreened booklets by Bries. Another recurring character was Professor Fleischmann, a very smart inventor, initially co-created with Olivier Schrauwen. In 2003, their comic strip 'Mak & Luuk' appeared in the music magazine OOR.
Jeroen Funke and Boris Peeters on the cover of Haags Straatnieuws of May 2011, in their Kaasheld and Poephoofd costumes.
Innovators of indie comics
In their comics, the Lamelos team playfully referred to classic comics like Jacovitti's 'Pinocchio', Frans Piët's 'Sjors en Sjimmie' and Walt Disney's Donald Duck, as well as to characters created by artist friends, such as 'Boer Jelmen' by Matthias Giesen. Additionally, their 'Kaasheld en Poephoofd' books contain guest contributions by fellow creators such as Luc Cromheecke, Floor de Goede, Marc van der Holst, Erik Kriek, Jeroen de Leijer, Michiel van de Pol, Peter Pontiac, Marcel Ruijters, Olivier Schrauwen, Typex, Berend J. Vonk and Wasco. In turn, the Lamelos crew had guest spots in the third 'Scribbly' collection by Jean-Paul Arends (2002), 'Gutsman 10' by Erik Kriek (2008) and Mattt Baay's 'Bunbun: Oh No Not Again' (2013). With friend and colleague Typex, they made 'Spekkie Pik in het Seksbos' (Bries, 2009), a pornographic spoof of Marc van der Holst's 'Spekkie Big'.
Their artwork has been exhibited in several Dutch cities, and also internationally in Angoulême (France), Berlin (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Budapest (Hungary), Lucca (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). Mixing their cheerful yet slightly anarchist humor with absurd acts, Lamelos has been a regular presense at comic fairs and cultural festivals like Lowlands and Crossing Border. Starting out with making funny videos for Lowlands TV, Lamelos became an annual Lowlands act with their own comic-style tents on the festival grounds, and performances in cardboard costumes. In addition, they have made appearances as their Cheesehero and Poophead personas, and the team became known for their "Apples act", appearing as man-sized apples in bulbous costumes. One of the most notable Lamelos acts was the "Cardboard Robot Battle", which they have held at festivals in the Netherlands and abroad, often combatting against the members of other comic collectives (for instance in Helsinki and Barcelona). Notorious were the regular Lamelos auctions, mostly held at the Amsterdam comic store and gallery Lambiek (2006-2011). Amidst much noise and booze, the team auctioned off old, ugly and useless items, with the revenues being invested in new beer, while the unsold items were ceremoniously destroyed. In 2017, Zone 5300 dedicated its issue #116 to the 20th anniversary of the Lamelos collective.
Cartoon for 'VK Banen' in De Volkskrant. "Although working from home can yield better results, presence remains more important than results..." "Well done, guys! You are the only ones who met all the targets!"
Solo career
By the 2010s, the individual Lamelos members had started families and spread out over the Netherlands. This has severely reduced their collective projects, which have remained limited to occasional team-ups. Since the late 1990s, Boris Peeters had already done several freelance cartooning assignments on his own, often through Hans Buying's Comic House agency. Between 1999 and 2002, his comic strip 'Koos en Anke' ran in the regional newspapers Zwolse Courant, Nieuw Kamper Dagblad and Lelystadkrant. Starting in 2004, he has provided artwork to Leyp, an organization that organizes cultural, sports and educational activities for youngsters in The Hague. Between 2006 and 2010, he was the illustrator/cartoonist for the VKbanen job section in newspaper De Volkskrant. Between 2012 and 2018, he was a regular cartoonist for BoekieBoekie, a magazine about art and literature for children aged 6 to 14. A notable project for BoekieBoekie was the booklet 'Anansi en de Loekoevrouw' (2014), a comic story with the spider Anansi from Akan folklore, told by theatrical performer Wijnand "Mister Anansi" Stomp. Peeters has additionally been a freelance cartoonist for Nieuwe Revu magazine (2014) and Boomerang Cards (since 2014). In the late 2000s, Boris Peeters also appeared in the school magazines of publisher Malmberg, appearing in the short-lived relaunch of Jippo magazine (2006), and then in Taptoe, for which he created the comic 'Zeb & Zoë' (2007-2009).
'Zeb en Zoë'.
Kayeko
As a comic creator, Boris Peeters' signature character is 'Kayeko', a Japanese samurai-like monster, appearing in all kinds of pantomime gags and surreal adventures. Created during his Academy years, the character has notably appeared in self-published mini-comics, traditionally produced during the annual 24 Hour Comics events. In 2006, Peeters participated with the character in the comics contest held by newspaper Het Parool. Since 2018, 'Kayeko' has also been a comic feature in Brul!, the alternative children's magazine initiated by Tommy A and Jeroen Funke.
'Kayeko'.
Nature and city artist
For publisher Volt, Boris Peeters created 'Wie Is Die Vogel?' (2021), a funny bird guide of approximately 250 bird species from the Netherlands and Belgium, all drawn in his trademark style. The book was awarded the 2021 Stripschappenning in the category "Info and Compilation" by comic appreciation society Het Stripschap.
After living in The Hague, Boris Peeters relocated to the province of Zeeland in 2012, settling in Vlissingen. In 2022, he was appointed for a one-year period as city artist of the Zeeland capital of Middelburg, a function he shared with urban sketcher Christien van Driel.
'Wie is die vogel?' (2021).
Graphic contributions
Contributions by Sam and Boris Peeters were featured in the 2010 anthology 'Holanda - El Placer de Dibujar', a showcase of Dutch comic talent for the Comic Barcelona festival. Peeters was also one of the contributing artists to 'Mooi is Dat' (2010) and 'Filmfanfare' (2012), two anthologies with comic interpretations of Dutch literary works and movies, respectively. For the latter book, he made a one-page comic version of the Dick Maas film 'Flodder', but the director registered an official complaint as he hadn't given his consent for the project. Similar complaints came from film director Alex van Warmerdam ('Abel', 'De Noorderlingen') and Dorna de Rouveroy, who owned the rights to the movies of Wim Verstappen. Another comic adaptation of a Dick Maas film for 'Filmfanfare' was Aimée de Jongh's version of 'De Lift'. However, since the comics were not literal adaptations but graphic interpretations, they could appear as planned.
Self-portrait announcing his 2022 tenure as city artist of Middelburg.