'Gnossiënne nr. 2' (Incognito #4, June 1994), starring Laurel & Hardy.
Mark Schilders is a Dutch cartoonist and musician, who was part of the Dutch small press comics wave of the 1990s with publications in Iris, Incognito and Zone 5300. For the anthroposophical magazine Jonas, he drew the comic 'Wiro' in the late 1990s. Between 2003 and 2006, Schilders was one of the artists drawing 'Dirkjan' gag strips for Mark Retera, as part of the "Mark Retera Ensemble".
Early life
Mark Schilders was born in 1965 in Aalst, a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. While in high school, Schilders was friends with Mark Retera, with whom he made about twenty episodes of the gag strip 'Werther'. Studying Graphic Design, Schilders attended the St. Joost Academy in Breda (1983-1985), as well as the Rietveld Art Academy in Amsterdam (1989-1991).
Cover illustration for Iris #7 (1993).
Indie comics
In the early 1990s, Schilders joined a group of Nijmegen-based cartoonists in the launch of the indie comic magazine Iris. Among them were his former high school friend Mark Retera, as well as Remco Polman and Wilfred Ottenheijm. Between 1991 and 1997, he appeared in all fifteen issues of the magazine, contributing comics in both realistic and humorous drawing styles. Among his recurring features were a gag strip with the dog Sylvain, a new version of the 'Werther' character he had worked on during the 1980s. For Iris, Schilders notably made absurd comic stories, which were nonetheless realistically drawn. These included 'Het Ei', and the longer serials 'Maar Als Mijn Hart Dan Toch...' and 'Mijn Opa Was Mijn Thuis'. During the Iris years, Mark Schilders, Paul Hoogma and Remco Polman also tried their hand at chain comics, with the artists switching art duties from panel to panel.
'Bob Hoop' strip from Incognito #6 (October 1994). Translation: "No, the high expectations evoked by its price card, haven't redeemed it for now: my new design poof."
From 1993 to 1996, Schilders was also present in Incognito, the small press comic magazine edited by Robin Schouten in Zaandam. Again, his contributions varied between gag strips ('Bob Hoop', a pun on comedian Bob Hope) and realistically-drawn pages of a more profound nature. He also participated in the Incognito chain comic 'Het Lieve Leven'. In the first half of the 1990s, Schilder was additionally present in the early issues of Zone 5300, a magazine from Rotterdam. By accident, his story 'Gnossiennes nr. 2' appeared in both Incognito and Zone 5300. In addition to indie comic magazines, Schilders made the comic strip 'Wiro' for the anthroposophical magazine Jonas.
'Dirkjan' strip, drawn by Mark Schilders. Translation: "Can I help you, gentlemen?" - "Not yet." - "Eh, we'll be closing in a few minutes." - "Ah. We're here for your last minute offer."
Dirkjan
Since the 1990s, Schilders had regularly worked with fellow Studio Iris cartoonist Mark Retera. In 1994, he assisted Retera on the backgrounds of his weekly caricature drawings for Panorama magazine. Later on, he was part of Retera's production team for the daily 'Dirkjan' newspaper comic. When during the 1990s, Retera's 'Dirkjan' strip began appearing in color in the national student magazine Sum, Schilders often assisted on the coloring, using colored ink and watercolor. In addition, Schilders drew a number of strips of this 'Dirkjan' subseries as a ghost artists. The Schilders installments are often recognizable by the weird details in the backgrounds, such as fish nailed to the wall.
After starting in student magazines during the 1990s, the gag strips of the wimpy student Dirkjan, with overbite and trademark striped shirt, and his unhygienic, boozing pal Bert have become a big hit in several Dutch newspapers and magazines. With its offbeat and literal humor, grotesque characters and regular pop culture spoofs, 'Dirkjan' quickly became the most popular gag strip in the Netherlands, with additional appearances in tear-off calendars, advertisements and other products. This resulted in a heavy workload for Retera, who called in help from several of his former Iris colleagues. Between 2003 and 2006, he formed the "Mark Retera Ensemble", consisting of Mark Schilders, Remco Polman and Wilfred Ottenheijm, who helped with plotting and drawing the daily 'Dirkjan' gags. Several of the 'Dirkjan' strips from this period show Schilders' characteristic art style.
Further career
By the end of the 1990s, Mark Schilders had largely left the comic field, and focused on music and spiritual growth. During this period, he made on a long and very personal, realistically drawn comic story about shamanism, which has remained unpublished. Starting in the 1990s, Schilders has played in several bands, often with his Studio Iris friends, for instance De Sexfuckers and Blue Jesus. Between 1997 and 2002, he was the guitarist and main songwriter of the psychedelic folk rock band Horst Keller Kollektief, which also had Remco Polman in the ranks and had considerable popularity in Nijmegen's alternative music scene. Since 2007, Mark Schilders has worked for hire as a music teacher and has hosted cartooning workshops.
'Buurman en Buurvrouw', Later comic strip, posted by Mark Schilders on Facebook in November 2022. Translation: - "And, neighbor, do you think that the winter will happen this year?" - "My prediction: it'll come very suddenly this year... and last a very short while."