15 Facts About Jef Nys

Jozef "Jef" Nys was a Belgian comic book creator.

Jef Nys was best known for his comic strip Jommeke.

Jef Nys's family came from Koksijde, at the Belgian coast, where his grandfather was a fisherman.

Hendrik Nys married Louise Van Den Bos on 5 August 1922.

Jef Nys's father was a council member in Berchem and worked as a painter.

Hendrik and Louise Jef Nys had four children, two of which died at a young age.

Hendrik Jef Nys died in 1941 when he was run over by a car while riding his bike.

When Jef Nys was 5 years old, he went to school in Berchem.

Jef Nys was a good student and a better artist, and when he was 11 years old, he started with drawing classes in the evening at the municipal art school.

Jef Nys's teachers, seeing his talent, urged him to drop his technical studies and to focus solely on his art.

Jef Nys continued his studies until the academy closed down due to the threat of V-1 flying bombs.

Jef Nys continued the production of biographical, more realistic stories, which are now published in 't Kapoentje, the weekly juvenile supplement to Het Volk.

Jef Nys started in 1963 the fairytale comic Langteen en Schommelbuik, which ended after 11 stories because the work on Jommeke became too time-consuming.

When in 1965 Marc Sleen left Het Volk, Jef Nys took over his series De Lustige Kapoentjes for two years.

Jef Nys worked for many years solely for Catholic newspapers and magazines, and produced many biographies of religious figures.