Talk:Belgian comics

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[edit] Do we need a separated article for Belgian comics ?

This page is a fresh duplicate of the Franco-Belgian comics and List of comic creators. It's in contradiction with the principles behind the combinated Franco-Belgian comics pages. This article should be merged to the Franco-Belgian comics article. Lvr ~~14:03, 25 October 2005 (UTC)~~Lvr 12:35, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Lvr,

What I suggest is to delete all Franco-Belgian comic artists from the page and give a link to the main article: Franco-Belgian comics. However, not all Belgian comic artists have connections with France, especially Flemish comic artists. Therefore there is a need for this page, though it's still very underdeveloped. Perhaps we could make here a short introductory page about Belgian comics, referring to the differences between Belgian comics (Flemish comics, Walloon/Brussels' comics, Franco-Belgian comics, other cooperation), each different type linked to the main page. Mjolnir1984. 18:04, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

I moved this discussion from the afd page and requested for a merge.

I have no doubt that you plan to add valuable info. However I really think that France and Belgium have a really tight comics history, even for Flemish authors.

Morris (comics): born in Kortrijk has work mainly in French, Willy Vandersteen has worked for a little while for Hergé.
Nowadays, if you look at "contemporary" productions, there are not real frontier between Flemish authors, French speaking Belgian authors and French authors (like with Fréon (Publisher)),
Regarding comics publishing houses, most belgian comics (Flemish and French speaking) are published by common publishing houses that are either French or Belgian (Dupuis, Dargaud)
...

I don't deny (and it should be stupid to) that they are differences between these 4 regions, but I think that the common part is bigger that theses differences. Hence I suggest you to contribute to the Franco-Belgian comics page with your material, so we could hope to have the "perfect" aericle.

Lvr 12:35, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree and I disagree. There are quite some differences between the regions. The fact that there was cooperation between some Flemish authors and French comics is imo not enough to speak only about Franco-Belgian comics. This gives not only the impression that all comics are in the French language (1), but that all these comics are linked to France (2). A good example is Jef Nys who made the second most popular comic in Flanders (1st is Suske en Wiske). Another good example is Merho with Kiekeboe, another popular Flemish comic. (There are a lot more examples). These authors have no connection to France (or Wallonia). Furthermore Vandersteen main work was in Flemish (Dutch) for Flanders. I still think the best thing is to make a main page "Belgian comics" that shortly introduces the reader with 1. Flemish comics, 2. Franco-Belgian comics, 3.Other and then links the reader to the main articles.

Mjolnir1984 19:35, 26 October 2005

The way I see it is that the history and nature of French and Belgian comics are intertwined to the point of singularity. The title "Franco-Belgian" is I'd say the standard way of naming such things, as in Greco-Roman wrestling, Sino-Japanese war, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of comics on either side that aren't exposed on the other. Perhaps a section on Flemish comics could be introduced. Mikkel 05:48, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

As proposed by Mikkel, I think you should clarify the Franco-Belgian comics page and clearly state you viewpoint. If you think that Flemish comics have a real singularity against the rest of Belgium, you may consider to create a specific Flemish comics page. Again, I think that the best is a single page.

Now you do as you want, since Wikipedia is a free place. Beaware that duplication of information has often lead to conflicts and to disinformation like with the pages Comics vs Comic books, for which the WP:CMC had to struggle a lot (and still have) to keep a consistent and coherent content. Lvr 11:48, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

I utterly agree with Lvr and Mikkel. This page should be merged with Franco-Belgian comics. Perhaps one reason more, the Franco-Belgian comics is an artistic movement which is defined more by a particular style (opposed to the American style) than by any precise greographical reference. This is the reason why some Swiss or Italians are often categorized as Franco-Belgians. I have begun the merging process and added most of the data from this page into the Franco-Belgian comics article and related lists. Another remark: It seems many Flemings are intending to create an independent Flemish culture: a Flemish history, a Flemish painting, a Flemish music, etc... Those things exist but usually do not correspond to Flanders as it is defined now (from De Panne to Maasmechelen) but as it used to be (from Lille to Utrecht and from Namur to Calais, i.e. the historical Low Countries before the independence of the United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands afterwards). And this historical region is not defined by the language as it is now but by a common economy, culture and political system of free cities and provinces. It seems to me trying to coin a name like Flermish comics pertains to the same kind of attitude. Vb 14:53, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

I don't oppose a merging, but I disagree with your remark. My intention was not to create an independent culture. I agree that "Franco-Belgian" refers to a style. My intention however was to create a page about "Belgian comics" so that people could easely find Belgian authors and their comics on Wikipedia and so that people could find when these authors/comics started, where they started, what is typical about it (e.g. it uses the Franco-Belgian style), etc. Something which the merge will not provide imo.

The fact that it was divided by region was in such case nothing more than logical (and not ideological). Mjolnir1984, 12:33, 29 oktober 2005 (UTC)

I got myself informed by some communication science literature of my university. Flemish comics are considered as part of a wider European (+/- Franco-belgian) style, but are dealt with seperately because they developed their own characteristics, had their own evolution, etc. Mjolnir1984, 20:28, 29 oktober 2005 (UTC)

I was not meaning this personally. I simply observe a common trend in Flanders and that this trend is being mirrored on WP. You are right about regional characteristics of comics but I think (as pointed out above) that one could mention those characteristics on the page Franco-Belgian comics. This would be much more fruitful. Vb 09:44, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Merge with Franco-Belgian comics

The are various discussions about whether Belgian should have a separated page for comics. Most opinions convert to saying that it doesn't, but that the Flemish part of Belgium should deserve more attention. Therefore i'm trying to retrieve usefull information to develop such a section the FBC article. Any help is appreciated. Feel free to contribute here. I have already added the text from this page. Lvr 09:54, 11 April 2006 (UTC)