Willy van der Steen

Willy Vandersteen was born right here in Antwerp’s Seefhoek in 1913. He grew up in an artistic family and was drawing stories on the pavement from an early age. Inspired by local legends, city adventures, and comic books of the time, he would become the spiritual father of Suske and Wiske, two iconic comic figures rooted in Antwerp.

In 1945, Vandersteen broke through with his inseparable duo. Through Studio Vandersteen, he created hundreds of stories full of time travel, mystery, and humor—often with nods to Antwerp’s history and culture. His work became wildly popular at home and abroad. He sold over 200 million albums, earning the nickname “the Walt Disney of the Low Countries.”

Though he passed away in 1990, his work lives on. In Antwerp, you’ll find murals, statues, and even a museum dedicated to Vandersteen. And in Suske and Wiske, you can still feel the spirit of the city where their creator was born—imaginative, adventurous, and unmistakably Antwerp.