In the early 1980s, the then little-known Belgian illustrator, Willy Linthout (1953), came up with the idea of creating a comic strip about the Belgian comic Urbanus (1949), who was already famous at the time.

And so, in 1983, he published “Het fritkotmysterie” (the mystery of the chip van), the first album in a series of more than 170. The Urbanus series is decidedly underground, verging on the vulgar. It is like no other family comic strip and yet it met with an immediate commercial success.

For 35 years the series has been describing incredulous scenes, featuring the most absurd and incompetent characters. Visit Urbanus’ surreal, corrupt world at the Belgian Comics Art Museum and we defy you not bust out laughing!