The Belgian artist Willy Linthout was born in Eksaarde on 1 May, but his parents declared him a day early to receive an extra month of child support. Linthout started his career as a prize-winner of a non-professional comic contest for the Dutch edition of the French magazine À Suivre. After he met Urbanus (who already had a successful career as a comedian/performer in theaters and on TV) they decided to do an 'Urbanus' comic book.
