Johan en Pirrewiet Album cover

Dick Matena is one of the most versatile and productive comic authors of The Netherlands. He has worked anonymously on comics with other people's creations (Marten Toonder, Walt Disney), wrote and drew popular children's and adventure series for most Dutch comic magazines, published more adult-oriented and artistic stories in internationally renowned magazines, and gained nationwide attention with his adaptations of famous Dutch literary works and children's books. Because of these adaptations, Matena broke out of the Dutch comics scene and also became a well-known figure within literary circles. He furthermore worked for Toonder, Donald Duck weekly, the 'Rooie Oortjes' collection and the Dutch space opera 'Storm' (with art by Don Lawrence). His best known original creations are 'De Argonautjes' (1968-1973), 'Ridder Roodhart' (1969-1971), 'Grote Pyr' (1971-1974) and 'Virl' (1977-1981, 2011-2012). Text (c) Lambiek