The Stripschapprijs, the only major award for comic artists in the Netherlands, this year goes to Rotterdam-based animator and animator Aimée de Jongh (1988). After the release of her best-selling book in the world sand daysLast year, I jumped like a comet. She has already won eight major international awards with her graphic novel about the Dust Bowl, the American climate disaster in the 1930s. She was honored in Japan, the United States, and especially France.
sand days It was also a hit in Dutch bookshops: 11,000 copies have now been sold and a fourth printing is on the way. Its French success is many times greater with more than 40,000 copies sold. The comic book has now been translated into nine languages.
The ten-member jury, this year with three women in the ranks for the first time, found no problem with justifying the selection. Since she was 15, Aimee De Jong has been labeled a rising star, “a pressure that she not only manages to stop well, but also fulfills every single time.” According to the jury, De Jongh “ like no other (…) knows how to use her quality and skill to take your average comedy to a higher level. As one of the few Dutch comic book makers, she knows that publicity is just as important as delivering quality work. She can call herself the true ambassador of Dutch comics.”
Special graceful style
De Jongh’s success can be explained by the fact that her drawing style is a clever blend of manga and traditional Franco-Belgian school (think of Spiro), with a bit of realism. It allows her to easily switch, for example, between the bar of her youth Smart BeamPoetry Comic work for NRC magazine about the refugee camp on Lesbos and graphic novels such as flowers in autumn (2018) The Beautiful Autobiography Taxi (2019).
Equally important is her objective preference for social themes, such as the climate crisis in sand days Bullying behavior in the comics project dark early†
Its production is huge. In addition to albums appearing in quick succession, she also charts regularly for Vrij Nederland who is a much sought-after animator. In this capacity I worked for years for The world goes on She was part of the animation film production team undoneby Dutch animator/director Hesko Holsing.
Stripschapprijs have been awarded annually since 1974 by Het Stripschap, the Dutch interest group for animation. No monetary amount is attached to the prize; Winners receive a bronze statue and a certificate. Honor last year went to ElsieComic maker Gerben Valkema, before that the award had been given to, among others, Typex, Wasco, Peter van Dongen and Joost Swarte. After Maaike Hartjes and Barbara Stok, De Jongh is the third author to receive the award.