Robert van der Kroft

Award winning artist Robert van der Kroft created his first Sjors and Sjimmie (George and Jimmy) pages for the newly founded magazine Eppo, which appeared on october 1st 1975. In earlier years Robert experimented with different styles in the magazine Vrije Balloen (Free Balloon) and made the comic strips Pepspotters and Pepijn in Eppo’s predecessor Pep. He also drew for Donald Duck under the guidance of Daan Jippes. Sjors and Sjimmie is best known and oldest appearing strip of the Netherlands dating from the thirties. Robert’s version is generally accepted as being the best and is the most important together with the original version of Frans Piët. Other artists who have drawn Sjors and Sjimmie are Carol Voges, Jan Kruis and Jan Steeman.

In 1987 Robert stopped making Sjors and Sjimmie and started drawing Claire as he does up to this day. He still supervises the new Sjors and Sjimmie pages, which are drawn in his style by a Spanish studio. He is also the founder of the underground magazine Zone 5300. In 1995 the first Videoballoon documentary was devoted to him and his Wiroja’s partners Wilbert Plijnaar and Jan van Die. Robert’s style is characterized by a clear line and openness which makes his work very recognizable. He is without doubt one of the most important Dutch strip artists of the present and the past decades. Robert is exclusively represented by us, both for Sjors and Sjimmie and Claire.