1970 - Twee voor thee / Tea For Two - 1/2 (Page - Dutch BV) MC-2

DAAN JIPPES (Daniël Jan Jippes) - born 1945 - The Netherlands
MARTIN LODEWIJK - born 1939 - The Netherlands
HANS KEERIS(colorist)
Bernard Voorzichtig - Twee voor thee
Page 16 (before 'the break' of Daan Jippes) - Ink on paper - 41x30 cm
Publication in Dutch magazine 'Pep' nr.39-1972, publication book first edition 1973, publication book second edition 1981, publication book third edition 2001.

Historically one of the most important comic stories of the Netherlands.
This story inspired many other comic artists.
Unfortunately it is (so far) remained at one story !

'Twee voor Thee' (1972) was written by Martin Lodewijk, and settled around a Dutch family of 19th century tea merchants. The main star was Bernard Voorzichtig, an avid tennis player who inherits the faltering family company. Accompanied by his butler, a black Frisian called Siebe, he heads for the Indies (nowadays Indonesia) to investigate a mysterious tea forgery scam. Always the perfectionist, it took Jippes three years to complete the story. When he had finished the first twenty pages in a style similar to the classic Dupuis school, André Franquin in particular, he put the story on hold to first finish off his assignments for the Dutch Disney weekly Donald Duck. By the time he resumed 'Twee voor Thee', he had underwent so much influence from 'Mickey Mouse' artist Floyd Gottfredson, that he finished the story in a completely different drawing style. The story was finally serialized in Pep issues #33 (12-18 August) through #52 (23-29 December) of 1972, and published in book format in the following year. Even though no further stories starring Bernard Voorzichtig were made, 'Twee voor Thee' has become an all time Dutch comics classic, especially among Jippes' peers. Many Dutch artists still use it as a reference and source of inspiration. According to legend, Martin Lodewijk had begun working on a second script, but accidentally left it in a phone booth one day... (source: Comiclopedia)