Bikes and Books – the two big (read: important) B’s in the author’s life, came together yet once more last weekend, during Public Day at Frankfurt Book Fair.

The biggest Book Fair in the world featured the Netherlands and Flanders. And as those know who know Cowboy Henk or other comics and graphic novels originating in these geographies, a very special kind of illustration and drawing, often tongue-in-cheek-style, originates from these countries. However, it seems that oftentimes these works do find their way out of these countries, unfortunately. They remain known to – and appreciated by – the locals, mostly.

Parade - the Illustrators' Collective of the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair

Parade – the Illustrators‘ Collective of the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair

That this is a shame and a big loss to the rest of the world became very vividly clear by the Book Fair initiative of „Parade“, a daily magazine filled by illustrations, comics and short texts by a Dutch/Flanders art collective put together just for the 6 days of the Book Fair. They created and printed the daily zine for any Book Fair visitor to see and watch them doing it. Very interesting.

And they communicated what readers of this blog have known for a long time: If it’s the Big Things of life that are transported through printed art work, then there is no way around bicycle topics:

The illustrators of Parade added another "b" to the Big B's of Books and Bikes, namely Bears ;-)

The illustrators of Parade added another „b“ to the Big B’s of Books and Bikes, namely Bears 😉

Oh, and by the way:

Taking comics about bikes and biking one step further, by putting comics onto bikes‘ frames, that’s realized already as well – comic to go via a book-bike fusion project, designed in Flanders:

If you want to ride a bike Cowboy Henk-style, you may (copyright by bike manufacturer Vanmoof, picture taken from http://weekend.knack.be/lifestyle/radar/unieke-fietsen-te-koop-voor-goede-doel/article-normal-455257.html)

If you want to ride a bike Cowboy Henk-style, you may (copyright by bike manufacturer Vanmoof, picture taken from http://weekend.knack.be/lifestyle/radar/unieke-fietsen-te-koop-voor-goede-doel/article-normal-455257.html)

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