Tom Puss (Tom Poes in Dutch) is a Dutch comic strip, created by Marten Toonder. Together with Hans G. Kresse's Eric de Noorman and Pieter Kuhn's Kapitein Rob, it is regarded as the Big Three of Dutch comics. Tom Poes was a talking animal comic, published in text comics format. The main protagonists are Tom Poes, a white cat, and his best friend, the bear lord Oliver B. Bumble (Olivier B. Bommel in Dutch). The series is sometimes referred to as the Bommelsaga as well. Toonder received many awards and honorary distinctions for both his illustrations and literary output. In the Netherlands Tom Poes became regarded as a work of literature.
Origins
In 1931 Marten Toonder was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he met Jim Davis, a former assistant of Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer, creators of Felix the Cat, who taught him some lessons in drawing comics. On March 16, 1941, the first Tom Poes comic, Het Geheim der Blauwe Aarde ("The Secret of the Blue Earth") was published in the newspaper De Telegraaf, written and drawn by Toonder, replacing the Mickey Mouse comic in 1941. Tom Poes himself was already created in July 1939. The name of the character is a pun on the Dutch pastry "tompouce" and was thought up by Toonder's wife, Phiny Dick. On December 18 of that same year the series was published in the two-weekly Czech magazine Punta. After the war the stories were published in NRC Handelsblad, De Volkskrant, Ons Vrij Nederland, Revue and Donald Duck. In daily newspapers Tom Poes was published as a text comic, like most Dutch comics at the time. In the weekly magazines it was published in balloon format. Tom Poes features many anthropomorphic characters who are satirical representations of animal stereotypes, though some human characters like gnomes and wizards exist too. The series is set in a fantasy world of an undetermined age. Some elements are modern, like cars and television sets, others are more reminiscent of older centuries. Tom Poes was originally a children's comic, but as the stories progressed they aimed at a more adult audience by introducing satirical elements and eccentric use of language. Several of Toonder's words and expressions became neologisms in the Dutch language. In 1954 Toonder became member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde ("Society of Dutch literature") and by the time the story De Bovenbazen (The Upper Bosses) was published he was regarded as a creator of genuine quality literature. Tom Poes is still the only comic strip in the Netherlands to have gained such a reputation among the intelligentsia. The success of the series spread to many merchandising products, including theatrical plays and a comics magazine. Toonder founded his own studio and collected several talented artists to assist him with the drawing of Tom Poes, while he still wrote the stories. Among these were Lo Hartog van Banda, Piet Wijn and Dick Matena. From the time Toonder settled down in Ireland in 1965 to the end of Tom Poes in 1986, Toonder reportedly drew Tom Poes almost singlehandedly, having grown weary of running a large studio. The series was also translated and published in Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland and Sweden.
Main characters Tom Puss: A young white cat. He is clever, brave and remains calm in all circumstances. He frequently throws in a critical "Hm!" during conversations with his noble friend. Oliver B. Bumble: A brown bear who is a lord who lives in a castle. Oliver often brags about himself, but in reality he is not very bright and panics whenever actual work has to be done or danger is about. Several of his catch phrases have entered the Dutch language, such as "Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel" ("If you gather my meaning"), "Een eenvoudige, doch voedzame maaltijd" ("A simple, yet nourishing meal") and "Verzin toch een list!" ("Think up a ploy!")
Supporting characters Dutch names.
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