Marco Polo, by Cees van de Weert
Marco Polo (Tom Poes Weekblad volume 1, issue 45)

Cees van de Weert is mostly known for his work at the legendary Marten Toonder Studios. Born in Zeist, he was a school teacher before he joined the Studios during its early years in 1942. While at first he did many types of drawing jobs for the studio, he later focused on creating backgrounds for the cartoons. Van de Weert eventually became manager of Toonder's drawing studios. The studio housed over 40 artists, including Wim van Wieringen, James Ringrose, Wim Lensen, Frits Godhelp, Richard Klokkers, Ben van Voorn, Ben van 't Klooster, Thé Tjong-Khing and Harry Hargreaves, and worked mainly on newspaper comics like 'Tom Poes', 'Panda', 'Kappie' and 'Olle Kapoen'.

Marco Polo by Cees van de Weert
Marco Polo (Tom Poes Weekblad volume 1, issue 46)

The studio launched its own weekly magazine, called Tom Poes Weekblad, in 1947. With writer Ansje Herblot, Van de Weert created a comic strip of his own for this magazine, 'Marco Polo'. It ran in Tom Poes Weekblad from 1948 to 1949, and was continued halfway by Gerard van Straaten. Cees van de Weert additionally made illustrations for books by A.D. Hildebrand under the pen name Hans Geerlag ('Joessoef, het knechtje van de sultan' and 'Met Lodewijk in de zak', both from 1950).

Joessoef by Hans Geerlag

Van de Weert left the Toonder Studios in June 1961, and started his own studio at the Herengracht in Amsterdam, called Studio '62. He continued his career as a graphic designer in the toy production field (in which capacity he also participated in the production of a 'Tom Poes' board game). According to Marten Toonder's biography by Wim Hazeu (2012), Toonder saw Cees van de Weert as one of his most loyal co-workers. After Van de Weert had left, Toonder felt that an essential part of the studios was gone. This was one of the reasons why Toonder gradually distanced himself from the daily routine in the studios and eventually moved to Ireland in 1965. Cees van de Weert passed away in Amsterdam in 1981.

Marco Polo by Cees van de Weert
Marco Polo (Tom Poes Weekblad volume 1, issue 40)

Cees van de Weert in De Nederlandse Stripgeschiedenis

Series en boeken door Cees van de Weert op voorraad in de Lambiek Webshop:

