No, that’s not Harlem, but HAArlem with 2A’s – a picturesque village less than 10 miles from Amsterdam. The NY neighborhood was named after it in the time that New York was still New Amsterdam.
The town of Haarlem hosts the biggest and nicest comics festival of The Netherlands. Every two years, the whole inner city is buzzing with artists, expositions and comic-related activities.
Of course I will be there – in a few places at the same time, even! I have my own special booth in theater De Philharmonie (stand 23, on the first floor), but I’m also present in the window of bookstore Coebergh in the main shopping street. This year, over 70 comic artists have been hooked up with stores and shops in Haarlem to provide window-dressing – a great way to make the city more “comicky” and bring artists and retailers together!
My husband Yiri T. Kohl, who is also a comic artist, was linked to tobacco-store Havana House. A great match, since Yiri’s underground comic characters, often likened to the Freak Brothers, have been spotted in the past with all kinds of addictive substances…
In another comic incarnation, I am present at the exhibition ‘Ook van Jou’ (‘Love You Too’). This is a group exhibition featuring all kinds of relationships in comics. My long-running comic character Mijntje, a wild bisexual girl, was invited to join and she will be giving out kisses to everyone who comes to visit.
Most of the time, I will be at my booth selling my comics about philosophy, religion and friendship, and bragging about how “my publisher in New York” is promoting my book at the BEA, and showing original pages of my newest work, about science, which will be published in Holland in October.
So if you’re in the neighborhood, come and visit Haarlem this weekend! It will be a comic experience you’ll never forget!
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