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| Brussels School of Comics | |
|---|---|
| Name | Brussels School of Comics |
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | Private/Public |
| City | Brussels |
| Country | Belgium |
Brussels School of Comics is an influential institution in Belgian visual storytelling, located in Brussels and associated with the Franco-Belgian bande dessinée tradition. It has ties to major studios, publishers, and cultural organizations and has trained generations of creators linked to European and global comics movements. The school is notable for alumni and faculty who intersect with museums, festivals, and publishing houses.
Founded in the mid-20th century, the school emerged amid the postwar revival surrounding Spirou, Tintin, Hergé, André Franquin, Peyo, and Morris (cartoonist). Early directors sought to synthesize practices from Atelier Saint-Luc, Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), Institut Saint-Luc, La Cambre and the studios of Dupuis, Casterman, Le Lombard. During the 1960s and 1970s the institution interacted with figures from Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, Festival d'Angoulême, Métal Hurlant, Moebius, and Enki Bilal, while hosting visiting lecturers connected to Cartooning for Peace, Syndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs, and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. In the 1980s and 1990s links expanded to Glénat, Dargaud, Albin Michel, Les Humanoïdes Associés and cultural programs tied to European Capital of Culture, UNESCO, and the European Commission. Recent decades saw exchange with Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Musée Hergé, Bozar, Museum of Comics (Belgium), Comic-Con International, and digital partners including Netflix, Amazon (company), and YouTube-based collectives.
The main campus is situated near landmarks such as Grand-Place (Brussels), Mont des Arts, Place Sainte-Catherine, Ixelles, and Saint-Gilles quarters, with studios overlooking institutions like Royal Palace of Brussels and Parc de Bruxelles. Facilities include dedicated ateliers modeled after Atelier de Sèvres, print workshops equipped with presses used in collaborations with Imprimerie Nationale, letterpress suites referencing Lithography (printing) collections at Plantin-Moretus Museum, and digitization labs compatible with workflows from Adobe Systems Incorporated, Wacom, Apple Inc., and Autodesk. Public exhibition spaces coordinate with Musée Magritte Museum, Belgian Comic Strip Center, Centre Pompidou, and local galleries such as La Bellone and Galerie d'Art].
Programs range from professional diplomas to postgraduate modules influenced by curricula at École des Beaux-Arts, Royal College of Art, Pratt Institute, Savannah College of Art and Design, and exchange semesters with École supérieure des arts Saint-Luc Liège, LUCA School of Arts, and Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. Course tracks include sequential art, scriptwriting, character design, color theory, and visual narrative tied to industry pipelines at Dupuis, Casterman, Dargaud, Glénat, and Fantagraphics Books. Certification aligns with accreditation frameworks recognized by Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and professional networks including European Film Academy and International Publishers Association.
Faculty and alumni have included practitioners associated with Hergé Studios, Franquin Studio, Peyo Studio, Moebius Studio, and editorial teams from Spirou (magazine), Tintin (magazine), Charlie Hebdo, Le Monde, The New Yorker, Mad (magazine), and 2000 AD. Graduates advanced to roles at DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Les Humanoïdes Associés, Casterman, Dupuis, Dargaud, Glénat, L’Association, Top Shelf Productions, and animation studios like StudioCanal, Toonami, Studio Ghibli, and Pixar. Visiting professors and guest artists have included collaborators with Moebius, Enki Bilal, François Schuiten, Jaco Van Dormael, Rene Laloux, and curators from Centre Pompidou and Musée d'Orsay.
Instruction emphasizes workshop-based pedagogy inspired by Atelier Saint-Luc, masterclasses from Comics Laureates linked to Festival d'Angoulême, and applied projects commissioned by Dupuis, Dargaud, and cultural partners like Bozar and Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image. Courses adopt methods traceable to studios associated with Hergé, editorial practices from Éditions Casterman, and scripting techniques from Will Eisner-influenced curricula used at School of Visual Arts. Evaluation includes portfolio reviews by editors from Les Humanoïdes Associés, festival juries at Angoulême International Comics Festival, and industry placements with Glénat and Dargaud.
Partnerships span publishers such as Dupuis, Casterman, Dargaud, Glénat, L'Association, and international houses including Fantagraphics Books, Drawn and Quarterly, Top Shelf Productions, Koyama Press, and Viz Media. Institutional ties include Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, Musée Hergé, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Bozar, Festival d'Angoulême, Comic-Con International, European Commission, UNESCO, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, and academic exchanges with Royal College of Art, École des Beaux-Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Pratt Institute. Industry collaborations bring commissions from Netflix, Amazon (company), Disney, Warner Bros., StudioCanal, and European broadcasters such as RTBF and France Télévisions.
The school curates exhibitions with partners including Belgian Comic Strip Center, Musée Magritte Museum, Bozar, Centre Pompidou, La Halle Saint Pierre, and Musée d'Orsay, and participates in festivals like Festival d'Angoulême, Comic-Con International, Lucca Comics & Games, FIBD, and Salon du Livre de Paris. Events include biennial retrospectives, symposiums co-organized with Centre National du Livre, workshops with editors from Dupuis and Casterman, and publication series produced in collaboration with Les Humanoïdes Associés, L'Association, Éditions Casterman, Fantagraphics Books, and Drawn and Quarterly.
Category:Comics schools Category:Universities and colleges in Brussels