Arthur Berckmans

Arthur Berckmans (3 May 1929 – 28 December 2020), better known as Berck, was a Belgian comics author, best known for Sammy.

Biography Arthur Berckmans was born in Leuven in 1929. He studied drawing at the Art academy of Leuven and at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. His first job as an illustrator was in 1948 for the Flemish Jesuit magazine Pro Apostolis. He also illustrated some youth novels, and started to work at PubliArt, a publicity division of Le Lombard, where he made many drawings and a few publicity comics, appearing in many Belgian newspapers and magazines.

In 1958, Berck was asked by Tintin magazine to collaborate with René Goscinny on a new comical series, Strapontin. The series became a moderate success, and Berck created a few other series for the magazine, the most notable being Rataplan.

In 1994, Berck announced that he would retire. While this is usual in Belgium at the age of 65, it was an almost unprecedented move for a comics' artist. Sammy was continued by the experienced artist Jean-Pol. Finnish, German and Spanish.

Awards 1973: Prix Saint-Michel for Best Comical Artwork, Brussels, Belgium 1975: Prix Saint-Michel for Best Comical Comic 1985: Bronzen Adhemar, Turnhout, Belgium