Belgian comics explained: why Brussels is the BD capital
Brussels: Brussels Comic Art Museum Entrance Ticket
Why is Belgium famous for comics?
Belgium is the heartland of the European comic strip (bande dessinée). Brussels-born Hergé created Tintin in 1929 and pioneered the clean 'ligne claire' style; the Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Spirou and Gaston Lagaffe followed. Comics are treated as a respected art form here — the 'ninth art' — celebrated with murals, a major museum and a thriving publishing scene.
The “ninth art” was perfected here
To understand Brussels, you have to understand its love of comics. In Belgium, the comic strip — bande dessinée (BD) — isn’t disposable kids’ stuff; it’s the “ninth art,” a respected medium with master practitioners, serious museums, and giant murals painted across the capital. Per head, Belgium produces and reveres comics like nowhere else on earth, and Brussels is its beating heart. Here’s the context that makes the city’s murals and museum so much richer.
How Belgium became the comics capital
- Hergé and Tintin (1929). Brussels-born Georges Remi (“Hergé”) created Tintin, whose global success put Belgian comics on the map and established the template for the European adventure strip. Hergé’s pen name reversed his initials — R.G. — in French pronunciation. He was working for the conservative Catholic newspaper Vingtième Siècle when the first Tintin strip appeared, aimed at the children’s supplement.
- The post-war golden age. Magazines like Tintin and Spirou became hothouses for talent, and Brussels publishers turned comics into a national industry. Artists who contributed to these magazines went on to global careers; the magazines were the training ground and the launchpad.
- A culture that took it seriously. Belgium treated comics as art, teaching, collecting and exhibiting them — hence the murals, the Comics Art Museum, and the bande dessinée festivals. The French-Belgian tradition always positioned itself as literature for adults as well as children, which is part of why the art form commanded serious critical attention.
The style: ligne claire
Hergé’s signature “ligne claire” (clear line) defines the classic Belgian look:
- Clean, even-weight outlines with no fussy shading.
- Flat, bold colours.
- Clear, uncluttered compositions that read instantly.
It’s elegant, legible and timeless — and hugely influential across world comics and design. The absence of shading is a deliberate choice: information is conveyed through outline alone, which requires extreme precision. Once you know it, you’ll spot it everywhere in Brussels — not just in the murals, but in graphic design, packaging, and public signage that has absorbed the aesthetic.
The style allowed for a kind of universality: Tintin’s blank, open face reads as an everyman rather than a specific individual. Readers project themselves onto him, which is part of why the character translated across cultures.
The characters you’ll meet
- Tintin (Hergé) — the intrepid boy reporter and Snowy (Tintin guide). 24 albums translated into 70+ languages; one of the best-selling comics series of all time.
- The Smurfs / Les Schtroumpfs (Peyo) — the tiny blue villagers, a global phenomenon. Creator Pierre Culliford (“Peyo”) was a contemporary of Hergé, also Brussels-based.
- Lucky Luke (Morris) — the cowboy who shoots faster than his shadow. The strip’s satirical relationship with American Western mythology is one of comics’ funniest long-running jokes.
- Spirou & Fantasio — the bellhop-adventurer and friends. The Spirou magazine continues to publish, with a rotating roster of writers and artists keeping the character in print since 1938.
- Gaston Lagaffe (Franquin) — the lovably useless office boy. A masterclass in physical comedy and characterisation; the strips hold up perfectly.
- Blake and Mortimer (E.P. Jacobs) — classic ligne-claire adventure. Jacobs worked closely with Hergé and the influence is everywhere.
- Le Chat (Philippe Geluck) — the modern philosopher cat, on a famous mural. Geluck’s work is deliberately adult and philosophical — a reminder that Belgian BD isn’t only about adventure stories.
Many of their creators worked in Brussels, which is why the city honours them on its walls.
Where to enjoy it in Brussels
- The comic mural route — 50+ free outdoor frescoes (route, map). The route began in 1991 with the Broussaille mural and has expanded steadily. More are added each year.
- The Comics Art Museum — original art in a Horta building (guide); a ticket here is the indoor anchor. The museum building itself — a former department store by Victor Horta — is worth the visit independently.
- Comic shops — for collector editions and souvenirs near the Grand-Place. Brussels has some excellent specialist shops with original editions, prints and original art.
- Guided walks — a comic murals tour or a Tintin and street-art walk ties the history together on the ground.
The Comics Art Museum building
The Comics Art Museum (Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée) deserves special mention for its setting: it occupies the former Waucquez Warehouse, a 1906 Art Nouveau building by Victor Horta on Rue des Sables. Horta designed it as a fabric warehouse; it was derelict for years before being converted into the museum in 1989. The building alone is worth the ticket — a glass-and-iron interior with the same organic lightness as the Horta Museum, repurposed for a collection of original comic art. You’re reading Tintin original plates in a Horta building — two of Brussels’ greatest contributions to visual culture in the same room.
Why it matters to your trip
The comics aren’t a gimmick — they’re a window into Brussels’ character: playful, unpretentious, proud of its own quirks. A city that paints Tintin and the Smurfs across its buildings, and builds a museum for cartoonists inside an Art Nouveau palace, is telling you something likeable about itself. Engage with the BD culture, even just by hunting murals, and Brussels makes a lot more sense — and becomes a lot more fun.
Frequently asked questions — Belgian comics explained: why Brussels is the BD capital
What is 'ligne claire' in comics?
'Ligne claire' (clear line) is the style pioneered by Hergé in Tintin: clean, uniform-weight outlines, flat bold colours, no shading, and clear, readable compositions. It became hugely influential across European comics and is instantly recognisable as the classic Belgian look.What are the most famous Belgian comics?
Tintin (Hergé), the Smurfs (Peyo), Lucky Luke (Morris), Spirou et Fantasio, Gaston Lagaffe (Franquin), Blake and Mortimer (E.P. Jacobs) and Le Chat (Geluck) are among the most famous — most created by Brussels-based artists, and celebrated across the city's murals and museum.
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