Comic strips and comic books

The KB collects all comic books and comic magazines published in the Netherlands and Flanders. As a national library, the KB's main focus is on publications that are published in the Netherlands or are about the Netherlands. The comic collection is an exception, as it also includes Dutch-language Belgian publications. Many Flemish comic books are also popular in the Netherlands: Spike and Suzy (Dutch: Suske en Wiske), for example. Moreover, the rich history of Flemish comics has greatly influenced the Dutch comic world.

For a long time, comics mostly existed in the form of comic magazines and comic books, which told sequential stories about the same characters. In the 1950s, a new format appeared: the magazine album. Though smaller than regular albums and lacking a hard cover, these magazine albums did contain a complete story. The 1970s then saw the birth of the graphic novel, literary comic books for adults. One of the best-known examples of this in the Netherlands is Dick Materna's version of De Avonden by Gerard Reve. 

Until the 1950s, comic books were looked down upon in some circles, and it was not common for libraries to collect comic books. Because of that, the KB only had a small comic book collection for a long time. However, the perception of comics changed over the course of the second half of the 20th century, and the KB established a policy for comic collection. Thanks to gifts and purchases, that collection has since grown considerably. New comics also continue to be added through the depot for Dutch publications.