Sunday, 1 February 2026

1974, Belgian Comics: Thomas Pips - De dubbelgangers

In 1974, the 23rd "Thomas Pips" album, "De dubbelgangers", was published by "Het Volk". The Thomas Pips series was created by Leo De Budt, better known under the pseudonym Buth. In 1946 and 1947, the strip appeared daily as a gag strip in the newspaper "Het Volk". Afterwards, Thomas Pips continued to be published in the newspaper as a daily strip in serialised story form. Initially, the scripts were written by Raymond Jean de Kremer, also known as John Flanders. From 1948 to 1949, the texts were written by the children’s author Ludovic Van Winkel, aka Lod Lavki. From 1965 until 1982, Thomas Pips appeared as a serialised story in the youth supplement "’t Kapoentje", with Buth taking charge of the stories himself.

"Thomas Pips", "De dubbelgangers" cover

No 23 "De dubbelgangers"
- black and white
- publisher: Het Volk
- never published in English
- drawings by Buth (Leo De Budt)
- story by Buth (Leo De Budt)

Thomas Pips
Tinneke
Professor Abraham Ölstein and the Boss

The main characters in this album are Thomas Pips, Thomas Pips as Lucy Pipstone, his wife Tinneke, Professor Abraham Ölstein, John, Bob, Boss, Louis, Manneke, Jef Cassiers, and the Commissaris.

Louis and Thomas Pips
Thomas Pips as Lucy Pipstone

Synopsis
When Thomas Pips goes in search of a plumber, he is abducted by a gang of gangsters who are planning a bank robbery using a mechanical double of Pips created by Professor Ölstein...

Bob and John
Commissaris

Trivia
Thomas Pips disguises himself as "Manneke", a reference to the sketch programme "Het Manneke" on the Belgian television channel BRT. The actor behind the character, Jef Cassiers, also appears in the album.

Thomas Pips as Manneke
The Boss and Jef Cassiers

Cars

  • Mercedes-Benz W114-W115
  • Citroën Type H
  • Peugeot D3/D4
  • Volkswagen Type 2 (T1)
  • Peugeot 404
Mercedes-Benz W114-W115
Citroën Type H
Peugeot D3/D4
Peugeot 404
Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) and Citroën Type H

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