1970, Belgian Comics: De avonturen van Ketje - De geheime gang

In 1970, "De geheime gang" ("The Secret Passage") was published as an album in the series "De avonturen van Ketje" ("The Adventures of Ketje"). The series was created by Hugo De Reymaeker under the pseudonym Hurey. Ketje was launched in 1967 and was originally a spin-off from both "Jan Heibel" and "De Lustige Kapoentjes" ("The Funny Kids").

Initially, the main character Ketje - one of the boys from "De Lustige Kapoentjes" - gave his name to the series, and the first three albums were published under the title "Ketje en Co". The albums were subsequently released under the title "Heibel en Ketje", and from album 9 onwards under the name "De avonturen van Ketje". From that point on, the girl Poes, the niece of Professor Zilverberg, also played a prominent role. In total, 20 albums were published between 1967 and 1971.

"De geheime gang" cover

No 11 "De geheime gang"
- black and white
- publisher: Het Volk
- never published in English
- drawings by Hurey (Hugo De Reymaeker)
- story by Hurey (Hugo De Reymaeker)

The main characters in this album are Ketje, Poes, Jan Heibel, Mollekens, Police inspector, Mollekens gang members.

Ketje

Poes

Jan Heibel and Ketje

Synopsis
Poes and Ketje are invited to spend their holiday at the seaside, staying in Jan Heibel’s villa. A certain Mollekens offers to buy the villa for ten million, but Jan refuses. At night, sinister events take place in a bunker dating back to the Second World War, and Poes is eventually abducted...

Ketje, Mollekens and Poes

Mollekens gang members

Police inspector

Trivia

• Ketje (or ket) is a word from the Brussels dialect used to refer to a child or boy, especially a streetwise lad.
• References are made to figures from the BRT (Belgian Radio and Television Broadcasting): Pieter Verlinden (sound engineer and composer), Paula Semer (television presenter), Armand Pien (weatherman), and Paul Vandenbussche (Director-General of the BRT).
• Reference to the song “Tu veux ou tu veux pas”, notably performed by Brigitte Bardot in 1970.

References to BRT figures

Reference to the song “Tu veux ou tu veux pas”

Cars

• Lotus Elan
• Mercedes-Benz W108/W109
• Unidentified police van

Lotus Elan

Mercedes-Benz W108/W109

Unidentified police van