New lease on life for strip characters in theme park

WESTERBORK - A group of Drenthe comic strip enthusiasts have made a giant step towards the creation of a new theme park around the popular strip characters Jan, Jans en de kinderen (also known as Jack, Jackie and the Juniors). The organizers of the proposed attraction De Hof van Jan, Jans en de kinderen are hopeful they will be granted permission to use the artist’s characters. The nine-hectare theme park will be located in Westerbork, near Drenthe’s capital of Assen. The plans have been formulated and will soon be analyzed by experts for their viability. Now 77, Kruis gained valuable experience early in his career working for well-known Dutch comics pioneer Marten Toonder. Kruis started his own comics career drawing "Prins Freddie" for the magazine De Havenloods, but became famous thanks to his series of one-pagers, called Jan, Jans en de Kinderen, first published in 1970 in Libelle, a woman's magazine, and in Spick, a Swiss magazine for children and teenagers. It also ran in Favorit, a German publication as Ulli, Ulla und die Kinder.