Written by: Peter Van Gucht
Illustrations: Luc Morjaeu
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
Suske en Wiske #331 Sooi en Sientje – Comic Book Review
What if you’re used to helping people with their troubles, going on adventures every few days and are considered worldwide heroes, and suddenly it all stops. You get replaced by some local nobodies and you’re forcefully pushed to the background. You’re washed up, obsolete and above all no one places you in the spotlight anymore. It seems Suske and Wiske and their loved ones, find themselves in such a predicament. Whilst retirement might sound like a decent option, it’s not quite an option for the family, as their demotion to side characters also threatens their very existence.
After the fan day for Suske and Wiske, it’s clear that these local heroes have a huge following that simply adores whatever they do. The heroic group gets many requests to help with certain mysteries and adventure lurks around every corner. Nonetheless, things take a bad turn when a package, that was originally intended for them, gets delivered to two other children, Sooi and Sientje. Of course, the sudden change in address was no accident, as there was clearly some ‘address-altering-magic’ involved. This seemingly trivial act does have gigantic consequences as Sooi and Sientje immediately get promoted to local heroes. Due to this Suske, Wiske and the rest are simply background noise in their own adventure(s).
Whilst Suske is not immediately bothered by letting someone else shine for a moment, his opinion rapidly shifts when everyone suddenly starts losing their colors and starts fading away. It seems that there can be only one heroic duo in this comic book series.
The flow is quite steadily paced, where you’ll get sufficient information, together with enough exciting scenes to pique your interest just enough. Nonetheless, whilst the story is very original, it’s also bothersome in a certain way and thus it leaves us with mixed feelings. Suske and Wiske love what they do and they make every adventure feel like you’re right there with them, but in this issue they are very aware that they are comic book characters, thus ruining that specific magic just a bit. It makes them seem as if they see these adventures as a regular day-to-day job and don’t really care that much about it anyway.
Illustration wise this issue is also quite entertaining, especially thanks to the contrast of the main characters who are suddenly without color and/or fading away. It makes them stand out even more, even though they are (normally) the main characters of the story.
Conclusion
Suske en Wiske #331 Sooi en Sientje shines a new light on the series by placing the main characters a bit to the background and what consequences this has for the characters. Whilst the issue loses a specific kind of magic, due to the awareness of the characters that they are in fact comic book characters, the story proves to be very entertaining, as well as original. Certainly a great read if you’re into something refreshing.
Suske en Wiske #331 Sooi en Sientje - Comic Book Review,
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