Brussels' Comic Book Route



Brussels' Comic Book Route (Parcours BD de Bruxelles; Striproute van Brussel) is a path composed by several comic strip murals, which cover the walls of several buildings throughout the inner City of Brussels, as well as the neighbourhoods of Laeken and Auderghem. The large comic strip murals depict scenes from various popular Belgian comics, for instance The Adventures of Tintin, The Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Gaston, and Marsupilami.

History
The project began in 1991 as an initiative of the local authorities of the City of Brussels in collaboration with the Belgian Comic Strip Center. Initially, the project only intended to embellish empty walls and gables of buildings in the city. It then became an opportunity to celebrate the rich comic book heritage of Brussels, which claims to be the capital of the "comic strip".

Nowadays, the Brussels' Comic Book Route offers more than 50 mural paintings, most of them located inside the Pentagon (as the city centre is often called due to its geometrical shape). Following its trail, the Comic Book Route is a good way to discover the capital and even penetrate some neighbourhoods less crowded by tourists. The Brussels tourist association Pro Velo organises a two-hour bike tour starting at the Bicycle Riders House (Maison des cyclistes).

Broussaille was the first comic book wall to be painted, based on an original project of the comic book artist Frank Pé. With its surface of about 35 m2, the mural painting was inaugurated in July 1991 at the intersection between the Rue du Marché au Charbon/Kolenmarkt and the Rue des Teinturiers/Verversstraat. As with most of the mural paintings, the association Art Mural was in charge of the execution of the work.

Art Mural is an association created by five artists in 1984, mainly aimed to realise mural painting in public areas. Since 1993, it has been devoted to the creation and realisation of new murals for Brussels' Comic Book Route, with a rhythm of two to three new works per year. Georgios Oreopoulos and David Vandegeerde are the only two remaining founder members of the association, having been involved in all the projects and murals, helped with a large number of other artists who have collaborated and worked with them.