Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée

Lonely Planet review

The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art, or Comic Strip Museum, is a wonderful showcase for Belgium's favourite art. Occupying the splendid Grand Magasin Waucquez, a 1906 Art Nouveau department store created by Victor Horta and painstakingly restored, this extensive collection displays work by Belgium's best-loved comic artists.

The upstairs galleries trace the origins of Belgian comic-strip art, from the publication of Tintin au Pays des Soviets (Tintin in the Land of the Soviets) by Hergé in 1929, to the post-WWII creation of Suske en Wiske (Bob and Bobette) by Willy Vandersteen, Morris' cowboy parody Lucky Luke and the loveable little blue and white creatures that creator Peyo (aka Pierre Culliford) called Le Schtroumpf, but became known as Smurfs in English.

The top level is devoted to comic strips from the 1960s onwards and contains works of social satire and thrilling sci-fi and fantasy stories. While part of the exhibition illustrates how comic strips are assembled, die-hard fans and aspiring comic artists will crave more preliminary sketches and original artwork. The avant-garde and edgier comics are also ignored in favour of the more mainstream strips. On the other hand, those new to the art may find the exhibition overwhelming - few labels in English doesn't help either, although there's an English-language booklet you can borrow from the ticket counter on the way in. The gift shop is excellent.