Vilhelm Hansen

Vilhelm Hansen was a Danish cartoonist and illustrator best known as the co-creator, with his wife Carla, of the beloved children's comic *Rasmus Klump* (known in English as *Bruin* or *Petzi*). He was born on May 6, 1900, in Denmark, and died on December 23, 1992. Trained as a lithographer, Vilhelm worked primarily as an advertising artist between the world wars. It was only in the 1940s that he began drawing comics and illustrating the stories written by Carla. Their collaborative strip, following the adventures of a bear, a pelican, a penguin, and other animal friends, debuted in Denmark on November 17, 1951. It quickly became one of the most popular European children's comics, translated and distributed widely by publishers such as Carlsen Comics and Casterman. After 1965, Vilhelm and Carla stopped producing new stories, though their names remained on the albums as other artists—including Tove Nørgaard, and later Ole Munk Rasmussen and Paul Arne Kring—continued the series. In 2002, Vilhelm was honored with a Danish postage stamp.