La Table du 9e art : drawing the Belgian monarchy

An exclusive and intimate preview of ‘Les Rois des Belges’ the first comic to chronicle the story of the Belgian monarchy.

The second edition of la Table du 9e art is celebrating the release on September 5 of ‘Les Rois des Belges’. With its novelistic style, plot twists, and time jumps, this comic takes the reader on a gripping journey through Belgian history.

In a conversation moderated by Anthony Wolf, authors Jean-Philippe Thivet and Arnaud de la Croix, along with illustrator Vicente Cifuentes, will join us for lunch and take us behind the scenes of this much-anticipated project — the first comic to tell the unvarnished story of the Belgian monarchy, presenting the facts truthfully and in context.

A lunchtime event not to be missed for anyone curious about the history of Belgium since its birth in 1830.

The conversation will be followed by a book signing with all three creators of 'Les Rois des Belges' (Le Lombard). A unique chance to get your hands on a copy before its official release on September 5, 2025.

speaker

Born in Albacete, Spain, Vicente Cifuentes is a self-taught cartoonist and illustrator. He developed a passion for reading comic books at a very young age. He has been working in this field for over 25 years and has hundreds of albums to his name. He has worked for some of the biggest superhero labels, such as Batgirl, Aquaman, X-Men... He created the graphic novel of the film ‘Suicide Squad’. He also had the opportunity to adapt H.G. Wells' ‘War of the Worlds’ (Glénat). He loves fantasy stories, thrillers and horror stories. His realistic drawings are precise, well researched and highly effective.

speaker

Born in Brussels, Arnaud de la Croix is a philosopher by training and a historian by passion. It was while reading ‘Les Rois maudits’ that he caught the Middle Ages bug. He has devoted several successful books to this period, such as ‘Les Templiers, chevaliers du Christ ou hérétiques ?’ and ‘L'Erotisme au Moyen Age’ (Editions Tallandier), both translated into a dozen languages. In recent years, his research has begun to focus on secret societies: his ‘Hitler and Freemasonry’ (Racine) is a reference work, as is his investigation into ‘The Illuminati’ (Racine).

speaker

Jean-Philippe Thivet is a Franco-Belgian author, editor and producer. As a comic book author, Jean-Philippe Thivet published the first volume of Philocomix in 2017 with Rue de Sèvres (L'école des loisirs): it was an international success (over 100,000 copies sold; translated into Italian, Spanish, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, simplified and traditional Chinese). Two further volumes of Philocomix followed, then Libres de penser. At the same time, he wrote scripts for titles devoted to the history of Belgium (“Bruxelles”, 3 volumes published by Petit à Petit, and “Les Rois des Belges”, published by Lombard).

moderator

Anthony Wolf is serving as the Partner and Head of Financial Services Belgium at Sia. With over 20 years of experience in the sector, he has a strong expertise in sustainable projects (ESG) and he is an advocate of the fight against climate change. Apart from his work at Sia, Anthony is active in the world of comic books. He is the grandson of Raymond Leblanc, founder of Journal Tintin, Editions du Lombard and Belvision film studios. He supports young artists through the Raymond Leblanc prize. This international award annually grants €20,000 and a publishing contract with Futuropolis, Le Lombard or Casterman to the candidate selected from 250 submissions by a panel of professionals.

La Table du 9e art : drawing the Belgian monarchy

Vicente Cifuentes

Arnaud de la Croix

Jean-Philippe Thivet

Anthony Wolf

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La Table du 9e art : drawing the Belgian monarchy

Vicente Cifuentes

Arnaud de la Croix

Jean-Philippe Thivet

Anthony Wolf

Become a member

Reach us

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