Haagse Harry

"Harry really exists; I see these kinds of people around here every day. They always look angry and surly. They speak unintelligibly; only the illnesses come across clearly. Not much brains, but plenty of common sense. And they just keep complaining. The Hague Harrys swear at everything, even though they don't know the details of anything. It's just never good enough."

This is how Marnix Rueb characterized his comic character Haagse Harry in an interview, a year after he first drew him for the Hague nightlife magazine Doen. Editor-in-chief Robert-Jan Rueb asked his brother Marnix to create an illustration for an article about poets. Inspired by the working-class types in The Hague's Schilderswijk, where Marnix was living at the time, he put Harry on paper. Dressed in a tracksuit (also known as a 'camping tuxedo') and with 'Naaiks' on his feet, he recited a short 'erutical poem' from his poetry collection Ut plèn bè nach. Harry soon became a fixture in Doen; the readers appreciate the character with the big mouth and the small heart. 

The first album, titled Kap nâh!!!, was presented in November 1994 at the Diligentia theater in The Hague. Rueb had 10,000 copies printed independently. A reprint had to take place within a month, and ultimately 140,000 copies would be sold. It was indicative of the comic character's appeal: Haagse Harry was appreciated by readers far beyond The Hague.

The Hague's dialect: Plat Haags

The comic strip distinguished itself from other comics by its use of language. Plat Haags, spoken in large parts of the city, was written phonetically, so that readers had to make a bit more effort to understand all the texts. It was recommended to read the texts aloud, as that would help to understand what was being 'said'. 

Soon followed (in 1998) Ut groen-geile boekie, in which Marnix Rueb, together with his brother Robert-Jan and Sjaak Bral, compiled a glossary of words from The Hague – written phonetically, of course. This booklet also became a success, with many reprints. In 2020, a special 'Kerauna eidisie' (Corona edition) appeared, in which new terms from the corona period could be included, such as 'bekbedekkâh' (beak cover) and 'handsjel' (handgel). 

Sjaak Bral also applied the Hague dialect to existing titles. For instance, in 2020, Hague versions of two well-known picture books were published: Ut feis van Nijntje and De Gruffalau.

Marnix Rueb

Marnix was born on April 11, 1955, in Oegstgeest. He grew up in Benoordenhout in The Hague. He initially attended gymnasium, followed by atheneum, but found the lessons uninteresting. He actually only wanted to draw. A course in advertising drawing and photography was supposed to offer a solution, but Rueb did not feel at home there either. Eventually, he became the resident illustrator for the Hague entertainment newspaper Doen. Haagse Harry first appeared in this publication in 1991.

Marnix Rueb passed away on October 23, 2014. Both residents of The Hague reacted with deep sadness. The then-mayor, Jozias van Aartsen, said that Rueb “belonged to The Hague’s culture, to the lifestyle of our Hague society. Not only is Haagse Harry left without a father, but the city, too, is orphaned today.”

Haagse Harry in The Hague

The fact that Harry belonged to The Hague was made evident by the various appearances of the comic character in public spaces.

In 2009, Marnix participated in painting an electricity substation on The Hague's Valkenboskade, opposite his parents' house. The substation was damaged in 2022; a majority of local residents expressed a wish to keep the artwork intact. It can still be viewed.

In 2016, a statue of Haagse Harry appeared at the Grote Markt in The Hague city center, on top of the tram tunnel, which was often ridiculed by Rueb in his comics due to the costs, which turned out to be much higher than initially budgeted.

Leading up to the NATO summit in The Hague in the summer of 2024, artists were invited to create murals at various locations throughout the city. On Stadhouderslaan, artist Patrick Goos created a mural with Artdrenaline, a company specializing in airbrush and graffiti art. His *Haagse Harry* was combined with a Banksy artwork: Harry running after a heart-shaped balloon.