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Gustave Verbeek
Gustave Verbeck (1867 - 1937) was the son of a Dutch missionary in Tokio.
He was born in Nagasaki, grew up in Japan and studied arts in Paris. Around 1900 he moved to the United States,
where his name was misspelled as Verbeek by an immigration officer. He continued using
both names. He worked as a cartoonist, illustrator and painter, but he's remembered for
his incredible upside-down cartoons "The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old
Man Muffaroo" which appeared in the New York Herald from October 11, 1903 to January 15, 1905.
He made a total of 64 upside down comics, which must have been an incredibly difficult task.
Every image should not only be reversible on its own, but should also fit into the story. The most
famous drawing he ever made is the one on top of this page. First you see how Muffaroo is attacked
by a big fish in his canoe. Turned upside down, you see Lovekins being caught by a giant bird.
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Fragment from "The Mermaid and the Floating Mine". In het beginning of the story, Lovekins and Muffaroo have built a boat and a wigwam. To the end of the story, they hit a mine and they're thrown in the air. The wigwam becomes the effect of the explosion. |
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This is a part of "A fish story", and Verbeeks most famous drawing. "The largest of the Rocs picks her up by the skirt." Turned upside down : "Just as he reaches a small grassy point of land, another fish attacks him, lashing furiously with his tail." |
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One day, Lovekins and Muffaroo come to a beautiful lake, just like a mirror, and on its shores they see a lovely palace, toward which they make their way ... |
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A panel from "Exciting Times at the Sea-Shore". In panel 2, the beginning of the story, Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo are stepping into the dressing-rooms. In panel 11, near the end, they are leaving. |
The Thrilling Adventure of The Dragon - Gustave Verbeek, 1904 |
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Comic from the series of "The Upside-Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo". Lovekins and Muffaroo are startled by a load roar and a sound of whirring wings . . . |
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