Erik Deneyer Death, Obituary – Over the course of 27 years, Erik Deneyer ran the lone comic book store in Brussels that catered to Dutch speakers. When Deneyer, who had been battling cancer for many years, passed away on Friday, the comic book industry in the Netherlands lost a great warrior, and Brussels lost its one and only Dutch comic book business. Nearly thirty years were spent by Deneyer as the proprietor of a comic book shop in the heart of Brussels. Initially, he operated ‘t B-gevaar in the Rue de la Fourche location; but, in more recent years, he relocated to the Rue des Bouchers location and established Expo 59. In addition, Deneyer published comics under the Enigma label. Some of the titles that were released under this imprint include: Excalibur, Usagi Yojimbo, Kane, L for Lloyd, and Harry’s Magazine.
Because of Deneyer’s passing, the sole comic book specialty store in Brussels that served customers in Dutch may soon close its doors. According to Tine Anthoni, who works at the Comic Museum, he defended the territory against all of the comics written in French. “He was always able to give his clients sound counsel at his little comic book business, and he always managed to locate the ideal comic for each of his customers at the very bottom of a stack of comics. For someone who like comics written in Dutch, this was unquestionably the best place to be. There, comics came into their own.” Anthoni and a lot of other people claim that Deneyer was an unparalleled comics fanatic. Many people had described him as having a huge knowledge of comics as well as being very critical and having high standards, which he stuck by forcefully when they were not realized. This is a quality that is difficult to maintain in the small world of comics because it is such a competitive industry.
Support for Deneyer is pouring in from all corners of the internet via various social media platforms. According to Catharina Kochuyt, who works at the Marc Sleen Museum, “He was the only Fleming who defended and promoted the Dutch-language world of comics with such ferocity.” “He was the only Fleming.” “Erik possessed the largest comic book heart in the history of the universe. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding comics. When I dared to proclaim myself an expert on comics, he would occasionally laugh at me since his knowledge extended far further than mine did at the time “Kurt Morissens, an authority on comics as well as the manager of Het Beeldend Verhaal, was eulogized.