Eric Hercules and Gerben Valkema will present the first copy of ‘Elsje – The sunken dress’ to the mayor of Texel, Michiel Uitdehaag, this afternoon. The story is about the dress that was found in the ancient Palmwood wreck that was discovered in 2014 by Texel divers.
It is like a festive day for Eric Hercules. “We are going to offer the first copy at 4 p.m. in Museum Kaap Skil, where the sunken dress is located, to the mayor of Texel,” he says happily on NH Radio.
Eric doesn’t want to reveal too much before the ceremony, but he can provide a little glimpse of what’s going on. “It’s about Else, a cartoon girl who is feisty and cute. We made five stories and the most important one is about the sunken dress.”
In the story, but also in real life, everyone wonders who owned that beautiful dress. “That ship probably sank somewhere between 1620 and 1630 and that dress belonged to a very important, perhaps noble lady,” says Eric. “There are hundreds of scientists around the world asking, ‘Where does it come from? Whose does it belong to? What country does it come from?’.” In the comic strip it is ‘revealed’ who owned the dress.
Texel
Although the story is based on the great riddle of the dress, it is a fictional dot book. According to the maker, it is full of humor. “We also enjoyed giving our own opinion about it and seeing what people think of that story.” He is curious whether people agree with the solution they have proposed. “Even the royal family is at stake in the story.”
Eric has lived on Texel for decades and he often uses the island in his comics. He and Gerben Valkema know each other from their time with Jan, Jans and the children. “We have dedicated several pages to Texel and this is also the third album that we are launching on Texel that is also about Texel.” Comic girl Else lives on the island. “It would be crazy not to talk about Texel often.”