Willebrord Jan Frans Maria Vandersteen was born in Antwerp on 15 February 1913. His family lived in the Seefhoek, a poor quarter of the city, where his father Francis Vandersteen worked as a decorator and wood sculptor. His studio lay next to a printer that produced "De Kindervriend", one of the first weekly youth magazines in Flanders. Willy Vandersteen, only four years old, read the new magazine there every week, including "Blutske", an early comic strip. His mother Anna Gerard was more interested in ballet and singing. One of her favourites, Wiske Ghijs, may well have been the inspiration for the name "Wiske" he gave to one of the main characters in his main series "Spike and Suzy".