'Rembrandt' (2013).
Typex is a Dutch comic creator and illustrator, renowned for his versatility in styles and techniques. As a cartoonist, he debuted during the 1980s with children's comics in newspaper Het Parool and Taptoe magazine, still signing with his own name, Raymond Koot. Adopting the Typex moniker, he expanded his illustration work to a wide array of magazines, while creating comics like 'Melkman' (1996), a tribute spoof of Henk Sprenger's classic 'Kick Wilstra' comic (1999, 2004) and three issues of his experimental solo magazine Chorizo (2000-2003). Both in the Netherlands and abroad, he found critical acclaim with his "factual fiction" comic biographies about 17th-century painter Rembrandt van Rijn ('Typex' Rembrandt', 2013), pop art legend Andy Warhol ('Typex's Andy', 2018) and 18th-century philosopher Moses Mendelssohn ('Moishe', 2022). Named a "rock 'n' roll artist par excellence", Typex is a prominent illustrator of pop-cultural and music-related subjects for magazines like OOR and VPRO Gids.
'Typex's Andy' (2018).
Early life and influences
Raymond Koot was born in 1962 in Amsterdam. He spent most of his upbringing in the city's Buitenveldert district. His father was a representative in adhesive plastic and floor mats - more stylishly said, "bath fashion" - his mother had her roots in Amsterdam's folksy Jordaan district. Their marriage ended in divorce. When Raymond was a child, the Koot family received the so-called "leesmap", a collection of weekly periodicals, passed on from household to household. The Koots were usually at the end of the line, so by the time they received the package, the magazines were already eight weeks old. Through the "leesmap", the young Typex discovered the art of comics through Robbedoes magazine (the Dutch-language edition of Spirou), where particularly the 'Petits Hommes' feature by Pierre Seron caught his attention. In later years, he also read other comic magazines, such as Donald Duck, Pep, Kuifje and Mad. As a teen, he began frequenting Kees Kousemaker's comic store Lambiek, introducing him to the Amsterdam comic scene.
An early influence on his own artwork was his half-brother, a drug addict ten years older, who made psychedelic artwork. In later interviews, Typex has cited Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb and Peter Pontiac as important graphic influences. By visualizing the lyrics of the music he was listening to, he also developed a passion for music. An interest he shares with his full brother Patrick, who later became a record store employee and DJ, performing with his wife as "DJ's Mr & Mevr Koot". Between 1980 and 1985, Typex attended the Amsterdam University of the Arts.
'De Kalkoen en de Jaarwisseling' (Het Parool's Goochem page, 29 December 1984).
Early comics
In 1982, while still a student, Typex published his first work in De Balloen, the rebel comic magazine of publisher Ger van Wulften. His contributions were "artistic jokes", inspired by the free work of Lucebert and Kamagurka. At Van Wulften's Espee offices, he was introduced to alternative comic creators like Windig & De Jong, Aart Clerkx and Paul Bodoni, who became lifelong friends. Shortly after joining De Balloen, Typex also began submitting weekly comic strips to Goochem, the children's page of the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool. In the 1980s, he also appeared in De Volkskrant with 'Dik Buik', a comic about a little boy growing up inside his mother's belly.
At the end of the 1980s, Typex had a regular spot in Taptoe, a school magazine for children published by Malmberg. At first, he did stand-alone picture stories with absurd humor about all sorts of subjects, including the Stone Age, Laurel & Hardy, the Wild West, shadows and carrots. Later he began using Joke and Onno as recurring characters, two school kids who become friends with the alien Rinus. During the early 1990s, his collaboration with Malmberg stranded, although in the second half of the decade, he returned in the publisher's English-language magazine Hello You with the feature 'I Claudia'.
'Ei!' from Taptoe 1990-1991 issue #10.
From Koot to Typex
All of this early work was created under the artist's own name, Raymond Koot. It wasn't until the early 1990s that he began using the pen name Typex, after the white Tipp-Ex correction fluid. Regarding the origin of the name, the artist explained that a friend and he used to give each other nonsensical nicknames, respectively "Turtle" and "Typex". In another interview, Typex said he used to be called "King Typex" because of his extensive use of the fluid. Nowadays, Raymond Koot is basically only known as Typex. His friends, partner and daughter all call him that way, it became his name on the door plate and in the phonebook. In his artwork, a little Tipp-Ex bottle appears regularly as a name tag and in some comic strips, he uses the object as a visualization of himself.
'Potpourri' page for OOR magazine (1996), depicting a wind-up toy of Zach de la Rocha, lead singer of Rage Against the Machine.
Illustrator
As Typex, Raymond Koot expanded his illustration and design work during the 1990s. An important client became the music magazine OOR, where he succeeded Peter Pontiac as the main music illustrator. Besides the Mad-inspired satirical 'Potpourri' strip, Typex has made full-page article illustrations, as well as drawings for the album of the month in the review section. Typex's illustrations have additionally appeared in magazines and newspapers like VPRO Gids, Vrij Nederland, Intermediair, NRC, Volkskrant Magazine, Kijk, Nieuwe Revu and the Belgian Humo magazine and Mojo in the UK. Further artwork about movies and other pop culture saw print in De Filmkrant, Zone 5300, Schokkend Nieuws and Furore. For NRC, he made concert reports in comic format, covering artists like James Brown, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan. In 2002, he was also involved in the satirical magazine PIM ("Politically Incorrect Magazine"). Within the music industry, he has additionally provided artwork to MOJO concerts, the Concerto record store in Amsterdam, and festivals like Lowlands and Crossing Border.
Cover illustrations for VPRO Gids (2011) and Bzzletin Geïllustreerd (1997).
Comics
On the side, Typex continued to create comics. Since the start in 1998, he has published regularly in the pop cultural magazine Zone 5300, including early installments of his 'Chorizo' strip (1994-1995) and the feature 'De Belevenissen van Moortje Poes' (1995-1998). Besides Zone 5300, Typex has also contributed to other alternative comic magazines and anthologies, such as Eisner, Scratches and Aline. His first solo comic book was 'Melkman' (Oog & Blik, 1996), a story about the repetitive life of an old-fashioned Dutch milkman. In 2024, this comic story was adapted into a short film, written, directed and performed by the seventeen-year-old Sem Donkers.
'Wilstra' (2004).
Wilstra
For his next comic project, Typex took another symbol of classic Dutch society, this time Henk Sprenger's comic book soccer hero 'Kick Wilstra'. In 'De Nieuwe Avonturen van Kick Wilstra' (De Plaatjesmaker, 1999), Typex provided a fictitious biography of this famous comic character from the 1950s. The booklet was one of the early installments in Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit's Pincet series of mini-comics. Five years later, Typex returned to this character, this time with a regular 'Wilstra' feature in Vrij Nederland magazine. Over the course of 2004, the magazine ran this mix of tribute and parody, in which Typex gave a funny and satirical look at the narrow-minded Dutch village life of the 1930s. The initial idea was to cover the history of the entire 20th century, but when Typex's editor Xandra Schutte was fired from Vrij Nederland, the feature came to an end. In November 2004, the final episode was published. By then, publisher Oog & Blik had already released one retro-style 'Wilstra' comic book, published in the traditional landscape-format of classic Dutch comics ('Die goeie ouwe crisis', 2004).
'Chorizo'.
Chorizo
Between 2000 and 2003, Oog & Blik published three issues of Typex's English-language 'Chorizo' comic book. With this title, Typex tried to evoke the atmosphere of the classic comic magazines of his youth. Naming it a "youth magazine for adults", he filled the books with all kinds of comics and sections, using different styles and techniques. A recurring feature was an adolescent version of Annie M.G. Schmidt and Fiep Westendorp's children's book characters 'Jip en Janneke', whom he portrayed as sex-crazed mice. With wiry Smurfs and a saggy version of Tarzan called Roro, Typex also spoofed other well-known characters. For its editorial sections, Chorizo had a Modern Art Quiz and a page with cartoons about a deserted island, all crafted in a classic cartoon style. Using a fragmentary approach, Typex also included segments of serials, like the mythological 'Arkadia' feature.
'Typex' Rembrandt' (2013).
Typex' Rembrandt
After a long interlude from comics, Typex returned with his first full-length graphic novel, a comic biography of the Dutch 17th-century painter Rembrandt Van Rijn. The project was a commission from the Rijksmuseum, which was about to reopen its doors in 2013 after several years of renovations and redecorations. Initially, the book was to be scripted by "comics intendant" Gert Jan Pos with storyboard layouts by Gerrit de Jager, but eventually Typex chose to create his own story. Documenting himself about life during the 17th century in general and Rembrandt in particular, Typex quickly discovered that not many facts about the painter's everyday life were known. As references, he had to work with his birth and death dates, a bankruptcy declaration with an inventory of his household furniture and some text fragments revealing a bit of his personality. Because of this limited historical input, Typex decided to give his own impression of Rembrandt, with each of the ten chapters revolving around another person in Rembrandt's life, including his lovers, children, students and taskmasters. Rembrandt himself was portrayed with several character flaws, including grumpiness, alcoholism and adultery. As the author took the liberty to give the story a personal spin, the title of the book became 'Typex' Rembrandt'.
'Typex' Rembrandt' (2013).
For the art style and colors, Typex took inspiration from the many Rembrandt paintings, sketches and prints in the Rijksmuseum collection. Several characters were given the looks of people from Typex's own circle of friends and family. While Rembrandt had made many self-portraits, Typex gave the character his own mustache and goatee, as well as his father's bumpy nose and drooping eyes. Rembrandt's daughter Cornelia was modeled after Typex's daughter Sammy, while his wife Joli was the inspiration for the wife of Rembrandt's son Titus. In crowd scenes, several of his artist friends were portrayed as extras, including René Windig, Eddie de Jong, Windig & De Jong, Aart Clerkx and Wasco. After three years of work, 'Typex' Rembrandt' was published in 2013 to much critical acclaim by Oog & Blik/De Bezige Bij. Appearing in translation in fifteen other countries, the book also signified the artist's international breakthrough.
'Typex's Andy'.
Typex's Andy
As he has always been inspired by American pop culture, Typex chose the U.S. countercultural icon Andy Warhol as the subject of his next graphic novel. To avoid lawsuits and other copyright issues, Typex himself traveled to New York City to present his plans to the lawyers of the Warhol Foundation. Luckily, they felt the comic was in line with Warhol's philosophy, so the publisher could secure the reproduction rights for only a limited amount of money. A project five years in the making, Typex again chose the path of "factual fiction", giving his own impression of Warhol's life instead of a dry summation of facts and a recycling of often-repeated quotes. The result was a trip through American pop culture from the 1930s to the 1980s, divided in ten parts.
Each chapter focused on another segment of Warhol's life, dealing with his turbulent youth, the troubled relationship with his mother, his fascination with Truman Capote, his first successes and the 1968 murder attempt on his life. A mosaic of small and big stories, the book also shows how Warhol suffered from his physique, how he elevated sex to an art form and how he first adored celebrities and then dropped them. To evoke the spirit of the time, each chapter was presented as a separate magazine, drawn and designed in a different style. Warhol's life story begins in black and white pencil art, as it was a time when color television and films did not exist. As the story progresses, Typex took inspiration from colorful pop art (the artist's rise to fame), mushy romance comics (Warhol's relationship with Edie Sedgwick) and an edgy punk style (the murder attempt by radical feminist Valerie Solanas).
Each chapter of 'Typex's Andy' came with a separate cover and accompanying art style.
On 7 November 2018, a release party was held at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, where Claw Boys Claw, Hello Venray and six other bands performed music of The Velvet Underground. A joint production between Scratch Books in the Netherlands and the French-language publisher Casterman, 'Typex's Andy: Feitelijke Fictie: De Vele Levens van Andy Warhol' ('Typex's Andy: A Factual Fairytale: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol', 2018) was released simultaneously in fourteen countries and in six languages. In many ways, the book was a monumental tour de force. Numbering almost 600 pages, the single-volume had the design of a deluxe washing powder box with a shiny silver print, weighing over 1,5 kilos. To keep his audience sane, Typex advised readers to devour his book by one chapter at a time. In 2020 and 2021, Scratch released the ten chapters as separate comic books.
'Je Moeder!' (De Volkskrant, 28 May 2020).
Je Moeder!
Right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Netherlands in March 2020, newspaper De Volkskrant asked Typex for new ideas for a visual column. As the country was in lockdown, Typex recalled an almost surreal situation where he had to communicate with his mother through the intercom, leaned forward, and go down to the store to buy bananas for her. He decided to capture their little conversations in comic strip format. Each Wednesday, from 9 April to 1 October 2020, his 'Je Moeder!' feature ran weekly in De Volkskrant, printed in a column format with five rows of three panels. In these touching slice-of-life strips, Typex not only chronicled life during lockdown, but also the relationship he and his younger brother Pat have with their mother and their home city. In 2021, the 25 episodes were collected in book format by Nijgh & Van Ditmar under the title 'Je Moeder! Lief en Leed op Anderhalve Meter'.
'Moishe' (2022).
Moishe
After this first autobiographical excursion, Typex returned to biographies in comics format. Following the success of both 'Typex' Rembrandt' and 'Typex's Andy', he was asked by the Jewish Museum in Berlin to create a comic about Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), a German philosopher and theologian during the Age of Enlightenment. Known as the "Berlin Socrates" or "Berlin Jew", Mendelssohn was a small, hunchbacked, shy and stuttering man, who at the same time fascinated his contemporaries with his elegant writing style and friendly and diplomatic attitude. Like in his previous work, Typex tried to evoke the atmosphere of the 18th century by using stylistic forms typical for that time period. In six different anecdotes from Mendelssohn's life, he experimented freely with lavishly designed pages and out-of-the-box narratives. 'Moishe' was released in 2022 by Scratch Books.
(Children's) books
Besides newspapers and magazines, Typex has also been active as an illustrator for books, notably the "Golden" and "Silver" book series of publisher Rubinstein. In 2006, he wrote and drew the fantasy-flavored picture book 'De Wolkenfabriek' ("The Cloud Factory"), which was also released in China. In Rubinstein's 'Hollandse Helden' series, Typex wrote and drew 'Rembrandt: Sst! Papa aan het werk' (2015), about the painter Rembrandt and his daughter, and he illustrated 'Willem van Oranje: Het Hondje van de Prins' (2015) by Agave Kruijssen. Other books with Typex illustrations are 'Amerigo Amerigo' by Bibi Dumon Tak (Blue in Green, 2010) and 'Wien' by Phil van Tongeren (Odessa Press, 2016), the latter a founder of the founder of Wien, a chic retail chain for furniture, fabrics, prints and other home furnishings.
Free work by Typex, large charcoal drawing (2009).
Graphic contributions
In addition to his commercial work, Typex has been making personal work, including oversized charcoal drawings and cut out paper artwork. Over the years, he has also participated in several collective projects. In 1985, Typex was one of several graphic artists to contribute to the anthology book 'Tegenaanval' (De Lijn, 1985), which protested against the conviction of comic artist Wim Stevenhagen who refused to fulfill his military service. Internationally, Typex was represented in Art Spiegelman and Robert Sikoryak's chain comic 'The Narrative Corpse' (Raw Books, 1995) and in the massive 1999 anthology book 'Comix 2000' of the French publisher L'Association. In 2019, he also appeared in 'Generatie Asterix', an international tribute book by Ballon Media to Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny's 'Astérix' comic.
In his home country, Typex was one of many Dutch artists making a comic interpretation of a song for the anthology 'Strips in Stereo' (2006), initiated by Jean-Marc van Tol and Gerrit de Jager. Typex picked the Osdorp Posse song 'Moordenaar', based on lyrics by Def P. He later also appeared in the 2010 anthology 'Mooi Is Dat!', visualizing Vondel's 'Lucifer' play, and in 'Filmfanfare' (2012), giving a comic interpretation of the 1966 Bert Haanstra documentary film 'De Stem van het Water'. Typex paid homage to Marten Toonder in the tribute book 'Was Tom Poes Maar Hier - Een Hommage aan Marten Toonder' (De Bezige Bij, 2006). In 2012, Typex, along with several other Dutch artists, contributed to 'Bommel en de Bovenbazen', a collectively redrawn version of Marten Toonder's classic 'Tom Poes' story, serialized in NRC Handelsblad between 2 May through 21 September 2012.
Typex has also been one of the artists participating in Gerrie Hondius's 'Teken Mijn Verhaal' ("Draw My Story") initiative, a foundation that draws out the (comic) stories created by handicapped children. Further contributions by Typex appeared in local Amsterdam projects like the Oeverloos comic paper by Maia Matches (2016), Mark Schalken's 2021 collective graphic novel 'De Vleesvrije Stad' ("The Meat Free City") and Chad Bilyeu's 'Megillah Sunday Funnies' (2023), a tribute to American Sunday comics, which coincided with an exposition at the OBA public library.
Part of a celebration comic strip for 40 years of comic shop Lambiek (2008).
Collaborations with artist friends
A prominent member of the Dutch comic scene, Typex has regularly collaborated with like-minded creators. In the 1990s, he became good friends with fellow music illustrator Peter Pontiac, whose atelier he frequented and with whom he attended the 1995 Lowlands festival, creating artwork for Concerto. Over the years, Typex and Pontiac produced much artwork for Lowlands, a selection of which was collected in the self-published comic 'Lost in the Lowlands' (1996) and the book 'Lowlands Love Letters' (Concerto Books, 2021). In their comics, the authors regularly portrayed themselves after their pen names, as a bottle of Tipp-Ex and a Pontiac emblem. In 1997, comic shop Lambiek published 'The Quick Brown Fax' (1997), a collection of the illustrated fax correspondence between Typex and Peter Pontiac.
With the Lamelos collective, consisting of Sam Peeters, Boris Peeters, Jeroen Funke and Aleks Deurloo, Typex has participated in both performances and comic projects. He was a contributor to one of the collective's 'Kaasheld' comic books, and also to their 2006 Donald Duck spoof for Parcifal magazine. In 2009, Typex and the Lamelos team produced 'Spekkie Pik in het Seksbos' (Bries, 2009), a mini-comic spoofing Marc van der Holst's 'Spekkie Big' comic. One of Typex's oldest friends in the Dutch comic scene is the experimental artist Wasco, with whom he has worked on several editions of the artistic comic anthology series Aline (2019- ).
Typex's 2010 Grinderman illustration. Lead singer Nick Cave is caricatured at the left.
Recognition and legacy
In 1996, Typex received the Incentive Prize for Illustration from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. The jury praised him for his "courage, energy and happy-go-lucky drawing style, which goes outside the path of illustration protocols", and awarded him prize money of 7,500 guilders (about 3,400 euros or 3,650 U.S. dollars). In 2013, Typex's graphic novel 'Rembrandt' won the Belgian Willy Vandersteen Prize. Following the international success of 'Andy', Typex was awarded the 2019 Stripschap Prize by Dutch comic appreciation society Het Stripschap, for his entire body of work. He received the prize during the 23-24 March 2019 Stripdagen comic festival in Utrecht. The 'Andy' biography was also in the race for the 2019 Grand Prix of Angoulême.
Over the years, Typex's artwork has been the subject of several expositions, often in combination with other artists. In 1998, Typex and Chilli King (AKA Ben Westervoorde) exhibited their work at the Gallery Klerkx & Van Heerden in Haarlem. In 2010, Typex's work was represented along with that of other Dutch artists at the Barcelona International Comic Fair (Ficomic) in Spain. One of the biggest Typex expositions to date was held in 2019 at the Gallery Zola in Aix-en-Provence, France.
'Studio's Typex'.
Within comic circles, Typex is widely praised for his versatility, particularly Kim Duchateau, Erik Kriek and Peter van Dongen have namechecked him in interviews. His music illustrations have also made Typex a popular artist among musicians. Henk Hofstede of The Nits particularly mentioned him in an interview in StripNieuws #58. Several stars have requested the original artwork from their portrayals in OOR or Mojo magazine. For instance, rock musician Nick Cave was very fond of a drawing Typex made of his band Grinderman. When the singer spotted him in the audience during a concert in Groningen, he exlaimed: "the second greatest Dutch artist – first there was Rembrandt, then there was Typex."
Typex's daughter Sammy Koot (b. 1992) has also found work in the comic industry. Since 2021, she is foreign rights manager with the Belgian publishing house Oogachtend.
Typex at the 45th anniversary party of comic shop Lambiek in 2013.