Cor van Deutekom worked in the Dutch Indies in the years before World War II. He made political cartoons for newspapers and worked as a journalist for magazine d'Orient. He also did advertising art for Bataafche Petroleum in Surabaya, as well as General Motors and Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij in Batavia.
He was an artist with the Nenasu, the Dutch national-socialist publisher during World War II. He illustrated books by Max Blokzijl and Jan Rudolf Hommes and succeeded Peter Beekman as the artist of the section 'Rare, Maar Ware Commentaren' in the NSB weekly Volk en Vaderland in December 1942.
Starting in February 1943, he drew a daily strip in Twentsch Nieuwblad, called 'Joco' ('Joco's Avontuur in China', 'De Maanbruidegom', 'Joco en het Spookschip', 'Joco en het Circus', 'Joco Redt de Rog' and 'Joco's Vacantie-avontuur'). These stories were not of a national-socialist nature, but all the foreigners (Chinese, Arabs and Africans) had optimal chance to prove their "inferiority" (like in most comics of the time).
