'Rats', De Waarheid, 26 February 1985. Translation: "Hm, once again one of those dirty, long-haired, work shy thugs. I'm going to act forcefully. Hola!" - "M-M". - "Oh dear, it's a woman!" - "Well, what's wrong with that?" - "Nothing, on the contrary, I might add." - "O.K., then hand over your wallet! And quick, because I have an appointment with the hairdresser!" - "Help!".
Remco de Korte is a Dutch graphic designer, teacher and comic artist who, during the 1980s, sometimes published under the pseudonym "Remco van Rotterdam'. He made contributions to the amateur magazines Rats and Baal, as well as the communist newspaper De Waarheid. His best remembered series was the gag comic 'Rats' (1980-1981, 1985)
Rats
Remco de Korte hailed from Rotterdam. With Paul Versluis, he published at least five issues of the amateur comic magazine Rats in 1980 and 1981. Besides work by De Korte, the issues also contained contributions from Marc de Boer, Johan Dorpmanns, Leo Immerzeel, Sam Siahaya, Tosti, Ted Valkenburg, Berend J. Vonk and Govert Zoethout. De Korte drew the title comic, 'Rats', which featured anthropomorphic rats in gag situations. Between 3 January and 1 April 1985 'Rats' also appeared in the Communist newspaper De Waarheid. The artist signed his newpaper strip with "Remco van Rotterdam", and appeared alongside new strips by Marc de Boer and Alfred Bryan. De Korte was part of a new generation of cartoonists who filled the paper's comics section, and largely came from the amateur magazines Rats, TNT and Baal. When he left the paper, new strips by Ernst van Veenendaal, Herwin Walravens and Gerrit Geitenoog made their appearance. In an interview with Van Veenendaal, Walravens and De Boer in Het Vrije Volk on 25 January 1985, the trio named Remco de Korte as one their favorite cartoonists, along with Peter Pontiac and American underground artists. Remco de Korte also contributed to several later issues of Marc de Boer's amateur comic magazine Baal in the early 1980s.
Cover illustration for 'Rats'.
Later career
Like most cartoonists from this new wave, De Korte disappeared off the comics radar in the mid-1980s. He spent the following decades working as a teacher at primary schools in Rotterdam. Since 1990 he additionally continued to work as a designer on several projects involving theatre design, interior decoration and furniture. His companies Onwijs and eeZee Media are specialized in educational multimedia and communication projects since the mid- 1990s.
'Rats'. The woman complains that she suffers from back pains and a violent husband. The doctor advises her to "kick".