Suske en Wiske #300 - 'Het Machtige Monument' (2008).
Luc Morjaeu is a Belgian comic artist and illustrator, who has worked on a variety of popular Flemish comic franchises, most notably 'Jommeke' and 'Suske en Wiske'. Starting his career with Dirk Michiels under the "Mormic Studios" banner, he worked on a variety child-oriented comic series, including an adaptation of the classic children's book 'Erik, of het Klein Insectenboek' (1990-1992) by Godfried Bomans, and a celebrity comic based on the Flemish TV show 'De Familie Backeljau' (mid-1990s). In the Jommekeskrant, he created his own gag comic about two witches, 'Biep en Zwiep' (1993-2002). Between 2000 and 2005, he alternated his time between working for Jef Nys on the 'Jommeke' comic, serving as art director for Studio 100's Plopsa Krant and working on new celebrity comics like 'M-Kids' (2000-2004). His collaboration with scriptwriter Peter van Gucht started with the gag comic 'Rafke de Raaf' (1999-2001), before continuing at Studio Vandersteen. Between 2005 and 2023, Morjaeu and Van Gucht headed the production team of Willy Vandersteen's long-running humor adventure series 'Suske en Wiske'. Morjaeu has also worked as a comic scriptwriter himself, penning stories for Thomas Du Caju's mystery action thriller series 'Sabbatini' (2005-2008).
Early life
Luc Morjaeu was born in 1960 in Niel, a town in the province Antwerp. As a child, he was copied drawings from the weekly comics paper Ons Volkske. Later, during school holidays, he made his own comic strips to entertain his friends and family. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, studying Graphic Design. He continued his studies at the National Higher Institute, also in Antwerp. At the age of 22, he shifted back towards comic art, presenting his portfolio to publishers and submitting his work to cartoon contests. When one time he won both the jury prize and the audience award, Morjaeu began to realize that he could try to make a living out of his comic art.
In the field of painting, he admires Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt Van Rijn, William Bouguereau, John Singer Sargent, Anders Leonard Zorn, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and René Magritte. His favorite illustrators are Walter Baumhofer, Arthur William Brown, Dean Cornwell, F.R. Gruger, Tom Lovell, Maed Schaeffer and Saul Tepper. Among his comic influences are masters of Flemish comics, like Willy Vandersteen, Jef Nys, Marc Sleen and Bob De Moor, creators of Franco-Belgian comics, including André Franquin, Morris, Maurice Tillieux, Jijé and Peyo, and the Americans Dan DeCarlo, Walt Disney and Bill Wenzel.
'Jacobus en Corneel' by Mormic.
Mormic Studios
In the first half of the 1980s, Morjaeu was fulfilling his civil service (an alternative to the military service) with the municipal services of Puurs. There, he met fellow aspiring cartoonist Dirk Michiels, who worked for the municipality as a staffer. By the mid-1980s, the two had teamed up to start the Mormic Studios, a collaboration that lasted until 1997. Their collective pseudonym "Mormic" was a contraction of the first syllables of their last names. One of their first assignments was working with writer Yaack Bakker on a celebrity comic based on the Flemish children's TV show 'Jacobus en Corneel', which ran in Stipkrant, the children's supplement of newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. A book collection was published by Standaard Uitgeverij in 1987.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Mormic team worked on commercial and advertising assignments, including Disney merchandising and artwork related to the Swiss claymation series 'Pingu'. At the height of their collaboration, the Mormic Studios had five people on staff. For the Belgian publishing company Zuidnederlandse Uitgeverij, Mormic made book covers, games and puzzles, while designing greeting cards for Hallmark. Their most prestigious and ambitious project was a four-volume comic book adaptation of Godfried Bomans' 1941 children's novel 'Erik, of het Klein Insectenboek' (1990-1992)., again scripted by Yaack Bakker. In Belgium, the stories were serialized in Stipkrant, and in the Netherlands in Minitoe, the newspaper supplement of Courant Nieuws van de Dag. For Suske en Wiske Weekblad, Mormic created four short stories with the alien characters 'De Mormics' (1993-1994).
'Erik, of het Klein Insectenboek' by Mormic (1990).
De Familie Backeljau
One of the later Mormic projects was the celebrity comic 'De Familie Backeljau', based on the TV series of the same name. In 1992, actor Luk Wyns and his wife Mitta van der Maat made regular contributions to the radio show 'Sjapoo' on the Antwerp radio channel Omroep Antwerpen. They had their own segment about a dysfunctional family named Backeljau. The silly, low-brow comedy was performed in Antwerp dialect. Listeners enjoyed the show so much that a year after its debut, it moved to the nationally broadcast channel Radio Donna. Between 1994 and 1997, it spawned a TV spin-off, 'De Familie Backeljau', broadcast on the commercial channel VTM. A celebrity comic spin-off followed soon after, scripted by Wyns and drawn by Luc Morjaeu, credited alternately under his own name or the Mormic pen name.
Like the radio and TV show, the 'Familie Backeljau' comic strip revolves around a working class family from Antwerp. Father Çois is lazy and aggressive, his wife Maria a TV-obsessed housewife. Their teenage son Franky is unemployed and often makes stupid remarks. As a running gag, his father always smacks him afterwards, citing his catchphrase: "Onnozel manneke!" ("Foolish kid!"). Daughter Sabrina is a dumb blonde, who mispronounces words. Çois' mother, Thérèse, nicknamed the "Bomma" ("Grandmama"), is a hip grandmother and very witty and energetic for her age. Apart from night clubbing, she enjoys motorcycling, parachute jumping and karate. She loves her little dog, Blacky. The 'Familie Backeljau' comic was serialized in the TV weeklies Dag Allemaal, and then published in book format by Inodis. The first two albums were directly based on plotlines of the TV show. The third and final one followed an exclusive new script. In 2009, the TV show became available on DVD, adding a one-volume pocket book with all three comic books as a free gift.
'De Familie Backeljau'.
Assistance work
Apart from their own productions, Studio Mormic additionally provided assistance to other Flemish comic creators. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Morjaeu and Dirk Michiels helped Marc Legendre with his popular gag comics 'Biebel' and 'Kas'. Unbeknownst to Morjaeu, this was the first time he worked from scripts by his future creative partner Peter van Gucht, who was an anonymous gag writer for the 'Biebel' series.
Around 1991, Morjaeu and Michiels were hired by newspaper Het Volk to assist on the 'Jommeke' comic by Jef Nys. An avid admirer of this Flemish comic veteran, Morjaeu said he learned a lot from both Nys and his assistant Hugo De Sterk with regard to readable comic art, constructing characters and using the right materials. The Mormic duo started out doing background art, with Morjaeu doing pencils and Michiels the inking. The first regular album with their participation was volume #168, 'Het Heksenbal' (1992), and after that they contributed to about a dozen more. They also worked with artist Patrick Van Lierde on several short 'Jommeke' stories for seasonal books. During the mid-1990s, Morjaeu was too busy with 'De Familie Backeljau' and his advertising work for Studio, so he put his 'Jommeke' work on hold.
'Biep en Zwiep'.
Biep en Zwiep
In the early 1990s, Morjaeu became a contributor to the Jommekeskrant, the weekly children's supplement of newspaper Het Volk, which had Jef Nys' 'Jommeke' as its mascot. Initially, Nys had asked Morjaeu to reboot his classic children's comic about the gnomes 'Langteen en Schommelbuik'. This project fell through, but instead, Morjaeu created his own gag comic for the Jommekeskrant, 'Biep en Zwiep'. The title characters are two witches who share a cottage in the woods. They started out as original creations, but were gradually redesigned to resemble the witches Steketand and Haakneus from Nys' comic series 'Jommeke' and 'Langteen en Schommelbuik'. Like her counterpart Steketand, Biep is corpulent and has a huge canine tooth. Zwiep resembles Haakneus, down to her tall posture and hook nose. Nevertheless, while Nys' witches are pure evil, Morjaeu's sorceresses only bicker a lot. Biep is grumpy and sarcastic, as opposed to Zwiep's more happy and optimistic nature. In several gags, Zwiep's enthusiastic initiatives annoy Biep to such a degree that she tries to shut and beat her up. On the other hand, Zwiep also loves to tease Biep, knowing that she can't take a joke.
When the feature started in 1993, the gags were written by 'Jommeke' scriptwriter Jan Ruysbergh. Then the series went on hiatus because of Morjaeu's other work, only to return later in the decade. By then, Studio Mormic had dissolved and Morjaeu could dedicate more time to writing and drawing gags and stories with 'Biep en Zwiep'. For the inking, he was aided by Bruno Verschelden. Five comic books starring the characters were published by De Stripuitgeverij (1999-2002) and later Strip2000 (2015-2016). Besides appearing in Jommekeskrant since 1993, during 1993-2004 'Biep en Zwiep' gags were also printed in the 'Jommeke' holiday special books. The duo also appeared on a calendar produced by the candy brand Veranco Snoepcenter. Production of new gags stopped in 2002, when the original publisher cancelled the book series.
Jommeke #224 - 'De Rare Kwibussen' (2004).
Jommeke
By the time he left Studio Mormic, in 1997, Morjaeu joined Studio Nys again for the production of 'Jommeke' stories. Starting with book #196, 'De Elfenbron' (1998), he returned to doing background art, mainly for artist Hugo De Sterk. Joining the production with other Studio Nys artists, Morjaeu has done all sorts of tasks on different 'Jommeke' stories, ranging from full art to only backgrounds, and from coloring to lettering. During this period, he also wrote and drew his own short stories with the classic comic character, for instance 'De Taalmobiel' (1998), 'De Snoepkoning' (1998) and 'De Knechtenschool van Anatool' (2000). When De Sterk retired in 2002, Morjaeu became one of the lead artists and writers of 'Jommeke', along with Gerd Van Loock and Philippe Delzenne. Albums written and drawn by Morjaeu for the main 'Jommeke' series were 'De Laatste Viking' (book #216, 2002), 'De Frietbaron' (#220, 2003), 'Wowofski' (#221, 2003), 'De Rare Kwibussen' (#224, 2004) and 'Het Zeemeerdinges' (#231, 2005). Morjaeu stayed with Studio Nys until 2005, when he left to join Studio Vandersteen.
M-Kids
At the time, 'Jommeke' was published by De Stripuitgeverij, an imprint of the Belgian publishing company Dupuis. This publisher also hired Morjaeu to create the Flemish celebrity comic series 'M-Kids' (2000-2004), based on the girl group of the same name. Jan Ruysbergh (who also wrote scripts for 'Jommeke' and the celebrity comic about another popular girl band, K3) scripted the first album, while the other episodes were written by Morjaeu in collaboration with Peter Van Gucht, who was also one of the songwriters for the M-Kids. Bruno Verschelden provided the inking. In total, six albums were released.
M-Kids #3- 'In de U.S.A.'
Studio 100
In addition to his work for Studio Nys, Morjaeu worked extensively for the comics division of the Belgian children's entertainment company Studio 100. During the later Mormic years, Morjaeu and Michiels had already done merchandizing art related to the 'Samson en Gert' TV show, which since its start in 1990 had been a massive success. In 1993, a 'Samson en Gert' celebrity comic (1993-2005) was launched, scripted by Jean-Pol and drawn by Wim Swerts and his colorist Luc Van Asten (Vanas). When three years later the comic received its own Saturday children's supplement with newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and De Nieuwe Gazet (Samson & Gert Krant), Mormic provided additional artwork. Mormic contributed to the artwork of the early 'Samson & Gert' holiday books.
By the early 2000s, Studio 100 had expanded its children's TV show portfolio and had become one of the biggest entertainment companies in Belgium. Its newspaper supplement had been retitled Plopsa Krant, promoting all the Studio 100 children's shows, as well as the Plopsaland theme park in De Panne. To oversee all comic projects related to their characters, Studio 100 executive Hans Bourlon recruited Morjaeu to set up and lead a production studio. Working with a team consisting of Luc Adriaens, Bruno De Roover, Peter Kustermans, Ward De Graeve, Marc Bruyninx and Thomas Du Caju, Morjaeu served as art director, lay-out artist and scriptwriter for comics with 'Samson & Gert', 'Kabouter Plop', 'Piet Piraat' and 'Bumba'. The team also provided the daily children's section '5-Minuutjes (1/2/3/4) Plopsa-tijd' in the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, which contained comics, activities and fun facts. In addition, they produced the weekly 'Dag Kids' supplement for Dag Allemaal magazine.
For artist Charel Cambré, Morjaeu scripted the first two albums of the celebrity comic 'Spring' (2004-2005), based on Studio 100's TV soap opera of the same name, about a group of teenagers who try to make it big with their own pop band. Cambré and his assistants then produced four more volumes until 2007. Morjaeu left his job as Studio 100 art director in 2005, when he became the new lead artist of 'Suske en Wiske' at Studio Vandersteen. In 2010, he returned to Studio 100 for a three-year period, during which he combined working for both studios.
Sabbatini
While Morjaeu worked at Studio 100, he met special effect designer Thomas Du Caju, whom he encouraged to draw comics. Morjaeu scripted Du Caju's first comic series, 'Sabbatini' (2005-2008), of which the first album was published by Dupuis and the other three by Mezzanine. The series was also translated in French. Sabbatini is a secret agent of Italian descent who lives in Ghent. He often investigates cases in collaboration with commissioner Bourlon. Sabbattini's sister Caterina shares an apartment with legal doctor Isabelle, who has a professional relationship with Sabbatini. The stories are action-packed thrillers with lots of hardboiled violence and dry comedy. Plotlines often take inspiration from historical events and characters, intertwined with conspiracy theories. In 'De Codex Robotica' (2006), for instance, Sabbatini discovers a conspiracy within the Vatican to suppress a secret invention by Leonardo Da Vinci. 'Black Requiem' (2007) delves into a freemason scheme involving Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's mysterious death.
'Rafke de Raaf'. Translation: "Cuckoo, Ringo asks if you want to play outside?" - "Oh, I'd love to. Who is Ringo?" - "That's that very big farmer's CAT."
Peter Van Gucht
During the 2000s, Morjaeu's collaboration with scriptwriter Peter Van Gucht - AKA Pug - also came to blossom. While they had separately worked on Marc Legendre 'Biebel' comic during the 1980s, their first professional collaboration happened in the 1990s, when Luk Wyns hired them for a planned advertising spot for telecom provider Proximus. The commercial was never made, but the seed for a further collaboration was planted. Between 1999 and 2001, the duo made the gag strip 'Rafke de Raaf' for Suske en Wiske Weekblad, starring a cynical raven. The Rafke character originated from an earlier gag strip ('Graaf ò Com') by Van Gucht, created for a local Brasschaat magazine in the 1980s. In 2002, a mini-comic book collecting several gags was self-published by Morjaeu. Starting in 2003, Peter Van Gucht became an additional scriptwriter for the 'Suske en Wiske' comic by Studio Vandersteen. When two years later the studio was in need for a new lead artist, he suggested his friend Luc Morjaeu for the function. At Studio Vandersteen, Morjaeu and Van Gucht brought their collaboration to new heights.
Suske en Wiske #296- 'De Curieuze Neuzen' (2007).
Studio Vandersteen
In 2005, Morjaeu joined the staff of Studio Vandersteen, the comic studio of the late Willy Vandersteen, creator of the long-running series 'Suske en Wiske'. At the time, the studio was in need of drastic renovation. Like most classic comic series in the early 21st century, sales weren't what they used to be. Even worse, 'Suske en Wiske' had lost a considerable amount of longtime fans when previous lead artist Marc Verhaegen wrote and drew some highly polarizing stories, full with eccentric comedy and offbeat narratives. After Verhaegen's discharge, publisher Standaard wanted to form a structured team to increase the studio's production, and, hopefully, the sales.
Peter Van Gucht was put in charge of the scriptwriting team, which in the early years also included Bruno De Roover and external contributor Erik Meynen. As new lead artist, Morjaeu was assigned to form a team of pencilers, background artists and inkers to divide the art duties. Until his 2015 retirement, Eric De Rop remained the studio's steady inker, while Peter Quirijnen and Walter Van Gasse were kept on board as pencilers for characters and backgrounds. From his Studio 100 team, Morjaeu attracked Charel Cambré as additional artist, while Dirk Stallaert also lended a helping hand for several albums. Later additions to the art team were Wout Schoonis (in 2007) and Jeroen Bullaert (in 2009). From the world of animation, Marcus Hoogland joined the team every now and then as designer of specific sets, vehicles and robots (for instance in the 2010 episode 'De Gamegoeroe').
Although he worked with other artists, Morjaeu was the official artist of the 'Suske en Wiske' series, acting as penciler, supervisor and art director. Between 2005 and 2023, he drew the majority of the new stories. The first story Morjaeu contributed to was 'Het Mopperende Masker', made exclusively for a 2005 homage book to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the series. For the same book, Van Gucht and Morjaeu also made a more personal tribute to the 'Suske en Wiske' series, of which they have been fans since their childhood.
Suske en Wiske #324 - 'De Royale Ruiter' (2013).
Rebooting Suske & Wiske
The new team was specifically instructed to bring the 'Suske en Wiske' series back to its familiar roots as an entertaining but conventional family comic. This way, the publisher hoped to appeal to young readers as much as nostalgic adult fans. Just like in the old days of Willy Vandersteen and his direct successor Paul Geerts, straightforward gags and adventure became the comic's hallmarks again, with a bit of social awareness and fantasy added to the mix. The main characters - Suske and Wiske, aunt Sidonia, goofy Lambik and superstrong Jerom - drove the narratives again, while secondary characters from the early years occasionally returned, such as the childlike Van Zwollem, a favorite of both Morjaeu and Van Gucht. Plotlines were based on folkloric tales ('De Joviale Gille' [2007] about the Gilles of Binche), historical events ('Het Lijdende Leiden' [2011], about the 1574 Siege of Leiden) or environmental themes ('Lambik Plastiek' [2019], about plastic in the oceans).
To analyze the secret of their success, Peter van Gucht carefully studied the old 'Suske en Wiske' stories by Willy Vandersteen. One of the things he emphasized among the new creators was that the stories ought to be understandable purely on the visuals, to avoid too much "talkative" panels. But the stories were also simplified for other reasons. Since the albums were nowadays aimed at younger children than the original 10 to 12-year olds, complicated words were avoided. Through audience test groups with children, it was decided to let Morjaeu and his team redesign the characters' physical looks. In the early 1970s and again in 1999, Suske and Wiske had been seen in different outfits for brief periods, but fan backlash always forced the studio to reverse their changes.
However, starting with the 2017 album 'De Planeetvreter', the cast finally received a drastic new and permanent look. Wiske received a blue vest, scarf and boots, while her characteristic egghead was adorned with a ponytail. Suske was restyled with a red hooded sweater, a pair of jeans and amore playful quiff. Both received an age lift as well. This in itself wasn't that unusual. In the mid-1940s, the characters started out as toddlers, before becoming ten-year olds by the end of the 1950s. Yet now Suske and Wiske were redesigned as secondary school students. Wiske even received a small bosom. Audience tests with children unfamiliar with 'Suske en Wiske' had also proven that many failed to recognize the flat-chested, big-nosed aunt Sidonia as a woman. To clarify her gender a bit better, Sidonia was also given breasts. Another radical break with tradition was that Suske and Wiske were now seen at school. All throughout the series, they were never pupils, but in 'De Halve Havelaar' (2010), the duo was first seen in a classroom, alongside other children.
Suske en Wiske #310- 'De Halve Havelaar' (2010), featuring 19th-century novelist Multatuli.
Themes
To catch momentum, certain 'Suske en Wiske' albums were made in anticipation of thematic events. 'De Nachtwachtbrigade' (2006) celebrated the 400th anniversary of painter Rembrandt Van Rijn's death, while 'De Bibberende Bosch' (2016), did the same for the 500th anniversary of Hieronymus Bosch's passing. 'De Verloren Van Eyck' (2020) highlights a thematic year built around the medieval painters Jan and Hubert van Eyck. 'Het Machtige Monument' (2008) celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Atomium monument in Brussels, while 'Sterrenrood' (2014) promotes the opening of the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp. The albums 'Suske de Rat' (2014) and 'Het Schrikkelspook' (2014) were made in the light of the centennial of the First World War.
Other new 'Suske en Wiske' stories cashed in on the popularity of TV shows, like 'Prison Break' ('Krimson Break', 2009), 'Expeditie Robinson' ('Expeditie Robikson', 2011) en 'Game of Thrones' ('Game of Drones', 2016). With 'Het Verloren Verleden' (2015), Van Gucht and Morjaeu made the first interactive comic strip. Readers could decide online how the plot of this new story would develop. Still, Studio Vandersteen kept informing young readers about the dangers of new technology. The story 'De Sinistere Site' (2006) was made at the request of Peter Vanvelthoven, Belgian Secretary of State for the Information of the State (2003-2005). It was distributed among children in their final year of elementary school, making them cautious of dangerous websites. A cautionary tale outside of the regular book series was 'De Coole Kastaar' (2012), which appeared as a supplement to Troskompas magazine. The story warns for the "lover boys" phenomenon, where young teenage girls are hustled by pimps to prostitute themselves. This was not only a very adult theme for a children's comic, it also clashed considerably with Willy Vandersteen's will to not show or imply sex in his signature series. Interestingly enough, previous Studio Vandersteen artist Marc Verhaegen covered the same topic in his 2007 'Senne en Sanne' story 'Loverboys'. In the same vein, the 'Suske en Wiske' story 'Sooi en Sientje' (2015) is set during World War II, a theme considered taboo a decade earlier when Verhaegen proposed it for a 'Suske en Wiske' story.
New cover illustrations for classic 'Suske en Wiske' albums (2010-2011).
Publication changes
Besides the characters and the storylines, the lay-outs of the 'Suske en Wiske' books also underwent a couple of makeovers during the Morjaeu period. For decades, the albums had a small format with a signature red frame around the cover image. Starting with 'De Curieuze Neuzen' (book #296) in 2007, the cover illustrations lost their familiar red frame. For reprints of older stories, the studio had to create new cover illustrations that could fill an entire page. Coinciding with the makeover of the characters in 2017, the format of the 'Suske en Wiske' albums was enlarged. It was announced that albums before volume #300 would only be reprinted in a special 'Suske en Wiske Classics' series in the old format, but when this collection was not successful, the publisher decided to reprint them in the main series after all. Both the new cover illustrations and the larger format lead to complaints from many longtime 'Suske en Wiske' collectors, but the new format was kept. In 2022, newspaper De Standaard dropped the 'Suske en Wiske' comic as a daily serial, turning the series into an album-only product.
Leaving 'Suske en Wiske'.
In June 2023, Morjaeu announced his retirement as lead artist from the 'Suske en Wiske' series. Spending little over 18 years at the studio, producing five to six albums a year, he decided to take things easier with less deadline preasure. His last album is 'De Krijtkampioen', a homage episode to series creator Willy Vandersteen, published in September 2023. During Morjaeu's tenure, several co-workers came and went. The traditional studio system with the entire team working in the same room is long gone. Nowadays, all the Studio Vandersteen members work from home. By the time of Morjaeu's retirement, he had a team of eight people working on the 'Suske en Wiske' stories. Apart from him and Van Gucht, Studio Vandersteen consists of character penciler Wout Schoonis, background artist Christian Verhaeghe, inker Thijs Wessels, colorist Sabine De Meyer, assistant scriptwriter Vincent Bal and office manager/designer Tom Wilequet. Longtime assistant Wout Schoonis was promoted to lead artist, the fifth in line since series creator Willy Vandersteen. In his announcement, Morjaeu said he would remain involved with 'Suske en Wiske' projects, but would focus otherwise on sculpting and painting.
Controversy
On 25 June 2017, the 'Suske en Wiske' story 'Mami Wata' (2017) was serialized in the newspaper De Standaard. One scene met with considerable controversy. It depicted a black African man and a bare-breasted African mermaid. A nude woman was a remarkable image in a 'Suske en Wiske' story, given that Willy Vandersteen had stated in his will that nudity and sex were not allowed in his series. Some readers objected, but in reality nudity had already been featured in the previous 'Suske en Wiske' stories 'De Gevederde Slang' (1997) and 'De Vogels der Goden' (1997). Eventually, the 'Mami Wata' panel caused more outrage because of the racially offensive design of the African man. He was drawn in an old-fashioned manner, with an ape-like face and exaggerated lips. Rwandese-Belgian journalist and longtime 'Suske en Wiske' fan Dalilla Hermans stated in a column that she could understand such imagery in the historical context of older comic stories, but felt it was out of place in present times. Rather than be outraged, she asked readers to redesign the drawing into a less stereotypical portrayal. Studio Vandersteen offered an official apology, but the panel was nevertheless not changed in album format.
'Het Spook van Pukema' (2017), with a guest appearance from Koen Van den Heuvel, then-mayor of the town Puurs.
Graphic contributions
In 1989, Morjaeu illustrated Bert Vereycken's 'De Mirakelramp', a children's story in the 'Vlaamse Flimpjes' children's book series, which won the John Flanders Prize. The same year, he also illustrated Johan Ballegeer's 'Maria van Brabant' in another children's book series, De Sikkel Historische Verhalen. Subsequently, he livened up the pages of the children's song book 'Samen Zingen' (1990), conceived by Johan Van Bouwelen. He was one of several artists to illustrate the poetry collection 'Kerkhofwachters' (Manuel Rodriguez, 2007).
In 2000, Morjaeu made an advertising comic for the gift company Festal. He contributed to the collective tribute book 'Suske en Wiske 60 Jaar!' (2005), which paid homage to Willy Vandersteen's 'Suske en Wiske'. That same year, characters from 'Suske en Wiske' visited the Kiekeboe family in Merho's one-shot album 'Bij Fanny op Schoot' (2005), in which Fanny Kiekeboe interviews comic characters from different franchises. He was additionally one of many artists who made a graphic contribution to the book 'Jommekes Bij De Vleet' (2010), which paid homage to 'Jommeke' creator Jef Nys. Morjaeu also paid homage to Merho's 'De Kiekeboes' in the collective tribute album 'Vier door Derden' (Standaard Uitgeverij, 2022). For the 725th anniversary of his hometown Puurs, Morjaeu created the special comic story 'Het Spook van Pukema' (2017). Lambik and his sidekick Sezar from the 'Grappen van Lambik' spin-off comic series had guest appearances.
Recognition
On 24 September 2018, a comic book mural depicting 'Suske en Wiske', designed by Morjaeu, was inaugurated in Middelkerke, as part of the local Comic Book Route. Between 3 July and 30 October 2022, Luc Morjaeu's work was exhibited in Hingene, Bornem, under the title 'So Far So Good'.
Cover drawing for 'De Krijtkampioen', Luc Morjaeu's final 'Suske en Wiske' album (2023).