'Sus et Flup' (Spirou #21, 25 May 1939).
Joë Muray, pseudonym of Raymond de Meulenaere, was one of the earliest local contributors to the Belgian comic magazine Spirou in the late 1930s, along with Rob-Vel, Fernand Dineur and Jijé. He is generally referred to as "Joe Murray", but the actual spelling is with one "r". There are however uncertainties about his identity. Author Frans Lambeau mentions in his book 'Dictionnaire Illustré de la Bande Dessinée Belge sous l'Occupation' (André Versaille Éditeur, 2013) that Joë Muray was a pen name of the journalist/illustrator Joë Ceurvorst and his real name was Joseph Demeulenaere. It is possible that the author used Muray to sign his more caricatural work and Ceurvorst for his realistic and journalistic work, but it is also still plausible that it were indeed two different persons. Joë Muray's most notable comic series were 'Sus et Flup' (1939-1940) in Spirou and 'Ohio, Le Petit Nègre' (1945-1946) in Héroïc Albums. Joë Muray should not be confused with the American comic artist and animator Joe Murray (of 'Rocko's Modern Life' fame).
Header for the 'K.O. Corrigan' serial, credited to Muray but attributed to Joë Ceurvorst.
Early life and career
Nothing is known about Joë Muray's early life and career. In 1939, he drew a comic series for the Belgian magazine Spirou/ Robbedoes. Titled 'Sus en Flup', it featured two adventurous children, whose narratives are presented as a text comic, with captions underneath the images. Episodes were serialized from issue issue #14 (6 April 1939) through #43 (26 October 1939), with the tagline "a report by Joë Muray". Muray also illustrated the text serial 'K.O. Corrigan', based on a story by Anthony Ford in a translation by editor-in-chief Jean Doisy. The subsequent book publication by Dupuis had a cover illustration by F. Vanhamme. In March 1940, Joë Muray also appeared as a writer in the satirical magazine Slache, based on the popular Brussels radio character by Marcel Antoine.
'Ohio, Le Petit Nègre' ('Ohio, De Kleine Nikker', Dutch-language version.)
Ohio, Le Petit Nègre
After World War II, Muray also appeared in the first two years of Fernand Cheneval's Héroïc-Albums comic book series. He contributed a serialized comic, titled 'Ohio, Le Petit Nègre' ('Ohio, The Little Negro', 1945-1956). The title character is a naïve little black boy, who leaves his village in search of fortune, taking his pet parrot with him. Despite his American-sounding name, Ohio is African. The comics were presented as "an animated cartoon", complete with vignettes with double perforated strips in black with little white dots, to make everything resemble a movie reel. Ohio's adventures are clearly a product of its time, with the black protagonist drawn and acting in a stereotypical manner.
Later career
After 1946, no further artwork by Joë Muray is known. This coincides with Joë Ceurvorst's switch from cartooning to journalism for Le Moustique magazine.
'Ohio' (Héroïc-Albums, Dutch-language edition, #4, 1946).