'Ria's Men's Club - Stripped & Strapped' (2019).
Lucky Versloot is a Dutch illustrator, artist and model from Amsterdam. Besides producing artwork for posters, he has self-published comic books about real-life Dutch association football player Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (2019) and about a grim stripclub ('Ria's Men's Club - Stripped & Strapped', 2019).
Life and influences
Born in 1997 in Amsterdam, Lucky Versloot comes from a creative family. His father is an artist and his mother a fashion designer. An avid doodler himself, he tried his luck at the Willem de Kooning Academy, but didn't feel at home there. With his fascination for the underground and the non-mainstream, he found the educational system too commercial and schoolish. While he began working on his own art projects, he was also scouted as a model by The Movement Models. Since then he has worked in both professions, although he regards himself first and foremost an artist. Still, his modelling work has given him the financial security to focus on more personal art projects. He ranks among his main inspirations alternative artists like Robert Crumb, Guy Colwell and Lawrence "Raw Dog" Hubbard, as well as André Franquin's 'Gaston Lagaffe'. Versloot's work is firmly rooted in the visual language of comics and films, while the pop culture of the 1980s and 1990s is also an inspiration.
Flyer for Versloot's Huntelaar exposition.
Comics and other artwork
Professionally, Lucky Versloot has illustrated flyers and album covers. He has sold his more personal art through Instagram and other online outlets. One of his "muses" is the soccer player Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. At NOZUM Studios, he created a May 2019 exposition with semi-erotic artworks about his cult hero, retold as a 21st century version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. He also envisioned Huntelaar as a superhero in the accompanying comic book. Most of Versloot's artwork takes place in a dark and sketchy dreamworld, but with a generally surreal and comical narrative. His self-published pulpy comic book 'Ria's Men's Club - Stripped & Strapped' (2019) dealt with the "purity of greed and lust", and has been for sale in the Amsterdam comics shop Lambiek. The second issue appeared in 2020. In April 2023, he released his soccer spoof 'Dirk, de mooiste ter wereld', about a young, ugly soccer player who undergoes a full botox make-over and then becomes "Mister Universe". The comic features several celebrities in starring roles, including soccer player Dirk Kuijt, journalist Johan Derksen and socialite Kylie Jenner.
De Neukpiet
In 2020, Lucky was one of the illustrators of the collective comic book 'De Neukpiet' (Das Mag, 2020), which spoofed the ongoing national debate about the portrayal of the folkloric character Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete") during the annual Sinterklaas festivities. In this dystopian "apocalyptic satire", a black comedian accidentally instigates a race war with his provocative character the "Neukpiet" ("Fuck Pete"). This satirical version of Pete is a well-hung stud who "wants to show his bag to all naughty mothers" (a nod to the folkloric Pete who takes naughty children with him in his bag to Spain). The book was written by filmmakers Ashar Medina and Gonzalo Fernandez. Besides Versloot, the other illustrators were Brian Elstak, Fiona Lutjenhuis, Victor Meijer, Wide Vercnocke and Hedy Tjin.
'Ria's Men's Club - Stripped & Strapped' (2019).