Jason (cartoonist)
Jason | |
---|---|
Jason in 2008 at a comic convention in France. | |
Born |
John Arne Sæterøy[1] 16 May 1965 Molde, Norway |
Nationality | Norwegian |
Area(s) | artist, writer |
Notable works |
Hey, Wait... Sshhhh! Meow, Baby! The Left Bank Gang |
Awards | full list |
John Arne Sæterøy (born 16 May 1965), better known by the pen name Jason, is a Norwegian cartoonist, known for his sparse drawing style and silent, anthropomorphic animal characters.
He has been nominated for two Ignatz Awards (2000: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series, 2001: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series), has received praise in Time, and won the Harvey Award for best new talent in 2002, and several Eisner Awards.
Biography
Jason was born in Molde, and had his work published for the first time in 1981 in the Norwegian comics magazine KonK, to which he contributed several short stories during its lifespan. In 1989, he was admitted to Norway's National Academy of the Arts, where he studied graphic design and illustration. He won the Norwegian Comics Association award in 1991 for the short work pervo.
In 1995, Jason published his first graphic novel, Lomma full av regn (Pocket Full of Rain), for which he won the Sproing Award. In 1997, he started making Mjau Mjau, a semi-regular comic book featuring nothing but his own works. In 2001, he was once again awarded a Sproing, this time for Mjau Mjau 10. Since 2002, Jason has concentrated on making graphic novels.
Jason has lived in Denmark,[2] Belgium, the U.S., and France. Since 2007, Jason has been living in Montpellier, and [3] his recent graphic novels have been initially published in French.[4]
As Jason's exposure has increased, his comics have been published outside of Norway, in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. His American publisher is Fantagraphics.
Style
Jason's work is usually drawn in a minimalist, clean style, influenced by Hergé's ligne claire.[5] His protagonists are usually anthropomorphic animals and/or B-movie monsters. There is little or no talking, and very rarely any captions.
Jason's comics frequently refer to other works.[4] For example, Tell Me Something is inspired by Buster Keaton's movies,[6] Frankenstein's Monster and related characters appear in You Can't Get There From Here, and fictionalized versions of Ernest Hemingway and other writers are the protagonists of The Left Bank Gang.[7]
Bibliography of English publications
Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hey, Wait... | 2001 | ISBN 1-56097-463-X | |
Sshhhh! | 2002 | ISBN 1-56097-497-4 | |
The Iron Wagon | 2003 | ISBN 1-56097-541-5 | |
Tell Me Something | 2004 | ISBN 1-56097-566-0 | |
You Can't Get There From Here | 2004 | ISBN 1-56097-598-9 | |
Why Are You Doing This? | 2005 | ISBN 1-56097-655-1 | |
Meow, Baby! | 2006 | ISBN 1-56097-695-0 | |
The Left Bank Gang | 2006 | ISBN 1-56097-742-6 | |
The Living and the Dead | 2007 | ISBN 1-56097-794-9 | |
I Killed Adolf Hitler | 2007 | ISBN 1-56097-828-7 | |
The Last Musketeer | 2008 | ISBN 978-1-56097-889-3 | |
Pocket Full of Rain | 2008 | ISBN 978-1-56097-934-0 | |
Low Moon | 2009 | ISBN 978-1-60699-155-8 | |
Almost Silent | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-60699-315-6 | Reprints: Tell Me Something; You Can't Get There From Here; Meow, Baby!; and The Living and the Dead |
Werewolves of Montpellier | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-60699-359-0 | |
What I Did | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-60699-414-6 | Reprints: Hey, Wait...; Sshhhh!; and The Iron Wagon |
Isle of 100,000 Graves | 2011 | ISBN 978-1-60699-442-9 | Contributor: Fabien Vehlmann |
Athos in America | 2012 | ISBN 978-1-60699-478-8 | |
Lost Cat | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-60699-642-3 | |
If You Steal | 2015 | ISBN 978-160-6-99854-0 |
Awards
- 1995: Sproing Award, for Lomma full av regn [8]
- 2000: Sproing Award, for Mjau Mjau 10: Si meg en ting
- 2000: Urhunden Prize for best translated graphic novel, for Vänta lite...
- 2002: Inkpot Award [9]
- 2002: Harvey Award, Best New Talent, for Hey, Wait...[10]
- 2005: Brage Prize, Open Class for La meg vise deg noe...[11]
- 2007: Eisner Award, Best U.S. Edition of International Material, for The Left Bank Gang [12]
- 2008: Eisner Award, Best U.S. Edition of International Material, for I Killed Adolf Hitler [13]
References
- Jason publications on Fantagraphics
- Jason publications in French Bedetheque (French)
- Footnotes
- ↑ Comics Panel. The best comics of the ’00s," The Onion A.V. Club (24 November 2009).
- ↑ "Jason". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ↑ Thorkildsen, Joakim (2007-05-04). "Jason tar barten av Hitler". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- 1 2 Hegna, Tor Arne (2009-10-16). "Jason sampler favoritter". Seriekritikk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ↑ Heater, Brian (2009-06-19). "Interview: Jason Pt. 1 [of 2]". The Daily Cross Hatch. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ↑ Douresseau, LJ (2004-06-15). "Interview with Jason". Comic Book Bin. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ↑ Hellesund, Kristian (2006-09-22). "En annerledes Hemingway". Serienett (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ↑ Norsk Tegneserieforum. "Sproing Award winners" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ comic-con.org. "Inkpot winners".
- ↑ harveyawards.com. "harvey Award winners".
- ↑ "Brageprisen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ Will Eisner.com. "2007 Eisner Award Winners!".
- ↑ Will Eisner.com. "2008 Eisner Award Winners!".
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jason. |
- Jason biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- "A Life Missed" Time magazine review
- J'ai tué Adolf Hitler preview BDgest (French)
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Arne Lygre |
Recipient of the Brage Prize, open class 2005 |
Succeeded by Kathinka Blichfeldt, Tor Gunnar Heggem, Ellen Larsen |