Jason (cartoonist)

Norwegian cartoonist

Jason

Jason in 2008 at a comic convention in France.

Born| John Arne Sæterøy[1]
(1965-05-16) 16 May 1965 (age 60)
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 was nominated for two Ignatz Awards (2000: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series, 2001: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series), received praise in Time, and won the Harvey Award for best new talent in 2002, as well as several Eisner Awards.

## Biography

[edit]

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, Brazil, and the U.S. His American publisher is Fantagraphics.

## Style

[edit]

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.

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

[edit]

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 | Includes: Emily Says Hello; Low Moon; &; Early Film Noir; and You Are Here
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
Jason Conquers America | 2011 | No ISBN  | Published to mark 10 years of Jason being published in America, contains interviews and previously unpublished strips.
Athos in America | 2012 | ISBN 978-1-60699-478-8 | Includes: The Smiling Horse; A Cat From Heaven; The Brain That Wouldn't Virginia Woolf; Tom waits On The Moon; So Long, Mary Jane; and Athos in America
Lost Cat | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-60699-642-3 |
If You Steal | 2015 | ISBN 978-160-6-99854-0 | Includes: If You Steal; Karma Chameleon; Waiting For Bardot; Lorena Valazquez; New Face; Moondance;  Night of the Vampire Hunter; Polly Wants a Cracker; The Thrill is Gone; Ask Not; and Nothing
On the Camino | 2017 | ISBN 978-168-3-96021-8 |
O Josephine! | 2019 | ISBN 978-168-3-96210-6 | Includes: The Wicklow Way; L. Cohen: A Life; The Diamonds; and O Josephine!
Good Night, Hem | 2021 | ISBN 978-168-3-96461-2 |
Upside Dawn | 2022 | ISBN 978-168-3-96652-4 | Includes: Woman, Man, Bird; Perec, PI; I Remember; Vampyros Dyslexicos; Seal VII; The Prisoner in the Castle; Crime and Punishment; Ulysses; Ionesco; What Rhymes With Giallo?; The City of Light, Forever; Who Will Kill the Spider?; One Million and One Years B.C.; EC Come...; ...EC Go; From Outer Space; and Etc.

## Awards

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* Jason publications on Fantagraphics
* Jason publications in French Bedetheque (in French)

Footnotes

1. ^ Comics Panel. The best comics of the ’00s," The Onion A.V. Club (24 November 2009).
2. ^ "Jason". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
3. ^ Thorkildsen, Joakim (2007-05-04). "Jason tar barten av Hitler". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-02-05.
4. ^ a b Hegna, Tor Arne (2009-10-16). "Jason sampler favoritter". Seriekritikk.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
5. ^ Heater, Brian (2009-06-19). "Interview: Jason Pt. 1 [of 2]". The Daily Cross Hatch. Archived from the original on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
6. ^ Douresseau, LJ (2004-06-15). "Interview with Jason". Comic Book Bin. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
7. ^ Hellesund, Kristian (2006-09-22). "En annerledes Hemingway". Serienett (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
8. ^ Norsk Tegneserieforum. "Sproing Award winners" (in Norwegian).
9. ^ comic-con.org. "Inkpot winners". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.
10. ^ harveyawards.com. "harvey Award winners". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19.
11. ^ "Brageprisen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
12. ^ Will Eisner.com. "2007 Eisner Award Winners!". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13.
13. ^ Will Eisner.com. "2008 Eisner Award Winners!". Archived from the original on 2008-10-10.

## External links

[edit]

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 (in French)

Awards

Preceded by

Arne Lygre

|  Recipient of the Brage Prize, open class
2005  | Succeeded by

Kathinka Blichfeldt,
Tor Gunnar Heggem,
Ellen Larsen

* v
* t
* e

Inkpot Award (2000s)

2000|

* Will Elder
* Ric Estrada
* Phoebe Gloeckner
* Beth Holley
* Carmine Infantino
* Jack Kamen
* Ben Katchor
* Harry Lampert
* Bryan Talbot
* Angelo Torres
* Lewis Trondheim

2001|

* Henry Boltinoff
* Irwin Donenfeld
* Brian and Wendy Froud
* Martin Jaquish
* Joe R. Lansdale
* Spider and Jeanne Robinson
* Alvin Schwartz
* Jeff Smith
* Kim Thompson

2002|

* Eddie Ibrahim
* Frank Jacobs
* Jason
* Paul Levitz
* Bob Lubbers
* Bob Oksner
* Lew Sayre Schwartz
* Hal Sherman
* Herb Trimpe
* William Woolfolk

2003|

* Charles Berberian
* Frank Bolle
* Sal Buscema
* John Davenport
* Philippe Dupuy
* Steve Jackson
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* Larry Lieber
* Terry Moore
* Howard Post

2004|

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2005|

* Lee Ames
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* Dexter Taylor

2006|

* Peter S. Beagle
* Art Clokey
* Luis Dominguez
* Basil Gogos
* Everett Raymond Kinstler
* Kazuo Koike
* Bill Pittman
* Yoshihiro Tatsumi

2007|

* Allen Bellman
* Renée French
* Gary Friedrich
* Adam Hughes
* Miriam Katin
* Mel Keefer
* Joseph Michael Linsner
* David Morrell
* Lily Renée Phillips
* Mike Ploog
* Mary Sturhann
* Dan Vado
* Mark Verheiden
* F. Paul Wilson

2008|

* Kyle Baker
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* Kim Deitch
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* Todd Klein
* Tite Kubo
* Noel Neill
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2009|

* Mike Allred
* LaFrance Bragg
* Nick Cuti
* Dwayne McDuffie
* Stan Freberg
* Terry Gilliam
* John Kricfalusi
* John Lasseter
* Dwayne McDuffie
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* Phil Yeh

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