Jason (cartoonist)

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.

Jason
Jason in 2008 at a comic convention in France.
BornJohn Arne Sæterøy[1]
(1965-05-16) 16 May 1965
Molde, Norway
NationalityNorwegian
Area(s)artist, writer
Notable works
Hey, Wait...
Sshhhh!
Meow, Baby!
The Left Bank Gang
Awardsfull list

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

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

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 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

References
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. 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.
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