| Jason | |
|---|---|
 Jason in 2008 at a comic convention in France. | |
| Born | John Arne Sæterøy[1] (1965-05-16)16 May 1965 (age 60) |
| 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 nameJason, is aNorwegiancartoonist, known for his sparse drawing style and silent,anthropomorphic animal characters.
He was nominated for twoIgnatz Awards (2000: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series, 2001: Outstanding Story and Outstanding Series), received praise inTime, and won theHarvey Award for best new talent in 2002, as well as severalEisner Awards.
Jason was born inMolde, and had his work published for the first time in 1981 in the Norwegiancomics magazineKonK, to which he contributed several short stories during its lifespan. In 1989, he was admitted to Norway'sNational Academy of the Arts, where he studied graphic design and illustration. He won theNorwegian Comics Association award in 1991 for the short workpervo.
In 1995, Jason published his firstgraphic novel,Lomma full av regn (Pocket Full of Rain), for which he won theSproing Award. In 1997, he started makingMjau Mjau, a semi-regular comic book featuring nothing but his own works. In 2001, he was once again awarded a Sproing, this time forMjau Mjau 10. Since 2002, Jason has concentrated on making graphic novels.
Jason has lived in Denmark,[2] Belgium, theU.S., and France. Since 2007, Jason has been living inMontpellier, 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, inSweden,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Italy, theNetherlands,Poland,Russia,Slovakia,Spain,Switzerland,Brazil, and the U.S. His American publisher isFantagraphics.
Jason's work is usually drawn in a minimalist, clean style, influenced byHergé'sligne claire.[5] His protagonists are usuallyanthropomorphic animals and/orB-moviemonsters.
Jason's comics frequently refer to other works.[4] For example,Tell Me Something is inspired byBuster Keaton's movies,[6]Frankenstein's Monster and related characters appear inYou Can't Get There From Here, and fictionalized versions of Ernest Hemingway and other writers are the protagonists ofThe Left Bank Gang.[7]
| 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 | Graphic novel adaptation of Norwegian author Stein Riverton's 1908 novel of the same name, which has yet to be translated into English. |
| 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; andYou Are Here |
| Almost Silent | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-60699-315-6 | Reprints:Tell Me Something;You Can't Get There From Here;Meow, Baby!; andThe 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!; andThe 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; andAthos 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; andNothing |
| 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; andO 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; andEtc. |
| Death in Trieste | 2025 | ISBN 979-887-5-00125-3 | Includes:The Magritte Affair;Death in Trieste; andSweet Dreams |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Recipient of theBrage Prize, open class 2005 | Succeeded by Kathinka Blichfeldt, Tor Gunnar Heggem, Ellen Larsen |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
