Jason

John Arne Sæterøy (born 16 August 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 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, Belgium, the U.S., and France. Since 2007, Jason has been living in Montpellier, and his recent graphic novels have been initially published in French.

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. His protagonists are usually anthropomorphic animals and/or B-movie monsters.

Jason's comics frequently refer to other works. 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.

Bibliography of English publications Title Year ISBN Notes Hey, Wait... 2001 Sshhhh! 2002 The Iron Wagon 2003 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 You Can't Get There from Here 2004 Why Are You Doing This? 2005 Meow, Baby! 2006 The Left Bank Gang 2006 The Living and the Dead 2007 I Killed Adolf Hitler 2007 The Last Musketeer 2008 Pocket Full of Rain 2008 Low Moon 2009 Includes: Emily Says Hello; Low Moon; &; Early Film Noir; and You Are Here Almost Silent 2010 Reprints: Tell Me Something; You Can't Get There From Here; Meow, Baby!; and The Living and the Dead Werewolves of Montpellier 2010 What I Did 2010 Reprints: Hey, Wait...; Sshhhh!; and The Iron Wagon Isle of 100,000 Graves 2011 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 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 If You Steal 2015 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 O Josephine! 2019 Includes: The Wicklow Way; L. Cohen: A Life; The Diamonds; and O Josephine! Good Night, Hem 2021 Upside Dawn 2022 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. Death in Trieste 2025 Includes: The Magritte Affair; Death in Trieste; and Sweet Dreams

Awards 1995: Sproing Award, for Lomma full av regn 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 2002: Harvey Award, Best New Talent, for Hey, Wait... 2005: Brage Prize, Open Class for La meg vise deg noe... 2007: Eisner Award, Best U.S. Edition of International Material, for The Left Bank Gang 2008: Eisner Award, Best U.S. Edition of International Material, for I Killed Adolf Hitler