Jack "Jaxon" Jackson RIP

[selegue]

from the "Comics_News" Yahoo list:

Austin cartoonist dies: 'Jaxon' known as first underground cartoonist By M.B. Taboada Austin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, June 10, 2006

 

 

Austin artist Jack "Jaxon" Jackson, generally credited as the first underground cartoonist, died Thursday. He was 65.

 

Jackson's body was found Thursday night outside the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Stockdale, where his parents were buried. His death is being investigated as a suicide, according to the Wilson County sheriff's office.

 

Jackson's first underground comic, "God Nose," appeared in 1964. He co-founded Rip Off Press, one of the first independent publishers of underground comics in San Francisco in 1969.

 

Jackson was well known as a historian cartoonist who created graphic novels of Texas history, including "Comanche Moon," "Los Tejanos" and "El Alamo." He was the art director of Family Dog, which promoted concerts in San Francisco. Jackson received multiple awards for his work, including a lifetime fellowship of the Texas State Historical Association.

 

"He was someone very accomplished who had come before me and treated me like a peer and made me feel like I was a part of the club," said Sam Hurt, a 48-year-old Austin cartoonist whose work became prominent in Austin in 1980. "Like a lot of cartoonists, there was something about (his) presence that resonated in his cartoons." Hurt described Jackson's work as having an "amazing level of detail."

 

A mentor to other cartoonists, Jackson was the first artist featured at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture when it opened to the public in 2004. The museum will create a memorial for him, said Leea Mechling, executive director.

 

"He has left us with visions of imagined worlds and of the steps made on it by others," wrote Emma Little, a close friend of Jackson's, in an e-mail sent Friday to his friends and colleagues. "He enriched our imaginations and our hearts."

 

Jackson is survived by his wife Tina, and son Sam.

 

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. June 17 at Hyde Park Christian Church, 610 E. 45th St.

 

<mailto:mtaboada%40statesman.com>mtaboada@statesman.com; 249-7053

 

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[shadroch]

Although I'd read much of his underground stuff,it was his historical graphic novels that I really enjoyed. His"Tejanos",the story of Juan Seguin and the other Mexicans who fought for Tejas's independence should be required reading... by everyone.