[Low Moon]

lowmoon
By Jason, translated by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84023-268-4

John Arne Saeterrøy, who works under the pen-name Jason, was born in Molde, Norway in 1965, and exploded onto the international cartoonists scene at age 30 with his first graphic novel Lomma full ay regn (Pocket Full of Rain) which won that year’s Sproing Award (Norway’s biggest comics prize). He followed with the series Mjau Mjau (winning another Sproing in 2001) and in 2002 turned almost exclusively to producing graphic novels. He has now achieved international fame and critical status, winning seven major awards as far afield as France, Slovakia and the USA and all areas in-between.

His stories utilise a small cast of anthropomorphic animal characters (and occasional movie and pop culture monsters), delivered in highly formal page layouts telling dark, wry and sardonically bleak tales – often pastiches, if not outright parodies – in a coldly austere and Spartan manner. This seemingly oppressive format somehow allows a simply vast range of emotionally telling tales on a wide spectrum of themes and genres to hit home like rockets whether the author’s intention was to make the reader smile or cry like a baby.

Drawing in a minimalist evolution of Hergé’s Claire Ligne style, Jason’s work bores right into the reader’s core, and this movie-based collection of short tales is possibly his best work yet.

Redolent of quintessential Film Noir and especially the writing of Jim Thompson, the poignant tale of vengeance ‘Emily Says Hello’ precedes what is billed as the World’s “first and only Chess Western”. The eponymous ‘Low Moon’ was originally serialized in The New York Times Sunday Magazine in 2008, a surreal spoof of Fred Zinnemann’s 1952 classic High Noon as an old menace returns to terrorise the town until the Sheriff capitulates to his incessant demands for one final return match…

‘&’ is a tragic anecdote of love, loss and marital persistence related in the terms and stylings of a Hal Roach silent comedy and ‘Proto Film Noir’ owes an inspirational tip of the thermally insulated hat to Tay Garnett’s The Postman Always Rings Twice (the 1946 version with John Garfield and Lana Turner) by way of the Flintstones and Groundhog Day, whilst the concluding tale of love, family and abandonment assumes science-fictional trappings to relate the soap-opera, generational tale of a mother kidnapped by aliens and the effects it inflicts on the husband and son she left behind. ‘You Are Here’ is bemusing, evocative and moving yet manages never to fall off the tightrope into mawkishness or buffoonery.

Jason’s comic tales are strictly for adults but allow us all to look at the world through wide-open childish eyes. He is a taste instantly acquired and a creator any true fan of the medium should move to the top of the “Must-Have” list. This superb little hardback could be your entry into a brave, old world, so get it while you can because stuff this good never lasts long…

© 2009 Jason. All right reserved.