TALKING TO JASON

[MattBrady]

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Norwegian born cartoonist Jason does mostly silent comics using anthropomorphic animal characters so it wasn’t a great shock to me that Jason himself is very soft spoken and gave short answers to my queries. After his last book, the eerie adaptation of Iron Wagon, Jason takes us back to what made him famous, depressing tales of star crossed people.

Tell Me Something switches between two time lines with moments of anguish and high comedy. The melancholy story is about a young couple who do everything they can to be together while under the gaze of the women’s tough father.

The creator also provided a preview of his next book, Why Are You Doing This?

Newsarama: So, first off, and to perhaps pull back the curtain a little, Jason isn’t actually your real name. It’s John Arne Saeteroy.

Jason: Something like that.

NRAMA: Was there a specific inspiration for Tell Me Something?

Jason: I’m pretty much influenced by the silent films of the ‘20s like Charlie Chaplin and especially Buster Keaton.

NRAMA: That’s easy to tell because you have the dialogue cards periodically through the book. But did you try to use the dialogue cards as little as possible?

Jason: I used them wherever they were necessary. There was some information that I wanted to get across that was only possible in dialogue. So I put it in.

NRAMA: When I talk to most people who do silent comic stories, they tell me that they pack the panels with as much detail as possible in order to slow the reading audience’s eyes down. You don’t do that, so how do you control the pace?

Jason: I try to keep the level of detail as low as possible. It shouldn’t be disturbing for the main story. I guess it’s possible to read the whole book in five minutes so you have to slow down to get the story. You might have to read it a second or third time to get everything, especially in this particular story.

NRAMA: So is there nothing you consciously do to slow down the story?

Jason: I just tell the story as clearly as possible.

NRAMA: Is Tell Me Something autobiographical for you?

Jason: No, Hey, Wait... is the one that’s autobiographical. There’s not really anything in Tell Me Something.

NRAMA: Your last work was an adaptation of the novel Iron Wagon. Did doing that book influence the new one at all?

Jason: I’m not sure. I like that time period of the 1920’s so that must influence me. Tintin was the biggest inspiration all the way from the beginning. It’s such clear storytelling.

NRAMA: When you started was it a conscious decision to do stories with not much dialogue so they could enjoyed by a wider audience?

Jason: That was part of it in the beginning. The big problem with comics is that is that you have to be able to reach people in other countries.

NRAMA: How successful are your books in Europe?

Jason: I guess it depends on what you mean by successful. There are print runs between 2000 and 3000 copies for each book. The French version is the one that sells the best.

NRAMA: When you do your book signings, what’s the most frequent question you get asked?

Jason: [laughs] What really happens at the end of Hey, Wait...?

NRAMA: What do you say?

Jason: That’s for you to decide.

NRAMA: Sherman Alexie called your work poetry. Do you see it like that?

Jason: No not really. But I think you can find poetry in movies especially old films. That is what I try to achieve, that magic element.

NRAMA: I read you used to do stories with people in them then you stopped. Why did you start using animals?

Jason: My first book was drawn in a realistic style using people but I wasn’t that happy with the result and it took a long time. I started trying other styles like this cartoony style. The animal characters were one of those styles and at the same time I discovered Lewis Trondheim. So I continued working in that style.

NRAMA: What Lewis Trondheim did you read?

Jason: The ones that Fantagraphics published. Also Jim Woodring’s Frank stories were an inspiration.

NRAMA: Some of your other stories veer off into fantasy for a bit. Why was it important to keep Tell Me Something totally in reality except that it’s populated by animals?

Jason: I hope that my comics leave something for the reader to figure out by themselves and not tell everything. There is some ambiguity to allow the reader to think.

NRAMA: How was winning the Harvey Awards?

Jason: It’s nice but it doesn’t really have any effect on my work. Maybe it helps you reach more readers.

NRAMA: I read that you first got published at age 15.

Jason: Yeah I started selling cartoons to a humor magazine in Norway.

NRAMA: Then you stopped doing comics when you got into school. What got you into back into comics?

Jason: I went into the military for a year and I started again when I was stationed in Oslo because other people had comics.

NRAMA: How was your experience in the military?

Jason: One year, completely wasted.

NRAMA: How did your work first get to Fantagraphics?

Jason: We sent them copies of the Norwegian books. Kim Thompson’s mother is Danish so he can read the language. Also he is the one who did the translations of all my books.

NRAMA: Where do you live now?

Jason: Right now I’m in Seattle for three months then I go back to Europe.

NRAMA: What are you doing in Seattle?

Jason: I’m working on a new book and just walking around. I’ve been here twice before and I liked it so I wanted to stay for a longer period of time. I’ve just been walking around and getting to know the city.

I lived in Brooklyn for three months because I wanted to see a large American city.

NRAMA: What book did you do while you lived in Brooklyn?

Jason: I didn’t get much done while I was there.

NRAMA: That’s New York for you…

Jason: Right, I just walked around in Manhattan.

NRAMA: Does your family read your comics?

Jason: Back in Norway, they do read my comics.

NRAMA: Do they like them?

Jason: I don’t know what my parents think. They get all the books and say they are proud but I don’t know if they like them.

NRAMA: Are your parents artists?

Jason: No they are both retired now but my father was a carpenter and my mother had many jobs.

NRAMA: What do your two sisters do?

Jason: My older sister does pottery and my younger sister is an actress.

NRAMA: When did you start drawing?

Jason: I might have always drawn as a child but I don’t remember. I’ve been drawing comics since I was 13.

NRAMA: How was your experience at the MOCCA festival in New York?

Jason: It was fun. If I got bored I would go outside and there was New York City. But going to the convention in San Diego was almost surreal. There were too many people so I’m not sure if I will go back.

NRAMA: What’s the book you are working on while in Seattle?

Jason: I’ve done one color book that’s out in France and it should be out in America from Fantagraphics next year. The next book I’m doing is a fantasy about Paris in the ‘20s.

NRAMA: Is the book coming out any differently because you are in a different city?

Jason: No I don’t think so but maybe in a couple of years I will do a book set in Seattle. I would like to do a book that takes place in America somewhere. Maybe like a detective story.

NRAMA: Are you reading crime novels to get prepared?

Jason: I’m reading Raymond Chandler right now.

Tell Me Something retails for $8.95, and can be purchased via Amazon or at online and brick and mortar comic shops.

[J.C. Bakken]

You should read this man's work. One of the few norwegian comic-artist with an international style, and it's quite funny and thoughfull as well.

[matthewstarnes]

I loved Hey Wait and will check out Jason's other work.
Thanks for the interview.

[cncoyle]

Iron Wagon is a great read. I reviewed it for Rambles.net last year. Good stuff!
(I promise my review is written better than "good stuff")