Jonathan Lemon is an English-born American cartoonist and former musician. He is best known for drawing the Alley Oop comic strip.
Jonathan Lemon | |
|---|---|
 Lemon speaking at the Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018[1] | |
| Born | Jonathan Dee Lemon April 13, 1965 Watford, England |
| Education | University of Brighton |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Notable work |
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Lemon was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1965, and earned an art degree at the University of Brighton,[2] as well as attending the University of Havana to study Spanish language and Cuban cultural studies.[3]
In 1984 he formed the pop band Jesus Couldn't Drum with guitarist Peter Pengwyn, and occasionally featuring Lester Square from The Monochrome Set.[4] The band went on to record three albums and had modest indie chart success with their third single "I'm a Train".[5] In 2018, the band's back catalog was acquired by Cherry Red Records.[6]
Two years later, Lemon joined The Chrysanthemums along with Alan Jenkins, leader of The Deep Freeze Mice, and Terry Burrows. A psychedelic art pop band with a large cult following almost entirely outside of the UK, they released four albums and four EPs.[7] In 2010, German music magazine MusikExpress placed them at number 23 in their list of the most under-rated bands of all time.[8]
Between 1984 and 1987 he performed in the surf cabaret band Little Green Hondas, [9] [10] who won the British National Busking Championship in 1986.[11]
Lemon began working as a cartoonist, first for Poot! Comic, and later relocated to California in 1992 where, as a political cartoonist, his work appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury and the Boston Globe amongst others. He is a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists[12] and the National Cartoonist Society.[13]
Between 2003-2005 he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras.[14]
His long running comic strip Rabbits Against Magic was nominated for a Silver Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society in 2012, 2014, and 2021.[15][16]
In 2019, along with writer Joey Alison Sayers, he took over the drawing duties on the classic comic strip Alley Oop.[17]
His work has been exhibited at the Cartoon Art Museum[18] and the Huntington Beach Arts Center.[19] He has done album artwork for numerous musicians, including Flipper's Guitar, Yukio Yung,[20] and the Thurston Lava Tube. His comic strips are also featured in the 2022 award winning[21] documentary feature film "Jack Has a Plan."[22][23][24]
Selected discography edit
- Jesus Couldn't Drum:
- Er...Something About Cows (LP, 1984)
- Good Morning Mr. Square (LP, 1984)
- Ruttling Orange Peel and Blind Lemon Pie (LP, 1985)
- The Chrysanthemums:
- Mouth Pain/Another Sacred Day (7" 1987)
- Is That A Fish On Your Shoulder or are you just pleased to see me? (LP/CD 1987)
- The **** Sessions (12" 1988)
- Little Flecks Of Foam Around Barking (CD/2x LP 1988)
- Picasso's Problem/Live at London Palladium (12" 1990)
- Porcupine Quills (LP/CD 1991)
- Odessey and Oracle (LP/CD 1992)
- Chrysanthemums Go Germany/Insekt Insekt (LP/CD/Box 1995)
References edit
- ^ "Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 :: GrowTix".
- ^ "DAVID WASTING PAPER: Jonathan Lemon - Cartoonist Survey #93". 10 March 2010.
- ^ https://www.gocomics.com/blog/2030/meet-your-creator-jonathan-lemon-rabbits-against-magic
- ^ "Jesus Couldn't Drum". Discogs.
- ^ "www.indiespinzone.com". www.indiespinzone.com.
- ^ "Cherry Red represent Lost Moment Records catalogue – Cherry Red Licensing".
- ^ Stewart Mason, 'Yukio Yung', Allmusic (2006)[dead link]. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
- ^ "Musikexpress.de". Musikexpress.de. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vN9ubMi3iQ&t
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/artist/3986190-Little-Green-Hondas
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vN9ubMi3iQ&t=297s
- ^ "AAEC".
- ^ "National Cartoonists Society".
- ^ "Peace Corps needs a few good geeks". The Mercury News. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "2015 NCS Awards: Pastis, Price lead divisional 'Silver Reuben' finalists". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Finalists announced for 2021 NCS Divisional Awards for the 76th Annual Reubens". Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
- ^ Gustines, George Gene (26 October 2018). "Alley Oop Will Return (Spoiler Alert)". The New York Times.
- ^ "A Boy and His Tiger: A Tribute to Bill Watterson".
- ^ "The Wonderful World of Comics". Huntington Beach Art Center. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ "Keep the Black Flag Flying, by Yukio Yung".
- ^ "Anike L. Tourse's Drama 'America's Family' Claims Grand Jury & Audience Awards at Dances with Films 2022 – Complete Winners List". 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Jack Has a Plan" – via IMDb.
- ^ "Jack Has a Plan". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Home". jackdocumentary.com.