'JAXON' KNOWN AS FIRST UNDERGROUND CARTOONIST
By M.B. Taboada
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.
[] �
Jack Jackson 1941-2006
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.
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/06/10jackson.html
==