Jonathan Lemon
Lemon speaking at the Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018[1]
Born
Jonathan Dee Lemon

(1965-04-13) April 13, 1965
Watford, England
EducationUniversity of Brighton
Occupations
  • Cartoonist
  • Musician
Years active1990–present
Notable work
  • Rabbits Against Magic
  • (2006–present)
  • Alley Oop
  • (2019–present)


Jonathan Lemon is an English-born American cartoonist and former musician. He is best known for drawing the Alley Oop comic strip.

Lemon was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1965, and earned an art degree at the University of Brighton.[2]

In 1984 he formed the pop band Jesus Couldn't Drum with guitarist Peter Pengwyn, and occasionally featuring Lester Square from The Monochrome Set.[3] The band went on to record three albums and had modest indie chart success with their third single "I'm a Train".[4] In 2018, the band's back catalog was acquired by Cherry Red Records.[5]

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.[6] In 2010, German music magazine MusikExpress placed them at number 23 in their list of the most under-rated bands of all time.[7]

Between 1984 and 1987 he performed in the novelty surf cabaret band Little Green Hondas, [8] [9] who won the British National Busking Championship in 1986.[10]

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[11] and the National Cartoonist Society.[12]

Between 2003-2005 he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras.[13]

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.[14][15]

In 2019, along with writer Joey Alison Sayers, he took over the drawing duties on the classic comic strip Alley Oop.[16]

His work has been exhibited at the Cartoon Art Museum[17] and the Huntington Beach Arts Center.[18] He has done album artwork for numerous musicians, including Flipper's Guitar, Yukio Yung,[19] and the Thurston Lava Tube. His comic strips are also featured in the 2022 award winning[20] documentary feature film "Jack Has a Plan."[21][22][23]

Selected discography

  • 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

  1. ↑ "Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 :: GrowTix".
  2. ↑ "DAVID WASTING PAPER: Jonathan Lemon - Cartoonist Survey #93". 10 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "Jesus Couldn't Drum". Discogs.
  4. ↑ "www.indiespinzone.com". www.indiespinzone.com.
  5. ↑ "Cherry Red represent Lost Moment Records catalogue – Cherry Red Licensing".
  6. ↑ Stewart Mason, 'Yukio Yung', Allmusic (2006). Retrieved 25 September 2006.
  7. ↑ "Musikexpress.de". Musikexpress.de. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vN9ubMi3iQ&t
  9. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/artist/3986190-Little-Green-Hondas
  10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vN9ubMi3iQ&t=297s
  11. ↑ "AAEC".
  12. ↑ "National Cartoonists Society".
  13. ↑ "Peace Corps needs a few good geeks". The Mercury News. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  14. ↑ "2015 NCS Awards: Pastis, Price lead divisional 'Silver Reuben' finalists". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  15. ↑ "Finalists announced for 2021 NCS Divisional Awards for the 76th Annual Reubens". Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  16. ↑ Gustines, George Gene (26 October 2018). "Alley Oop Will Return (Spoiler Alert)". The New York Times.
  17. ↑ "A Boy and His Tiger: A Tribute to Bill Watterson".
  18. ↑ "The Wonderful World of Comics". Huntington Beach Art Center. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  19. ↑ "Keep the Black Flag Flying, by Yukio Yung".
  20. ↑ "Anike L. Tourse's Drama 'America's Family' Claims Grand Jury & Audience Awards at Dances with Films 2022 – Complete Winners List". 20 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "Jack Has a Plan" – via IMDb.
  22. ↑ "Jack Has a Plan". Rotten Tomatoes.
  23. ↑ "Home". jackdocumentary.com.
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