[AGL] jaxon obit

[Harry Edwards]

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Jack Jackson 1941-2006

Austin cartoonist dies
'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.

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.