Clay Jones is famous for his editorial cartoons taking on national issues, but now he’s going native (part-time).
[An excerpt from] A Note from Clay Jones
I miss drawing local cartoons. I love drawing on national and international issues, but I broke into this business drawing on local issues. I started at a small weekly paper in Mississippi in 1990 drawing about county supervisors. I started my own syndicate in that state focusing on statewide issues, and when I was hired by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, they said I was their choice because they could understand my cartoons on Mississippi topics. From there, they had me draw a daily cartoon on local topics six days a week in full color on the front page. And when The Free Lance-Star hired me, it was to draw local cartoons. Even after I was laid off, I won first place in the National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest for a cartoon I drew for a New York paper on a local topic. So, in a way, I felt it was kind of a shame and waste I haven’t been able to draw on local issues in a while.
But I’m back…
Clay will occasionally (no frequency given) comment on his home state of Virginia for the FXBG Advance.
Thanks, D.D. But stop spreading rumors I’m drawing cartoons while naked. OK, it’s true. Thanks anyway.
For now, we’re thinking about once a month with hopes to do more in the future. This is a brand-new news outlet that’s growing and still building an audience.
Clay works hard for multiple outlets, 7 days a week on GoComics, and on his other projects, and always sharply skewers his targets. Brilliant is not enough to describe his work.
Thank you, Jeffrey.
Clay, you have brought the adjective “quirky” to dizzying new heights of expression and eloquence. From my first Jonesian experience, I was entranced by your wild and different artistic comic art style, your spot- on political and existential awareness with a spicy dose of absurdity, and a refreshingly off-beat and different lens from other cartoonists. I have come to expect gems from you man, and am rarely disappointed. BRAVO!! I do some cartooning, and recognize a master of the art.