Soft-spoken cartoonist historian Tim Jackson, who died on Nov. 3, was best known for his 2017 Eisner-nominated book Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, which put the history of African American editorial cartoonists and comic-strip artists in high relief. But Jackson didn’t just write about pioneering cartoonists of color; he was a pioneering cartoonist of color.
Born Jan. 16, 1958, Jackson grew up in Dayton, Ohio. In his book, he referred to “cartoons in all their forms … as a lifelong fascination.” He described being inspired by his older brother’s “exceptional talent for drawing” and teaching himself to draw by mimicking the comics in the Dayton Journal Herald. Ready to move beyond sharing his cartoons with family and friends, Jackson started sending his work to his favorite cartoonists. “It never occurred to my youthful imagination that the people who drew those strips were not working away right there in the newspaper building downtown,” he wrote. “That’s where I addressed the letters and somehow, after a month or two, the inquiries managed to reach the cartoonists; then responses came back in the mail.”
Jackson received responses from such luminaries as Milton Caniff, Tom Batuik and Mike Peters. But it was bittersweet: “I recall at that time in my life feeling as if I was the only African-American who wanted to draw cartoons, since all of the comics I encountered lacked characters with which I could identify.”
These feelings would change when a friend showed him a comic strip torn from the Dayton Daily News. Created by African-American cartoonist Morrie Turner, Wee Pals was an “integrated comic strip” that “featured four distinguishably Black individuals, faces that were free of scribbled lines to indicate skin color.” Jackson reached out. Not only did Turner respond, but they continued to correspond until Turner’s death in 2004. Turner offered encouragement and professional advice and inspired Jackson to learn more about the history of Black cartoonists and the Black press.
By 1972, Jackson published his first ever cartoon in the Dayton Journal Herald.
Jackson attended Colonel White High School in the mid-1970s where he joined the school newspaper, Cougar Den. He wore several hats: layout artist, graphic designer, writer, and of course, cartoonist. During this time, a series of his comic strips was also published by the Dayton Daily News. Jackson also took a weekend job with the Dayton Black Press, which he credited for giving him hands-on experience in the production of community news.
Jackson moved to Chicago in 1981 to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) where he majored in film, animation and art education. He also spent several years teaching cartooning through Truman College’s adult education program and at several local community centers.
In 1985, Jackson graduated from SAIC and founded Creative License Studio Inc., primarily as a provider of art and graphics. By 1995 he was syndicating editorial cartoons and social commentary to newspapers around the country and publishing comic books focusing on social awareness through the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Department of Public Health. Also in 1995, Jackson published a collection of his social-commentary cartoons titled Continuously Dis’d by the System.
In 1999 Jackson started at the Chicago Defender newspaper as a layout artist. Within a year he had transitioned to the role of contributing editorial cartoonist, working under pioneer Black cartoonist Chester Commodore. Jackson continued at the Defender, drawing cartoons on local issues for 14 years.
In addition to his Defender work, Jackson drew weekly cartoons for The Madison Times in Wisconsin; Capital Outlook in Tallahassee, Florida.; the Cincinnati Herald and Dayton Defender in Ohio; Northern Kentucky Herald; and the magazine Urban Life Northwest in Seattle.
The Sunday Chicago Tribune's Perspectives section ran Jackson's cartoons from 2006 to 2008. He also served as Art Director for LifeTimes, a newsletter of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Texas. He was a longstanding member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
Brandon Pope, the President of the National Association of Black Journalists-Chicago, offered the following statement:
We extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Tim Jackson. Tim’s artistry, wit, and unwavering commitment to capturing the Black experience through his cartoons left an indelible mark on the world. His work was more than just illustrations; it was a voice for our community, highlighting our triumphs, struggles, and stories with grace and authenticity.
Tim’s legacy will continue to inspire and uplift generations of Black artists, journalists, and storytellers. His presence will be deeply missed, but his spirit lives on in every frame, every panel, and every heart he touched.
May his family find comfort in knowing the profound impact he made in the world of Black journalism and beyond.
Artist-publisher Turtel Onli said Jackson had a nuanced understanding of creativity, culture, and commerce: “The commerce part really stood out because so many people in the visual arts, particularly, are trained to think that all that matters is passion and devotion and if you're passionate enough and devoted it'll happen.”
Author-filmmaker Ytasha Womack worked with Jackson at the Chicago Defender in the early 2000s. “He was a person who was always doing the work," she said. "He did the work of cataloging Black cartoonists in the time when talking about Black cartoonists and Black newspapers was not a sexy conversation.” And he was doing this at a time when Black newspapers were struggling, and seen as harbingers of the past.
In 1997, Jackson launched the now defunct website, A Salute to Pioneering of Color, featuring information on Black cartoonists. This was the culmination of research that Jackson had been conducting since his early 1970s correspondence with Turner. His goal was to make information about Black cartoonists available online in time for the nation’s 100th anniversary celebration of American cartoon art.
In 2016, the website was developed into a book titled Pioneering Cartoonists of Color. The book included biographies of more than 70 African American cartoonists, placing them in historical context and sharing samples of their work. These cartoons offered a revealing chronological perspective on the Black community during such pivotal historical moments in the U.S. as the Great Migration, race riots, the Great Depression and both world wars.
In an introduction to an upcoming history of Black comics from Fantagraphics, Jackson wrote, “Looking back over my wonder years as a young, aspiring cartoonist, heroes did not necessarily come dressed in requisite cape and brightly colored, form-fitting spandex with color-coordinated undies worn on the outside of their super suits. Instead, my cartooning fascination was with the newspaper variety of comics. The real heroes for me, were the guys frequently pictured with their sleeves rolled up to the elbows and wearing a self-assured grin, while seated at a drafting table surrounded with caricatures and sketches taped to the walls.”
Jackson is survived by his widow, Eva.
The post Remembering cartoonist and historian Tim Jackson, 1958-2024 appeared first on The Comics Journal.
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