Three Cartoons in a Fountain

Or why I ignored my father's advice and became a JB of all trades

I’m Jonathan Brown. I draw cartoons for a living. I have for a long time, including a stretch as editorial cartoonist at the Deseret News. These days my work runs in newspapers and periodicals through syndication.

Here’s the thing, tho… I never settled on one kind of cartoon. I draw three styles because I like the creative aspects of each one:

Analog is my comic strip. Characters, punchlines, the long game of a strip you get to know.

The Political Desk is where the editorial cartoons live. I found inspiration early on from the work of Pat Oliphant who once said, “The job of the political cartoonist is to make the comfortable uncomfortable.” That is my aim.

The Gag File is the single-panel stuff. The New Yorker style. A single scene with one caption. Hopefully funny.

And occasionally I’ll open The Drafting Table — roughs, rejects, and how a cartoon gets from a bad idea to a decent one. I draw digitally now, and the process is more interesting than you’d think. I use Rebelle software because in my experience, it comes nearest to the days when I drew on Strathmore 2-ply with a Winsor-Newton 700 series brush, dipped in India Ink. Occasionally I still draw this way. Let me know if you’re interested in purchasing a signed original to frame.

Everything here is free to start. Subscribe and it lands in your inbox. If you only want the strip, or only the politics, you can pick your sections — no worries either way.

If you’ve followed my work in print or online, this is the direct line. If you’re tired of algorithms deciding what you see, this is a good alternative. You’ll get just the cartoons, straight from the drawing board.

Thanks for being here!

— JB

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