A Tale of Jane – B&W

The world is, and has been, full of unnoticed pioneers. They go unheralded because they took the road not taken and either no one followed or someone else followed in such a noisy way that the original pioneer was forgotten. This happens in all realms of human endeavors – art, invention, commerce, philosophy, physical exploration – you name it. I have an admiration for the unsung explorer, even when (sometimes especially when) they went down a path I wouldn’t travel myself.

One such pioneer was Jane Oliver. Most of what I know of her is from the article linked to her name here. She was a cartoonist who published her own work from 1976 until cancer killed her in 1992. She was a woman practicing an art form mostly done by men. Her stories were about vampires and rock and roll. She doesn’t have an entry in Wikipedia. Neither does Wikipedia have an entry for Tales of Jerry, her primary comix endeavor. I met her once, briefly, in 1992, shortly before she passed away. She asked if I’d be interested in contributing anything to Tales of Jerry. I don’t remember my exact answer but I suspect that I was non-committal. Jerry (a series about a red haired hippie vampire) wasn’t really my thing.

25 years later I’ve finally gotten something done. Cheers Jane!