Sabrina Jones (born on October 6th, 1960, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

) is an American painter and

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, writer, illustrator, and editor. In addition to her own

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s, she is associated with artist/activist collectives such as Carnival Knowledge and

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

such as ''GirlTalk'' and '' World War 3 Illustrated''.

Biography

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jones moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to study painting at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

. She began writing and illustrating comics in the 1980s, inspired by the societal tumult of the Reagan era and the revived conservative focus on repealing abortion and other reproductive rights.Kelly, Kim
"The amazing life of Margaret Sanger, 'Our Lady of Birth Control': 'I was intrigued that such a great do-gooder was also quite a bad girl in private': Salon talks to Sabrina Jones about her new graphic novel about past and present fights for contraception,"
''Salon'' (July 30, 2016). She joined a group of

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

activist artists called Carnival Knowledge. ''World War 3 Illustrated'' co-founder

Seth Tobocman Seth Tobocman (born 1958) is a radical comic book artist who has been living in Manhattan's Lower East Side since 1978. Tobocman is best known for his creation of the political comic book anthology '' World War 3 Illustrated'', which he started ...

convinced Jones to create her first comic strip for the magazine. She went on to edit and contribute to many issues of ''World War 3 Illustrated'', including "Bitchcraft," "Female Complaints," and "Life During Wartime." In the mid-1990s Jones co-founded (with Isabella Bannerman and Ann Decker) ''Girltalk'', a four-issue

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to ...

of women's

autobiographical comics An autobiographical comic (also autobio, graphic memoir, or autobiocomic) is an autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. The form first became popular in the underground comix movement and has since become more widespread. It is c ...

published by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was fou ...

. In 1997, ''GirlTalk'' was nominated for "Lulu of the Year" by

Friends of Lulu Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, which operated from 1994–2011 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. Membership was op ...

(losing out to ''The Great Women Superheroes'', by

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins bec ...

). In 2002, Jones' work was included in the exhibition ''"She Draws Comics: Trina Robbins and 27 Women Cartoonists"'', curated by

, shown at the Secession Gallery,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria; the exhibition toured to the

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) is a not-for-profit arts organization and former museum in New York City devoted to comic books, comic strips and other forms of cartoon art. MoCCA sponsored events ranging from book openings to educat ...

(New York City) in 2006. Jones created her first historical comics for ''Wobblies! A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World'', published by

Verso Books Verso Books (formerly New Left Books) is a left-wing publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of ''New Left Review''. Renaming, new brand and logo Verso Books was originally known as New Left Books. The ...

in 2005. Her work on ''The Real Cost of Prisons Comix'' inspired her to create ''Mixed Signals'', a

counter-recruitment Counter-recruitment refers to activity opposing military recruitment, in some or all of its forms. Among the methods used are research, consciousness-raising, political advocacy and direct action. Most such activity is a response to recruitment b ...

tool in comic book form. Her first long-form graphic novel was ''

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

: a Graphic Biography'', published in 2008 by

Hill & Wang Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hill & Wang was founded as an independent publishing house in 1956 by Arthur Wang (1917/1 ...

. 2010 saw one of Jones' first collaborations with a writer —

Paul Buhle Paul Merlyn Buhle (born September 27, 1944) is a (retired) Senior Lecturer at Brown University, author or editor of 35 volumes including histories of radicalism in the United States and the Caribbean, studies of popular culture, and a series of ...

. Buhle wrote the text for ''FDR and the New Deal for Beginners'', which was illustrated entirely by Jones. The mixture of a graphic novel and a history book by Buhle and Jones was the latest in the long line of For Beginners books. Jones' artwork was noted by one reviewer for its "thick, darkened contours . . . – like

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

invaded by grainy

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

footage in a

Brechtian Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

landscape." In 2013 Jones wrote and drew ''Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling'', an adaptation of Marc Mauer's book on America's exploding imprisonment rate. In 2016,

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus Book Group, Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard an ...

published Jones' graphic novel ''Our Lady of Birth Control: A Cartoonist's Encounter with

Margaret Sanger Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth contr ...

'', which told Sanger's biography through the lens of Jones' own experiences during the

sexual revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the ...

.Leone, Nicki
"The Legacy of Margaret Sanger: On Sabrina Jones’s ‘Our Lady of Birth Control’,"
''The Millions'' (October 19, 2016). In addition to being a fine art painter, Jones has worked consistently as a scenic artist since 1990, painting scenery for film, theater, and television. In 1994, as a new member of

United Scenic Artists United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, formerly known as United Scenic Artists of America (USAA), is an American labor union. It is a nationwide autonomous Local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It organizes designer ...

Local 829 Jones began weekly work for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'''s broadcasts, a practice that continues to this day. Jones was awarded MacDowell residences in 1995, 1997, and 2004.Jones bio
MacDowell website. Retrieved Nov. 5, 2022. She completed an MFA from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York City in 2003.

Personal life

Jones lives in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York.

Bibliography

Solo projects

* ''Mixed Signals'' (self-published one-shot, 2006) * ''Isadora Duncan: a Graphic Biography'' (

, 2008) * ''Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling'' (

The New Press The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André SchiffrinMarc Mauer's book * ''Our Lady of Birth Control: A Cartoonist's Encounter with Margaret Sanger'' (

, 2016)

Anthologies

* '' World War 3 Illustrated'' (many issues, 1984–2004) — regular contributor, occasional editor * '' Real Girl'' #4 (

, Sept. 1992) — contributor; edited by Angela Bocage * ''GirlTalk'' (4 issues, Fantagraphics, 1995–1996) — co-editor and contributor * ''Wobblies! A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World'' (

, 2005) — contributing cartoonist; edited by

and Nicole Schulman * ''Nature Comics'' #3 (Nature, 2008) — contributed the story "Good Wolf / Bad Wolf" * ''The Real Cost of Prisons Comix'' (

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007, that specializes in radical, Marxist and anarchist literature, as well as crime fiction, graphic novels, music CDs, and political documentaries. It has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area ...

, 2008) — contributed the story "Prisoners of the War on Drugs"

Illustrator

* ''FDR for Beginners'' ( For Beginners, 2010) — with writer

* ''Radical Jesus: A Graphic History of Faith'' (Herald Press, 2013) — illustrated the cover as well as the section "Radical Gospel;" with writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sabrina 1960 births American artists American female comics artists Artists from Philadelphia Living people MacDowell Colony fellows School of Visual Arts alumni