Jordan Crane (born September 8, 1973) is an American

comics creator developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...

. A

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

native, Crane first emerged in 1996 with the anthology ''NON'', which he edited, contributed to, and published (under the company name Red Ink). This anthology combines influences from

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

's '' RAW'' and newer comics artists. After two more issues of ''NON'', Crane moved to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and began collaborating with

Highwater Books Highwater Books was an independent comic book publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts. Highwater began in 1997 and folded in November 2004 due to financial pressure. Artists published Notable artists published by Highwater Books included ...

. (There are five issues of ''NON'' in total, all including work by Crane.) He has four graphic novels — ''The Last Lonely Saturday'', ''Col-Dee'', '' The Clouds Above'', and ''Keeping Two''. Crane's '' The Clouds Above'' is a fast-paced children's story that follows the adventures of a boy named Simon and his large cat named Jack. They battle angry clouds and peevish birds, and elude the grasp of an overbearing teacher, with the effect resonating somewhere between ''

Where the Wild Things Are ''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several ti ...

'' and ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

''. Crane is currently working on a quarterly comic called ''Uptight'' where he presents new short stories and serializes his long-running work ''Keeping Two''. In 2009 ''Uptight'' won two

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

s for "Outstanding Series" and "Outstanding Comic" (for ''Uptight'' #3).

Bibliography

* ''NON'' (5 issues, Red Ink, 1992–2002) — anthology; editor and contributor * ''The Last Lonely Saturday'' (Red Ink, July 2000) * ''Col-Dee'' (Red Ink, 2001) * '' The Clouds Above'' (

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

, Sept. 2005) * Uptight (5 issues, Fantagraphics, 2006–2016) * ''Keeping Two'' (Fantagraphics, 2022)

Awards

* 2000 (nominated)

for Outstanding Comic for ''The Last Lonely Saturday'' * 2001

Xeric Award The Xeric Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation based in Northampton, Massachusetts, which for twenty years awarded self-publishing grants to comic book creators, as well as qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations. The Xeric Fo ...

for ''Col-Dee'' * 2002 ** (nominated) Ignatz Award for Outstanding Online Comic for ''Keeping Two'' ** (nominated) Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection for ''NON'' #5 * 2006 ** (nominated) Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist for '' The Clouds Above'' ** (nominated) Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel for '' The Clouds Above'' * 2009 ** Ignatz Award for Outstanding Series for ''Uptight'' ** Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic for ''Uptight'' #3 * 2017 (nominated)

Eisner Award for Best Short Story The Eisner Award for Best Short Story is an award for "creative achievement" in American comic books that has been awarded every year since its creation in 1993. The Eisner Award rules state that "A short story must be within an anthology of big ...

for "The Dark Nothing" in ''Uptight'' #5

References

External links

Jordan Crane's site
* ''The Clouds Above'' i
the New Yorker

original art by Crane
* Print interview i
''The Comics Interpreter'' # 1 Vol. 1
1973 births Alternative cartoonists American comics artists American comics writers Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Series Ignatz Award winners Living people {{US-comics-creator-stub