Jonathan Lemon
Jonathan Lemon | |
|---|---|
 Lemon speaking at the Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018[1] | |
| Born | Jonathan Dee Lemon April 13, 1965 Watford, England |
| Education | University of Brighton |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Notable work |
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Jonathan Lemon is a British and American cartoonist and former musician. He is best known for drawing the Alley Oop comic strip.
Early life and education
[edit]Lemon was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1965, and earned a degree in visual and performing arts at the University of Brighton,[2] as well as attending the University of Havana to study Spanish language and Cuban cultural studies.[3]
Music career
[edit]In 1984 he formed the pop band Jesus Couldn't Drum with guitarist Peter Pengwyn, and occasionally featuring Lester Square from The Monochrome Set.[4] The band went on to record three albums and had modest indie chart success with their third single "I'm a Train".[5] In 2018, the band's back catalog was acquired by Cherry Red Records.[6]
Two years later, Lemon joined The Chrysanthemums along with Alan Jenkins, leader of The Deep Freeze Mice, and Terry Burrows. A psychedelic art pop band with a large cult following almost entirely outside of the UK, they released four albums and four EPs.[7] In 2010, German music magazine MusikExpress placed them at number 23 in their list of the most under-rated bands of all time.[8]
Between 1984 and 1987 he performed in the surf cabaret band Little Green Hondas,[9][10] who won the British National Busking Championship in 1986.[11] He also worked as a stand-up comedian in comedy clubs in and around Brighton and London for which he received two Zap Awards and a South East Arts Award.[12]
Cartooning Career
[edit]Lemon began working as a cartoonist, first for Poot! Comic, and later relocated to California in 1992 where, as a political cartoonist, his work appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury and the Boston Globe amongst others. He is a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists[13] and the National Cartoonist Society,[14] where he currently serves on the board.[15]
His long running comic strip Rabbits Against Magic was nominated for a Silver Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society in 2012, 2014, and 2021.[16][17]
In 2019, along with writer Joey Alison Sayers, he took over the drawing duties on the classic comic strip Alley Oop.[18]
On November 17, 2025 he was featured as the guest cartoonist on The Jumble.[19][20]
His work has been exhibited at the Cartoon Art Museum[21] and the Huntington Beach Arts Center.[22] He has done album artwork for numerous musicians, including Flipper's Guitar, Yukio Yung,[23] and the Thurston Lava Tube. Both Lemon and his comic strips appear in the 2022 award winning[24] documentary feature film "Jack Has a Plan."[25][26][27]
On January 1, 2026, he took over the comic strip Thatababy.[28][29][30]
Personal life
[edit]Lemon lives in San Francisco with his wife and son. [31] He is a lifelong vegetarian.[32]
Between 2003-2005 he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras.[33]
He is a big supporter of Richard Thompson's collaborative project Team Cul de Sac which aims to help find a cure for Parkinson's disease.[34]
In 2019 Lemon appeared on the Strangers in Space podcast naming Who Framed Roger Rabbit as his favorite movie. He is also a huge fan of Watford Football Club. [35]
Selected discography
[edit]- Jesus Couldn't Drum:
- Er...Something About Cows (LP, 1984)
- Good Morning Mr. Square (LP, 1984)
- Ruttling Orange Peel and Blind Lemon Pie (LP, 1985)
- The Chrysanthemums:
- Mouth Pain/Another Sacred Day (7" 1987)
- Is That A Fish On Your Shoulder or are you just pleased to see me? (LP/CD 1987)
- The **** Sessions (12" 1988)
- Little Flecks Of Foam Around Barking (CD/2x LP 1988)
- Picasso's Problem/Live at London Palladium (12" 1990)
- Porcupine Quills (LP/CD 1991)
- Odessey and Oracle (LP/CD 1992)
- Chrysanthemums Go Germany/Insekt Insekt (LP/CD/Box 1995)
- Decoy For A Dognapper! (CD 2022)
References
[edit]- ^ "Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 :: GrowTix".
- ^ "DAVID WASTING PAPER: Jonathan Lemon - Cartoonist Survey #93". March 10, 2010.
- ^ "Meet Your Creator: Jonathan Lemon (Rabbits Against Magic)". www.gocomics.com. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Jesus Couldn't Drum". Discogs.
- ^ "www.indiespinzone.com". www.indiespinzone.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
- ^ "Cherry Red represent Lost Moment Records catalogue – Cherry Red Licensing".
- ^ Stewart Mason, 'Yukio Yung', Allmusic (2006)[dead link]. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
- ^ "Musikexpress.de". Musikexpress.de. March 17, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
- ^ "Hondalogue II". YouTube. May 5, 2016.
- ^ "Little Green Hondas". Discogs.
- ^ "Hondalogue II". YouTube. May 5, 2016.
- ^ https://www.toonpool.com/artists/Lemon_1247
- ^ "AAEC".
- ^ "National Cartoonists Society".
- ^ https://nationalcartoonists.com/about/
- ^ "2015 NCS Awards: Pastis, Price lead divisional 'Silver Reuben' finalists". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ "Finalists announced for 2021 NCS Divisional Awards for the 76th Annual Reubens". Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ Gustines, George Gene (October 26, 2018). "Alley Oop Will Return (Spoiler Alert)". The New York Times.
- ^ https://www.gocomics.com/puzzles/jumble
- ^ https://www.jumble.com/jumble
- ^ "A Boy and His Tiger: A Tribute to Bill Watterson".
- ^ "The Wonderful World of Comics". Huntington Beach Art Center. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ "Keep the Black Flag Flying, by Yukio Yung".
- ^ "Anike L. Tourse's Drama 'America's Family' Claims Grand Jury & Audience Awards at Dances with Films 2022 – Complete Winners List". June 20, 2022.
- ^ "Jack Has a Plan" – via IMDb.
- ^ "Jack Has a Plan". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Home". jackdocumentary.com.
- ^ "2025: Debuts, Departures, and the Dearly Departed – Part Two: Detours and Deviations". The Daily Cartoonist. January 1, 2026. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ^ https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2026/01/02/the-new-thatababy-now-by-jonathan-lemon/
- ^ https://www.gocomics.com/extras/new-thatababy-creator-jonathan-lemon
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qk8aRM3Px0
- ^ https://www.talltaleradio.com/episode-275-alley-oop/
- ^ "Peace Corps needs a few good geeks". The Mercury News. April 24, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ https://teamculdesac.com/
- ^ https://jrsouthall.podbean.com/e/desert-planet-picks-12-jonathan-lemon/