Idyl - I'm Age

by Jeffrey Jones, George Pratt (Introduction & Afterword)

IDYL - IM AGE is a 96 page over-sized 9 x 12 art book showcasing the unique vision of celebrated artist Jeffrey Jones. Collected for the first time are all the pages of these graphic strips (both written and illustrated by Jones). This volume contains not only the TWO unpublished Idyl episodes (in National Lampoon), but also the LAST Idyl episode published, which did not make it into the Blue Star edition published in 1975 of collected episodes making this the FIRST comprehensive volume of these two eras of work (1972-1976 and 1981-1987). This volume is published in both Hardcover and Trade Paperback versions has both an Introduction and an insightful Afterword by award winning artist George Pratt.
Note- Due to a late production error the I'M AGE strip from the October 1982 edition of Heavy Metal Magazine is missing from this collection.

---Idyl was my favourite thing that was a comic when I was a teenager. I didn't understand the ones I read, but I loved them anyway. . . . Now they're collected and are as magical and elegant as they ever were.---
- Neil Gaiman

Genres: Comics, Comics Manga, Art

96 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2015

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The single-page comics collected in this volume are truly enigmatic, well in line with the very personal visions that seemed to inform all of Jeffrey Catherine Jones' artwork. The use of minimal background with delicate black-and-white penned lines brings the characters boldly into the foreground, where they deliver curious (and occasionally amusing) non sequiturs.

In some ways, these pieces remind me of George Herriman's earlier work on the "Krazy Kat" newspaper comic strip, given that both series emphasize a whimsical approach to language, narrative, and meaning. In both cases, the reader is invited to briefly enter unique, hermetic worlds where the creator feels no obligation to reveal their intent, leaving the audience to puzzle through the landscape on their own.

Jones is not as successful as Herriman in fleshing out the landscape of his imagined world(s), giving the reader a taste, some hints, and little else. And yet the appeal of "Idyl" and "I'm Age" remains: the opportunity to experience such a personal artistic creation is a gift, even if that gift is equally baffling and beautiful.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE Jeffrey Jones artwork. There I've said it! I can't tell you why as it appears unfinished, not slick in the sense of hard clear lines.
I tripped over examples of Idyll and I'm Age over the years and when I discovered that this collection was published I had to get it. You need to know, just in case, Jones' draws naked women in thoughtful repose philosophizing in random thoughts. That's the best I can do in describing these two series. As I was immersed in these crazy strips two things occurred to me: how like Krazy Kat the strips are, in the sense that the reader needs to just enjoy without trying too hard; and secondly that "I'm Age" sounded like "Iron Age" mis-heard by a young child. Could that be right?
Many thanks to Donald Grant for publishing this classic!

[Brett Marcus Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, it is infuriating how this book, published after her death, leaves out the middle name that Jones took on after she started transitioning. It should be Jeffrey Catherine Jones. It's especially frustrating, but not surprising, that her transition isn't mentioned at all.

(Before ordering this I watched a documentary on her, filmed shortly before her death, titled Better Things, on Kanopy. Only one person interviewed uses her proper pronouns and that person only shows up for one clip. Everyone else misgenders her and you can see them really struggle when the topic of her transition is brought up)

But the comics themselves are gorgeous and lyrical, even when I frequently didn't really get what Jones was trying to say. I had a bunch of old Heavy Metal magazines with I'm Age in them, my first exposure to her work, but this was my first time seeing Idyl, which was done for National Lampoon in the late seventies. I keep feeling like there's a connection between these strips and her finally getting to transition in the late nineties, but maybe I'm grasping at straws there.

[Ángel Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una preciosidad, de principio a fin. Una joya delicada concebida por alguien que era demasiado exquisito para esto de los cómics. Las palabras no importan, no son más que excusas para desplegar un virtuosismo gráfico rara vez visto en cualquier arte.

Jeffrey Katherine Jones falleció en 2011. Nunca fue feliz, ni siquiera cuando decidió transicionar de hombre a mujer. Pero su obra perdura, conmueve, asombra. La obra de un verdadero, una verdadera, artista. Descanse en paz.

[Jaydub · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are single page comic strips by artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones. The strips and stories themselves seem to be more random collections of thoughts and ideas rather than cohesive storyline comic strips. I am happy to own this for Jones' gorgeous artwork alone.

[Elvis Cosovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda fun. Has some clever jokes and nice art.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for the Jones' art and it's very good. The writing was beyond me, and I rarely enjoyed any of its nonsense, brief as each sequence was.