Jason debuted in 1981 in the Norwegian comics magazine KonK and contributed with several short stories during its lifespan. In 1989, he was admitted to Norway's National Academy of the Arts, where he studied graphical design and illustration. He won the Norwegian Comics Association award in 1991 for the short work pervo.

In 1995, Jason published his first graphic novel, Lomma full av regn (Pocket Full of Rain). He was given the Sproing Award that year. In 1997, he started making Mjau Mjau, a semi-regular comic book featuring nothing but his own works. In 2001, he was once again awarded a Sproing, this time for Mjau Mjau 10. Since 2002, Jason has concentrated on making graphic novels.

Jason has lived in Denmark, Belgium, the USA, and France. As of 2007, he lived in Montpellier. His graphic novels are currently first published in French.

As Jason's exposure has increased, his comics have been published outside Norway, in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and U.S.. Despite international acclaim, Jason has received limited recognition outside of academic circles in his home country, and is currently most popular in France. His American publisher is Fantagraphics.

Jason's work is usually drawn in a minimalist, clean style, influenced by Hergé's ligne claire. His protagonists are usually anthropomorphic animals and/or B-movie monsters. There is little or no talking, and very rarely any captions; unlike most comic books, the reader is forced to rely on the pictures to understand the comics. The net effect is that the comics become reminiscent of silent films and Ernest Hemingway's short stories, where an important part is what is left out.

Jason's comics frequently refer to other works. For example, Tell Me Something is inspired by Buster Keaton's movies, Frankenstein's Monster and related characters appear in You Can't Get There From Here, and fictionalized versions of Ernest Hemingway and other writers are the protagonists of The Left Bank Gang.

• Jason dossier readyourselfraw.com
• Jason publications on Fantagraphics
• Jason publications in French Bedetheque

Footnotes