'Through Space and Time with Schwimmer and Jones' (Playboy, May 1980).
Randy Jones is a Canadian editorial cartoonist, illustrator and comic artist, having worked in the USA for New York and Washington newspapers, as well as magazines like Cracked, Heavy Metal, National Lampoon and Playboy. In comics, he is co-creator of the sci-fi spoof 'Through Space and Time with Schwimmer and Jones' with writer Gene Schwimmer in Playboy magazine, and of the superhero parody 'Cigarman' (1997-1998) in Smoke magazine, scripted by Sam Gross.
Early life and Canadian career
Randy Jones was born in 1949 on a potato farm in Exeter, Ontario. As a child, he was first captivated by the power of cartooning while watching the 'Out of the Inkwell' cartoon series by Max Fleischer. Loving classical illustration and children's books, he received his artistic training at H.B. Beal Technical school in London, Ontario. Upon graduation, Jones moved to Toronto, where his first illustration job was 'Goethe's Faust' for the University of Toronto Press in 1970. He divided his time between classical illustration and children's books. Between illustration projects, he started getting editorial illustration jobs, working for almost all the major Canadian newspapers and periodicals, including The Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and Maclean's.
Cartoons in the USA
After four years in Toronto, Randy Jones moved to Manhattan, New York, where he has been active as a freelance illustrator and editorial cartoonist, syndicated through Trimedia Newspaper Syndicate, United Features and his own Inx.Syndicate. His political cartoons have appeared in the New York Times, New York Newsday, Newsweek, Time, Business Week, U.S. News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and World Report. At the same time, he enjoyed working for some of New York City's downtown publications including The Yipster Times. Jones drew more straightforward humor cartoons for Barron's Magazine, Cracked, Heavy Metal, National Lampoon and Hugh Hefner's Playboy.
Together with writer John Boswell and his wife Susan Ferris Jones as fellow illustrator, he made 'The Barack & Michelle Obama Paper Doll & Cut-Out Book' (St. Martin's Griffin, 2009), ridiculing U.S. President Barack Obama. Jones, Steve Radlauer and Ellis Weiner later published 'Monsters of the Ivy League' (Little Brown & Company, 2017), poking fun at various U.S. politicians, while, together with journalist Elllis Henican, he mocked U.S. President Donald Trump in the book 'Trumpitude. The Secret Confessions of Donald's Brain' (Post Hill Press, 2017).
Cartoon by Randy Jones, 16 June 2008. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney gives a jack-o'-lantern depicting the face of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Comics
Randy Jones produced comics for National Lampoon until its demise in 1991, and for Hugh Hefner's Playboy he made the 1980s science fiction spoof strip 'Through Space and Time with Schwimmer and Jones' with writer Gene Schwimmer. For the smokers' magazine Smoke, Jones drew the superhero parody 'Cigarman' (1997-1998), scripted by Sam Gross. Cigarman is the alter ego of wealthy businessman Durham Lonsdale, who is able to turn himself into a giant flying crime-fighter cigar. 'Cigarman' was featured on the back cover of each issue of Smoke Magazine from Spring 1997 until Spring 1998. Afterwards, the comic was replaced with a sports column by Bert Randolph Sugar.
Book illustrations
Randy Jones livened up the pages of various children's books, among them 'Faust' (University of Toronto Press, 1970), Lorrie McLaughlin's 'Shogomac Sam' (St. Martin's Press, 1970) and Susan Saunders' 'Blizzard at Black Swan Inn' (Dell Yearling, 1986). He provided illustrations for the educational history books 'Kids Make History: A New Look at America's Story' (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) and 'Places in Time: A New Atlas in American History' (Clarion Books 2001). For Jim Henson's 'Sesame Street' TV franchise, Jones was in charge of the artwork of two children's books, 'The Sesame Street Mother Goose' and 'Cookie Monster, Where Are You?', both published in 1976 by Random House. Jones was the first, but not the last Sesame Street illustrator to make a Mother Goose-themed book. In 1982, 'The Sesame Street Players Present Mother Goose' was published, with artwork by Michael Smollin, and in 1993 'Sesame Street's Mother Goose Rhymes' (in 2000 reissued as 'Elmo's Mother Goose'), written by Constance Allen and illustrated by Maggie Swanson.
For adult readers, Jones illustrated Doug McDonald's 'Home on the Range: The Complete Practice Guide for the Golf Range' (Golf in the 80's, 1996). Jones and Marion Kozlowski additionally livened up the pages of the film review books 'Love the Sinner, Hate the Cinema' (Now What Media, 2012) and 'More Poison Capsule Reviews' (Now What Media, 2016), written by critic E. Basil St. Blaise. Many of Jones' other books have been published by The Imprint Society, NowWhat Publishing, Toronto Press and W.W. Norton.
INX Syndicate
In 1980, Jones was co-founder of the INX Syndicate, a group of New York Times editorial illustrators banding together. Their goal was to produce and distribute uncensored political images to the news marketplace, keeping editorial control in the hands of the creators. Between 1983 and 2002, the team had a long-term contract with United Feature Syndicate, that took care of the promotion and distribution. After their association with the syndicate ended, the remaining INX members banded together to establish the website inxart.com and self-syndicate work in a digital variation on the group's original model.
Other activities
Randy Jones is also active as a sculptor, working with bronze, stainless steel and plaster. Randy Jones and his wife, illustrator Susan Ferris Jones, eventually moved back to Ontario, Canada.
Homonym confusion
Randy Jones should not be confused with a jazz drummer (1944-2016), baseballer (1950), bobsledder (1969), ice hockey player (1981) or the cowboy from the pop band The Village People (1952) of the same names.
Christmas card by Randy Jones.