Jon Russo
Cartoon ideas usually strike Jon Allen Russo in the middle of the night, rousing him from sleep. As he puts it, “The Muses come to inspire.” However, if Jon doesn’t rise and shine, then the Harpies terrorize him to get to work at the art board!
Cartooning is a lifelong passion for Jon. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he served as the newspaper cartoonist from his elementary through high school years. His first editorial cartoon appeared in his junior high school newspaper: caricatures of Nixon and McGovern for the 1972 presidential election. Jon attended Louisiana State University and served as the political cartoonist for The Daily Reveille, winning awards for his ideas. While at LSU, he was also involved in advertising design and sales.
After graduation in 1980, he worked in advertising sales at the Times Picayune of New Orleans,serving there until 2001 when he moved to New York City to pursue his passion for stage and film acting.
In 2003, Jon relocated to Paris, furthering his work on stage and film. He returned to the New York area in 2008 and, while still accepting acting roles, began working as the editorial cartoonist for The Glen Ridge Voice and The Montclair Times newspapers.
During Jon's tenure with The Montclair Times, a newspaper that covers one of Manhattan's most consequential suburbs, he won numerous New Jersey Press Association and Society of Professional Journalists awards.
Jon's cartoons in The Montclair Times, a Gannett publication, were often distributed nationwide for other Gannett newspapers to publish.He continued work there until 2024 when he signed on with Creators.
Jon lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is beholden to three cats. He is happily married to his college sweetheart, Ginger, and cherishes their daughter, Jenifer, the “flower of his heart.”
