Artist and writer Jack Jackson (a.k.a. “Jaxon”) first gained notoriety as an underground cartoonist. He is generally credited with having created the first underground comic, God Nose, and cofounded Rip Off Press, one of the first independent publishers of underground comics. Today he is more widely known as a cartoonist-historian specializing in the history of his native Texas. His books include Comanche Moon, Los Tejanos, The Secret of San Saba, Indian Lover: Sam Houston & the Cherokees, and Lost Cause, the story of John Wesley Hardin. The excerpt printed in Rosebud 21 is from his book Long Shadows (1985, Paramount Publishing, Amarillo TX).

Jackson was born in 1941 in Pandora, Texas. His Texas
roots trace to his great-great-grandfather, who settled during the Republic years of 1836–1845. Indian blood in the family is limited to “some Choctaw, very remotely. I’ve often wondered why I have such a strong spiritual tie with the American Indians,” Jackson says. “I think it all started when I was a kid, growing up in the country, being fascinated with the land and finding in my childhood explorations reminders that people had been there before."

Jack Jackson received numerous awards in recognition of his historical work, including a lifetime fellowship of the Texas State Historical Association. He died in 2006, at age 65.