Launch Recite Me assistive technology
An illustration of a cracked hand mirror against a bright orange background. The mirror reads “the Life Unlucky” and “J. Crane”, with shards of glass scattered at the base.

Cartoonist Jordan Crane and his excellent What Things Do site

—
Date
4 April 2012

What Things Do is great, really, I couldn’t spend enough time on there. It’s a stopping place for full-length comics complete with impossibly great cover art, and the names and work that sit on it read like a register of the new and old school of cartooning and comics influencers.

The motivation of its creator, Jordan Crane, could not express my own sentiments more: “We want to read comics, good comics, a lot of them, and all the time.” Somehow WTD brings together, regularly and without a blink of the collective curatorial eye, a brilliant resource and worthy platform for the medium.

"We want to read comics, good comics, a lot of them, and all the time."

Jordan Crane, What Things Do

Looking at the work of Jordan himself is evidence enough that he practice what he preaches. He has a crafted an aesthetic that uses every panel in an effortlessly articulate way, his narratives are touching and occasionally wildly emotive, and there is a subtle yet consistent emphasis on sound that feels that much more sophisticated – like abstract shapes that occupy a space rather than the ambiguous “zaps” of popular super hero comics. His illustration style is clear and unpretentious which is kind of great for the sprawlingly-emotional and situational leaps the frames take you through.

With a illustrative career spanning… well, a long time, the value of Jordan’s work is well worth reimbursing with a few of your own hours.

A black and white illustration of two figures in winter gear firing rifles. Large, stylised text reads “BAM” at the top and bottom, with a speech bubble that says “git ’im!”.
Above

Page of Only a Movie © Jordan Crane

An illustration for a magazine cover titled “UPTIGHT” in bold red letters. A figure in a pink dress is held upright by green hands from above, while another figure in yellow is suspended upside down. Below them, a crowd of green hands reaches upwards against a black background.
Above

Cover for Uptight No.3. © Jordan Crane

A two-panel line illustration of someone washing dishes. In the first panel, a hand holds a plate under a running tap. In the second, a gloved hand places a dish onto a crowded drying rack.
Above

Crop of Keeping Two © Jordan Crane

A black and white comic strip consisting of four panels. The scenes show figures inside a car, including a person wearing a cap and a person with long dark hair.
Above

Crop of Keeping Two © Jordan Crane

A four-panel comic illustration in black ink on a cream background. A person travels on a train and walks through a landscape, with small black marks appearing in each scene.
Above

Crop of Keeping Two © Jordan Crane

An illustration of a taco truck parked in front of a garage. The truck reads “Rico’s TACOS • TORTAS” and is parked beneath a sign for “RAPID” repairs. Large, stylised text at the top reads “CHAPTER TWO UNRAVELING”.
Above

Cover for chapter two of Unravelling © Jordan Crane

Share Article

About the Author

Bryony Quinn

—

Bryony was It’s Nice That’s first ever intern and worked her way up to assistant online editor before moving on to pursue other interests in the summer of 2012.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.