Chris Jones was first and is foremost of the Keasman writers. Countless drawings, tall tales and fables were formulated by Jones at a very early age. Jones began a collection of his work and called it The Files. The Files were lost without record. It will never be known how badly this work will be missed, but it is sure that this is the origin of Keasman Literature, and it never can be experienced again except through the interpretation by Jones and the rest of the Keasman.

The greatest works from The Files ("The Murder", the Hunk stories and especially "The Blabby Chronicles") would be as essential today as they were then, and "Our Farm" wouldn't be far behind.

"Killer" and "Childhood" were both stories that attempted to stray from the foundation of Keasman Literature. They succeeded. Both are horrible, and both represent the only bad works Jones has ever made. Aside from those two blunders Jones has never written anything truly mediocre.

This is unquestionably the origin of Keasman Literature. Jones' artistry during this legendary period still produces influence that can be seen from Kip Mayton and John Paulk to Chris Martin and David Taylor, and from here he has established himself as by far the single most important figure in Keasman Literature.

Here the seed was planted. What he and the other Keasman have done with this foundation make up the contents of this book. It is just sad that those who desire to create Keasman Literature cannot benefit from these works.

There is no way to accurately gauge the impact these works had on the Keasmanic world. All of these works, except the lost ones, can be found in The Files II; one of the most important works in all of Keasman Literature. The influence of this piece spans all of Keasman Literature.

The species report concept emerged in 1979. "Species Report 1" defined a concept that would be experimented with by many Keasman, most notably David Taylor. Reports 2, 3 and 4 are good but nothing special.

"Journal™" was a recording of events during Jones' sophomore year at high school. It served mainly as a warm-up for what was to come. "Old Hunk Meets Uncle Sam" is both famous and brilliant, one of the most memorable pieces in all of Keasman Literature, and probably the greatest tall tale this side of the Demented Era. "Species Report 5" followed "Hunk". It is the definitive species report and should be read by any artist planning on personal ridicule.

It was with "The Late Manchester" that one first sees glaring hints of the coming of the Demented Era. It is an excellent piece filled with gibberish and "wackyness".

Jones continued on his 1983 roll by developing the comic concept (which is now probably the most popular and accepted form of Keasman work). A-1 is a great beginning. B-1 is very average. A-2 is an excellent follow-up to A-1, but A-3 perfectly realizes the comics concept. If there was ever any doubt that the concept would not work, it is dissolved with this piece.

With "Incredible Journey" the hint of the Demented Era was obvious (when one looks back today). His writing had now become more focused and nutty than ever before. "Species Report 6" is found in Kip Mayton's The Archives Volume II and is an extremely funny piece. It is a report on Mayton himself, and it fits perfectly within the climax of his masterwork. "Species Report 7" capped-off the second Files period excellently, ending on era and beginning another.

This period of Jones' work literally defines Keasmanic comedy.

Peecan Sam is arguably the funniest collection of all time; this collection gets a lot of its humor from its unstructured nature. While it does contain the insane "Lowe Prophecies" and the hilarious and powerful "Blanch Geezers", this collection gets most of its humor from its abstract drawings. The best examples are "Mother Sees the Baby", "Happy Roy/A Quick One", and "?". This collection shows Jones' imagination at its most abstract and conceptual.

Born Decomposed offers much more of Jones' vivid imagination in a much more structured way. This collection begins with Jones' hightly fictionalized autobiography "My Life in Brief" which destroys any realistic interpretation of the author. In other words, if this story is true I'll eat hay. This story has nothing to do with his true life and is hilarious. The next selection, "This Time Will Surely Come", is funny although it is pure filler. "Horace's Terror" and "Please Be Reconveyed" are both short stories and are quite good. Full of demented humor, these stories are completely wacky. The centerpiece of this collection is "Salt Instances", and it is incredible. It is a collection of shocking comics in which the comics concept is taken to its fullest extreme. Completely idiotic and silly, these comics produce repeated belly laughs with each reading. This collection is slightly less humorous than his last, but the ambition of this project makes it xcellent in its own right.

"Superhero" is a slight stray from the Demented Era. It almost leans to a serious side. It is not included in any collection, but it would provide a little entertainment. However, Jones' other work from this period is much funnier than this.

With "Amotlow" Jones proves that an idle mind is not necessarily the devil's workshop. Conceived at Motlow State in the 1984-85 school year, this release is both parody and satire. The target of all of this is Economics teacher, Steve Cross. To a person who never had Cross, this piece may seem to be something of a mishmash, and therefore, may want to avoid it. If a person has had him, however, the concept jumps up from the pages and bites you on the bottom.

This piece evolves slowly and effortlessly, and by the end the reader sees a student on the brink. It begins with something every person has done at one time or another, doodling on class notes. The initial doodles in his class notes are the springboard for everything. Once the drawing of Cross' face is perfected, he continues the evolution by moving to bigger things to satisfy his boredom. He moves from Cross faces to "Merry Twismas" and interviews with Cross and his "arch-enemy" Diper Belh. By the end it is obvious that Jones wants out (Cross be gone!). The reader gets the slimy feeling that soon Jones would resort to throwing real watermelons and axes at him.

This piece may not be for everyone, but if anyone has ever had a boring class, he can understand the basis for it.

CJ/CM