"My name is Jerm and I am South Africa’s 39th best cartoonist."

So claims JERM (JEREMY NELL), one of the most exciting new talents on the South African cartooning scene. In a few short years he has powered his way to the fore with an astute understanding of modern technology and an unrivalled passion for his work.

Born in 1979, JERM says he didn’t do much after that "until late 2005, when I left my boring corporate job to draw cartoons, drink cheap coffee, and listen to the Sex Pistols and Beastie Boys all day long."

Starting out for The Times with his 'Urban Trash' strip, and then replacing it in 2008 with 'The Biggish Five' which is now widely syndicated. Jerm explains: "I struggled to make it financially beneficial. This was largely due to most editors labelling it “too politically incorrect” because of its cultural stereotyping (on which the gags were based). I then launched The Biggish Five (in English and Afrikaans), which features Africa’s Big Five game as anthropomorphic toddlers, and is currently one of the most widely published local comic strips.

In 2007 he became The Times' first editorial cartoonist, drawing the paper's front page 'pocket cartoon' for almost 3 years.

Jerm then joined the government aligned paper 'The New Age' as their inaugural cartoonist, where he was been given the space that his cartoons deserved, and where he developed his style for almost two years before being fired for not toeing the political line of the publication.

He was snapped up by Eye Witness News the very next month, to produce two editorial cartoons for their website, and as a discussion point for the news service's radio clients.

In 2010 he married "Mrs Jerm" and they live in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, where he works from a home studio, using a Wacom tablet. All of his work is created digitally.

JERM's work is featured in the 2009 and 2010 editions of 'The Year in Cartoons'