Final Crisis' Jones shares his feelings

PHILADELPHIA - June 1, 2008 J.G. Jones is a freelancer. He has done work for DC's 52 and Vertigo's Y: The Last Man. He is currenty the artist for DC's universe altering event - Final Crisis.

6abc.com: J.G., what got you interested in comic books?

J.G.: I read comics as a kid like everybody else. Basically, because my brother beat me incessantly and I had to find a refuge.

6abc.com:You drew the cover to every issue of DC's year-long weekly series 52. Was that difficult to make a new cover every single week?

J.G.: No, actually, that was just pure fun. I got to just play. It was probably the most fun I had drawing comics ever.

6abc.com: Did you ever have to do anything as demanding as that?

J.G.:Actually, Final Crisis is much more involved. We did a lot of planning for 52 and I sat in the planning sessions with the writers and just drew cover sketches based on the ideas they were throwing around, so I was already ahead of the game and some of the covers were cataloged and ready to go long before we used them. So it looked like a lot of work, and it was a good deal of work, but I was way out ahead of it. It was a fun, easy gig.

6abc.com: For one who is not familiar with DC and the crises that take part in their comics, how would you describe a DC crisis such as Final Crisis?

J.G.: They're big event comics that come along every decade or so that involve the entire DC universe. Big shakeups. World shattering, Earth shattering, multi-universe shattering events.

6abc.com:Can you explain the process in creating an issue of Final Crisis?

J.G.: They're so much that goes into every issue. We started planning a long time ago. We did a lot of design work beforehand, talking with [writer] Grant [Morrison]. I actually went to see Grant in Scotland. We sat down over a table and worked for about half a week on designing and plot ideas he had. He explained the whole thing to me, so I knew where it was going.

6abc.com: Do you always feel completely satisfied with your work or do you say to yourself, 'I could have done this better?'

J.G.: It's always I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that. I usually don't look at my books after I'm done drawing them, it's just too painful.

6abc.com: Without giving too much away, what can people expect from Final Crisis? J.G.: Mayhem. Expect lots of mayhem.

6abc.com: (Trying to get more out of J.G.) Are any heroes in jeopardy?

J.G.: (Not taking the bait) No, we're not going to put any heroes in jeopardy. They're going to sit down; they're going to have crullers and coffee together and they're going to commiserate about old times. 'Remember that crisis back in the 80s; man, that was some stuff.'

6abc.com: You did covers for Y, The Last Man series, which Wizard voted the number one comic book in the past 17 years. What was it like working on that series?

J.G.: Well, they came to me and they told me 'this is going to be the number one comic in Wizard history, would you like to do the covers?' Basically, Heidi MacDonald who was editing the book at the time called me up and said 'J.G., would you like to be a cover artist for a book that has one guy, the rest is all women, motorcycles, and monkeys?' Yeah, it's got monkeys.

6abc.com: And the monkey's name was Ampersand, too.

J.G.: Which I still have trouble spelling, so don't ask me to.

6abc.com:Well, you could always just draw the symbol as they do in Wheel of Fortune.

J.G.: (in opening show style) Wheel – of – Fortune.

6abc.com: (changing topics) How do you like being at these comic book conventions?

J.G.: Well, you know I come in, they put me on a palatine, and carried me around like a pasha; I got to wear a little turban. It's a super sweet life.

6abc.com: Where else can you get that treatment?

J.G.: I'm not going to tell you, because you'll show up there.

6abc.com:Where do you see the comic book industry going?

J.G.: I don't know. I didn't expect the comic industry to go where it has today, so I'm not in the prediction business. I'm just focused on my own little niche.

6abc.com: And there are many fans of your niche. Switching gears, what are your feelings towards the superhero movie genre?

J.G.: Superhero movies have sort of become the westerns of our current decade. Hollywood's discovered that comics already have storyboards; they can read it, they get the story, they don't to have to get pitched to them. Now, I think, the technology to make these movies, catching up with digital effects, has made a huge difference.

6abc.com: Finally, what would be a good reason for someone to start reading comics? J.G.: Affordable entertainment.

6abc.com: Thank you very much, J.G.

J.G.:My pleasure.

J.G. Jones' website : http://www.JGJONES.com