JG Jones Interview
February 2007

JG Jones is the superstar artist behind the covers of the 52 series, and he is preparing to launch the All Star Batgirl series alongside Geoff Johns.  JG also made headlines for his smooth artwork on the Mark Millar written miniseries, Wanted! 

Interview conducted by Christopher Hoerdemann

You have done every cover for 52!!! That’s a pretty amazing accomplishment. How much time does it take to produce a full cover (pencils, inks, colors, everything)?
The one thing you forgot was sketches. The sketch process can sometimes take almost as long as actually drawing a simple cover. The conception is the most important part of the process. I have to try and come up with a strong concept for the cover before I ever start drawing. That said, if I have a good, solid idea that is approved by DC, the time it takes to complete the piece really depends on how complicated and detailed the particular cover has to be. I've drawn several of the covers in one day. Others have taken a number of days to complete.

Your covers strike a very nice balance between being “iconic” images, and giving a glimpse of the events about to transpire in the story. Does this come easily to you, or is it more of a challenge?
The best thing about doing covers for a weekly comic is that I get to try so many different things. I really like the iconic covers, but it is also fun to pull a particularly arresting image out of an issue and do my version of the scene on the cover. I also love to change my approach and style from one cover to the next. Some of the covers are more design heavy while others are more concerned with good draftsmanship. 52 covers--I wouldn't want to get bored doing the same thing every week for a year. 

   

I’ve read that some of your cover sketches that you’ve shown to the 52 writing team have spawned new story developments. Was this intentional? Did you try and slip some suggestions into your cover sketches?
That's true, but I wasn't pushing any kind of agenda. I was sitting in on the 52 planning sessions with the writers, and everyone was throwing out ideas left and right. I would listen and sketch cover ideas based on what I was hearing. Sometimes I would toss out a cool cover sketch, and the writers would pick up on the thread and add it to the mix. If I had a particular story idea that I thought would work, I would whisper it to Mark Waid and let him throw it into the mix. I didn't want to push myself onto the writing, it was just fun sitting in the room and throwing out ideas.

Your covers are the face of this series. With the success of 52, do you think twenty years from now that these covers will be what you are remembered for?
I certainly hope that this job has added another chapter to my career that fans will remember fondly, but I hope it is not the only thing I'm remembered for in twenty years. I have a lot more art in me, and think it may be time for me to start writing my own comics.

Have you had any, for lack of a better term, “artists block,” during this whole process?
Oh sure, there are definitely times when you just can't get anything going. The ideas just won't come or the drawing is a struggle. You just have to battle through the rough patches. 

   

Which cover took you the longest to figure out, and to be happy with?
Covers 12 and 30 were particularly difficult for some reason. I must have done thirty sketches for issue 12. I wanted to capture a perfect, iconic moment with Black Adam and Isis in love. I was doing more and more complicated versions of the cover. It was maddening, but it turned out that simpler was better, and I think the final cover turned out pretty well. For cover 30, I also did a bunch of sketches and I actually began drawing a completely different cover before I realized that the core of the story in that issue had to be Batman's struggle with himself, and an interesting way to illustrate that. I think that cover ended up getting the most response from the fans of any of the covers.

Tells us what you think about Alex Sinclair. How important is he to your whole process?
If Alex were a beautiful woman, I'd kiss him on the mouth. As it is, I may kiss him on top of his shaved noggin. Alex makes me look brilliant. He is the best colorist I have ever worked with, hands down, and I have worked with some of the best in the business. We had some kinks at the beginning, trying to figure out how to work with one another, but by issue five, we had hit our stride. Working together every week for the better part of a year now, we have developed a perfect simpatico. I know I can trust Alex, and often design and draw covers with his coloring strengths in mind. He's the best.

Which covers are your favorites?
Hmmm. That's tough. I have a handful that I really like, usually the more design oriented covers. I'm not the strongest designer around, and when I actually get off a well designed cover, it makes me happy. That said, I'm partial to covers 8, 22, 25, 26, 31, 40, 44 (not released yet), 45, and 48.

Which ones do you wish you could try again (if any)?
Ouch. I'd probably take a Mulligan on covers 19, 20, 35, and 39. Looking at the answers to the last question, at least I like more of the covers than I hate. 

   

Are there any characters that you want to work with, that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
I've been pretty lucky, so far. I've had the opportunity to draw so many different characters at DC, although not all on the same cover like George Perez. I would, however, like to revisit the Marvel Universe at some point. I grew up reading Marvel comics, and I really love Spiderman and his rogues gallery. Also, I wouldn't mind drawing Marvel Boy again, provided Grant Morrison wrote the story. I also have a number of ideas for my own books that I would like to draw. Maybe it's time to look into that seriously.

Last question: at what point will your hand just fall off and refuse to draw anymore?
Hahahaha! Nah, I never have that problem. Look, I'm lucky. I have a job that so many people would give their right arm to have, if they could draw without their right arm, that is. I'm happy to have the problem of the occasional eye-strain headache if it means I get to do this job and get paid for it.