Color me fascinated by J.G. Jones’ commentary on his latest 52 cover over at the Wizard site:
The idea of adding the postcard came late in the process, when the cover was all but finished. I wanted to have the background almost black and have the postcard very dark, sort of sitting back there in the gloom, so there was something going on in the third layer of the background. I also thought it added a slightly comic touch to these ridiculous mad scientists who have been played for laughs throughout the series.
I liked the postcard. I felt the cover needed a third layer, and I fought with DC about this for about two weeks. Then I was away for a week for a comic convention in Orlando, and Mark Chiarello decided to take the postcard out. So now it’s back to the plain black background from the original sketch. At the end of the day they took it out when I was out of town and out of contact. Nice.
Maybe it works better this way. Who knows.
That whole “trouble in Paradise” theme continues for the 52 creators, it seems.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:48 am
not sure why creators feel compelled to air their gripes so publicly and in such a nasty tone. i mean if they WANT to burn bridges, by all means, go ahead. if not be a little more politic and / or private.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
On the other hand, he’s right: Without the postcard, the cover’s okay, but no great shakes. With it, IT ROCKS.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
Where exactly is the nasty tone?
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Ron – You think? I’m actually with Chiarello on this one, I think that the black background works better both in a dramatic sense and as a visual cue to Adam’s costume.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
I actually prefer the cover as it was published, without the postcard. Nice to see the other option, though…
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:47 am
“not sure why creators feel compelled to air their gripes so publicly”
To tell the other company, “hey, my when my exclusivity is up, make me an offer.”
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
i dont think the postcard fits. with it it feels comedic
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Myself I feel like the cover is fine without it but I think the postcard hints more at the story and what happens. Greetings from OOLONG Island! It feels like a punch to me. I dunno. And what’s the point of having the blog if you can’t share the entire process and your opinion?
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:24 pm
I think both are fine, but each plays to different aspects of the book. The postcard would pay to the comedy of the scientists. This cover plays to the serious revenge mission Black Adam was on and his subsequent, painful defeat.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I think it looks better without the postcard.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Ultimately, DC can do whatever it likes with its work-for-hire artwork. Artists can certainly make suggestions and lobby hard for certain designs, but at the end of the day, it’s up to DC and its editors.
Speaking as an artist who’s worked with various art directors for a few decades, that’s just the way it goes, J.G. Don’t get too terribly attached to any of your work-for-hire stuff.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I think it works better without the postcard. With the card in the background, the cover gets EXTREMELY busy. There’s just a mess of stuff going on where the postcard backs up the figure work and the lightning bold layers on top. It’s too busy. The black cover helps focus it better.
On the other hand, I think the non-colored image looks better than the colored one. I think all that yellow in the lightning bolt, while appropriate, just muddies up those mad scientists.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
If I talked that way about my employer on an industry website, I’d be not only fired, but blacklisted. Comics are such a strange business.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
It’s the killer robot in the second O of Oolong that just makes it all click for me.
But I do agree with DC that the lightning bolt looks better terminating in Black Adam’s chest, not tapering off behind him.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Sounds like a cop-out on Jones’ part to me
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm
To me it sounds like he’s not so much mad that they changed it, he’s mad that they changed it while his back was turned.
Bad communication is a problem despite the final result.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Jesus, there are a lot of people on here who have lots of advice about how best to work for DC. How much of that is backed up by experience?
I’m assuming J.G. Jones knows well enough how what he says will affect his employment. Nice of you guys to look out for him.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Considering the postcard is covered partially by the artwork, it looks too distracting. Sometimes less is more.