NYCC '08: JG JONES & GRANT MORRISON LOOK AT THE FINAL CRISIS PAGES

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

On Sunday at New York Comic Con, J.G. Jones had a secret.

Little did the thousands of comic book fans surrounding him know that the portfolio tucked under his arm was filled with dozens of top secret pages from Final Crisis.

Make it to the Final Crisis panel on Sunday? Happen to catch sight of a portfolio in Jones' possession? Yeah, that's the one. And it was sitting nearby as he and Grant Morrison did a signing at the DC Booth on Sunday afternoon, too. Later, when Jones stopped by the Newsarama skybox for a video interview, the black portfolio on the floor behind him leaned against the glass, tilted toward the convention guests looking up from the floor below.

"There are pages!" he said after his video interview, when we asked him about the portfolio as he relaxed and talked to Newsarama outside the skybox. "I've been hanging on to them like they're gold."

Jones said all the editors and creators involved with Final Crisis who were in town for the convention had been spending some time together during the show. Were they working on the final tweaks to the story?

"Last night we all went out and drew a little box in the sand and we had a little monkey knife fight over everything," Jones deadpanned. "No, actually, this is a chance for us just to kind of hang out. We settle everything as we go. We hash everything out week in, week out, online, editors back and forth. So this is just a chance to say, 'Hey, good job everybody," and visit like real human beings."

While inked pages are usually submitted to DC when they're finished so that they can be scanned in for colorists and letterers, Jones approaches his work in a way that means he might not be ready to submit pages right after he works on them. "I don't always finish a page before I move on, because I don't want to slow myself down. So I'll have, like, half a book that needs, say, a head here, or a building there. So I'm just dragging the pages around, teasing them all with it," he said.

So what did everyone who had seen the pages think of what they saw?

"They think... 'Hurry up, Jones!' Draw that head and that building!" he said with a laugh.

As we spoke to Jones about the portfolio he held tightly in his hands, who should surprise us with a visit but Final Crisis writer Grant Morrison himself, entering Newsarama's skybox area, looking for a place to get away from the crowd. And as the artist and writer started talking, we caught them on camera, looking at the Final Crisis pages together.

Obviously, what follows was all in good fun. (For Morrison's real reaction, scroll down past the photos for our interview...)

When the mugging for the camera was finished, we found out Morrison had actually seen the pages the night before, along with everyone else involved in Final Crisis. And what was his real reaction?

"It's just astonishing," Morrison said. "I mean, the scene I keep talking about is the bit where it's the Terrible Turpin character, the private detective, and he's using a toilet seat to beat the Mad Hatter to death. And you know, I wrote that scene, and you can't even imagine how that may play in a comic. But then you get his version of it, and it's Martin Scorsese plus. You know? And there's blood on the walls and there's actually real physical pain, and suddenly, the whole scene comes to life. And the way he draws Turpin as this old man, but he's clearly the toughest guy you've ever seen -- he catches it, every nuance.. how he holds his cigarettes... everything's there. It's just amazing."

Morrison said he thinks Jones is the perfect choice to co-create this story because his artistic strengths aren't limited to one thing. "He can handle everything from the street-level stuff to the big cosmic ideas. And he's like Frank Quitely 'cause they're people who really work well with me, because they can do emotions and acting, and the characters look real. They've got real body language and real expressions.

"I write lots of expressions," Morrison said, "and there are artists who just can't do an expression. When you ask them to do somebody looking at someone with love, you get a weird grimace. But J.G. knows what that means, and he can actually make it live and breathe, so that's what I love about him. He can do anything. He's just brilliant."

Look for our video interviews with J.G. Jones and Grant Morrison soon, as well as more floor buzz and impromptu interviews with artists and writers on Newsarama's continuing New York Comic Con coverage.

Return to the NY Comic Con mini-site

[scarlettspiderg]

Those are some crazy poses!

[ichorskeeter]

Terrible Turpin slamming Mad Hatter with a toilet seat? That's our Grant!

[Jason Bryant]

Hey! We can see one of the pages in the last pic!

Okay, I can make out... a cat... on it's back... swatting at something. Possibly string?

[Maytal]

A weakness of DC at these cons is that we never see any new art. This would be a good time to drop at least 1 new page from Final Crisis. The only new DC art I have seen that debuts at NYCC was the Power Girl cover (IIRC).

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

"It's just astonishing," Morrison said. "I mean, the scene I keep talking about is the bit where it's the Terrible Turpin character, the private detective, and he's using a toilet seat to beat the Mad Hatter to death. And you know, I wrote that scene, and you can't even imagine how that may play in a comic. But then you get his version of it, and it's Martin Scorsese plus. You know? And there's blood on the walls and there's actually real physical pain, and suddenly, the whole scene comes to life. And the way he draws Turpin as this old man, but he's clearly the toughest guy you've ever seen -- he catches it, every nuance.. how he holds his cigarettes... everything's there. It's just amazing."

I am not reading that.

(Then again, it may not actually be in the comic.)

[Salieri]

Well...well well well. I've been itching to see more of Morrison's take on the Hatter since Arkham Asylum, and...well. This sounds just about what I would have wanted.

[Outoftheblue]

Why does UFC President Dana White get to look at these pages first?

[dmarvp]

Morrison should play Lex Luthon in the next Superman Movie

[Staredcraft]

Originally Posted by dmarvp

Morrison should play Lex Luthon in the next Superman Movie

You want LEx with a heavy scottish accent?

[Moosarama]

I have to say, Morrison's presence at the convention (and Newsarama's coverage of it and him) have me terribly excited for Final Crisis.

[De Martini]

Originally Posted by Cicero

I am not reading that.

(Then again, it may not actually be in the comic.)

Gee, you think?

[Tweekin56]

Does anyone else think that JG Jones looks an awful lot like Richard Kind? Or maybe, they're the same person!!!

[caats19]

get em done jg!!!

[Zenstrive]

So that's the size of paper they do arts...hmmm...really beats the size of my A4 papers :P

[tralfaz]

Batman and an Alpha Lantern standing over a dead body.... don't ask me how I know

[montessaurus]

Oh boy, what a great way to start the day.
The mugging is priceless. The 2nd picture from the top just great.
HELLOOOO NEW WALLPAPER!
Also, I think I'd be okay with a new Grant/JG reaction pic everyday up until FC.

[Kenro]

Originally Posted by Outoftheblue

Why does UFC President Dana White get to look at these pages first?

My thoughts exactly.

[Moriarty]

Those pics are hilarious.

[Ozan]

i can't wait.

[K-DoG7p7]

Originally Posted by dmarvp

Morrison should play Lex Luthon in the next Superman Movie

OMG.. he even has the purple suit! :P

[rwe1138]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

"It's just astonishing," Morrison said. "I mean, the scene I keep talking about is the bit where it's the Terrible Turpin character, the private detective, and he's using a toilet seat to beat the Mad Hatter to death. And you know, I wrote that scene, and you can't even imagine how that may play in a comic.

Hahahahahahaha.

[Johnny Triangles]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

by Vaneta Rogers

When the mugging for the camera was finished, we found out Morrison had actually seen the pages the night before, along with everyone else involved in Final Crisis. And what was his real reaction?

"It's just astonishing," Morrison said. "I mean, the scene I keep talking about is the bit where it's the Terrible Turpin character, the private detective, and he's using a toilet seat to beat the Mad Hatter to death. And you know, I wrote that scene, and you can't even imagine how that may play in a comic. But then you get his version of it, and it's Martin Scorsese plus. You know? And there's blood on the walls and there's actually real physical pain, and suddenly, the whole scene comes to life. And the way he draws Turpin as this old man, but he's clearly the toughest guy you've ever seen -- he catches it, every nuance.. how he holds his cigarettes... everything's there. It's just amazing."

Morrison said he thinks Jones is the perfect choice to co-create this story because his artistic strengths aren't limited to one thing. "He can handle everything from the street-level stuff to the big cosmic ideas. And he's like Frank Quitely 'cause they're people who really work well with me, because they can do emotions and acting, and the characters look real. They've got real body language and real expressions.

"I write lots of expressions," Morrison said, "and there are artists who just can't do an expression. When you ask them to do somebody looking at someone with love, you get a weird grimace. But J.G. knows what that means, and he can actually make it live and breathe, so that's what I love about him. He can do anything. He's just brilliant."

Nice piece, but honestly, after years of reading pieces like this, I think we should just stop on asking writers, editors and artists what they think about their collaborators on upcoming projects. It's always the same interchangeable warmed over cookie-cutter praise over and over and doesn't really shed light on anything. I mean, what is Morrison going to say, "The artist really sucks donkey balls, but what can I do? Buy the book anyway though."

And even worse, we don't actually SEE any pages.

[Yung Hot Rod]

That last image blown up and adjusted. Cuz I'm a fanboy like that.

[comic lounge]

Those pictures made me love those guys even more! Goes to show how well Morrison and Jones deal in a "crisis". Ha!