Gerard Jones

Summary

Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957)[1] is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for the Green Lantern and Justice League lines for DC Comics.

Gerard Jones
Born (1957-07-10) July 10, 1957 (age 66)
Cut Bank, Montana, U.S.
OccupationWriter
GenreSuperhero comics scripting, non-fiction
Notable worksThe Comic Book Heroes
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
Prime
Notable awardsEisner Award (2005)
Website
gerardjones.blogspot.com

In 2018, Jones was convicted of possession of child pornography, and sentenced to six years in prison.

Early life edit

Jones was born in Cut Bank, Montana, and raised in the California towns of Los Gatos and Gilroy.[2]

Career edit

From 1983 to 1988, Jones and his writing partner Will Jacobs were contributors to National Lampoon magazine. From 1984 to 1986, Jones and Jacobs wrote articles about the Silver Age of Comics for the hobbyist publication Comics Feature. They also wrote The Beaver Papers – a book parodying the TV series Leave It to Beaver – and The Comic Book Heroes: From the Silver Age to the Present. He and Jacobs returned to humorous fiction in 2014 with The Beaver Papers 2 and My Pal Splendid Man.[3]

From 1987 to 2001, Jones wrote comic books for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Viz Media, Malibu Comics, and other publishers, including such series as Green Lantern,[4] Justice League,[5] Prime, Ultraforce, El Diablo, Wonder Man, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, The Shadow, Pokémon Adventures, Dragon Ball, Batman, and – with Jacobs – The Trouble with Girls.[6]

Since 1993, Jones has written primarily non-fiction books, mainly concerning American culture and media, including television comedy (Honey I'm Home), violence in entertainment (Killing Monsters), and comic-book history (Men of Tomorrow). He appears in documentaries, including Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, American Masters: Lucille Ball, and Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America.[citation needed]

Personal life edit

The residence of Jones and his wife is in San Francisco.[7]

Possession of images of child sexual abuse edit

Jones was arrested in December 2016 on charges of distributing and possessing images of child sexual abuse. His lawyer first entered a plea of "not guilty",[7] but in April 2018 Jones changed his plea to "guilty", admitting that the police had found "numerous electronic devices containing tens of thousands of images and hundreds of videos of child pornography" in his home.[8] In August 2018, Jones was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by a five-year period of supervised release, with an unspecified amount of restitution to be paid to his victims.[8][9]

Jones subsequently began writing about his experiences in prison, and about the life events that led him to commit his crimes; these writings were collected by his friends and former colleagues, and posted online.[10]

Jones was released from prison in December 2022.[11]

Awards edit

  • 2005 Eisner Award, Best Comics-Related Book: Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book

Bibliography edit

Books edit

  • The Beaver Papers: The Story of the Lost Season (with Will Jacobs, Crown Publishers, 1984, ISBN 978-0-517-54991-9)
  • Honey I'm Home: Sitcoms Selling the American Dream (St. Martin's Griffin, 1993, ISBN 978-0-312-08810-1)
  • The Comic Book Heroes: The First History of Modern Comic Books – From the Silver Age to the Present (with Will Jacobs, Crown Publishing Group 1985, 1996 – revised edition – ISBN 0-517-55440-2 )
  • Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence (Basic Books, 2003, ISBN 978-0-465-03696-7)
  • Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book (Basic Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0-465-03657-8)

Comics edit

References edit

  1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Tobin, Pat (May 14, 2007). "Pat Tobin on a Comics-Related Event at Fordham University on June 2". ComicsReporter.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  3. ^ Atomic Drop Press Archived April 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on January 8, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Writer Gerard Jones and penciller Pat Broderick jump-started the further adventures of Hal [Jordan] and company by beginning Green Lantern's third ongoing series, which would last an impressive 181 issues.
  5. ^ Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 252: "With the [Justice League] titles spearheaded by Superman mainstay Dan Jurgens, writer Gerard Jones and artists Rick Burchett and Ron Randall jumped on board as well to help revitalize the franchise."
  6. ^ Gerard Jones at the Grand Comics Database
  7. ^ a b Bodley, Michael (January 7, 2017). "Comic book author suspected of putting child porn on YouTube". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "San Francisco Resident Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Possessing And Distributing Child Pornography". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "GERARD JONES Sentenced to 6 Years for Child Pornography". Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Green Lantern Writer Gerard Jones Writes a Blog From Prison, by Rich Johnston, at Bleeding Cool; published May 8, 2020; retrieved July 31, 2021
  11. ^ Johnston, Rich (April 11, 2023). "Gerard Jones Was Released From Jail In December Last Year". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved April 11, 2023.

External links edit

  • The Porn Prison, Jones's prison blog
  • Jones's pre-prison blog on Blogger
  • Gerard Jones at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
  • Gerard Jones at IMDb
Preceded by Green Lantern writer
1990–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Justice League America writer
1994–1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Justice League Europe writer
1990–1994
Succeeded by
n/a