Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

for

Malibu Comics Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (launched as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included ''Th ...

, and writing for the

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

lines for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

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

Early life

Jones was born in

Cut Bank, Montana Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, Glacier County, Montana, United States, located just east of the "cut bank" (gorge) along Cut Bank Creek. The population was 3,056 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, and raised in the California towns of Los Gatos and Gilroy.

Career

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 ''Comics Feature'' was an American magazine of news, criticism, and commentary pertaining to comic books, comic strips, and animation. Published by New Media Publishing, it produced 57 issues (and a number of specials) between 1980 and 1987. St ...

''. They also wrote ''The Beaver Papers'' – a book parodying the TV series ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

'' – 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''. From 1987 to 2001, Jones wrote comic books for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

, and other publishers, including such series as ''

'', ''

'', '' Ultraforce'', '' El Diablo'', ''

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...

'', ''

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

'', '' Elongated Man'', ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'', '' Pokémon Adventures'', ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', and – with Jacobs – '' The Trouble with Girls''. 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 Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

'', and ''Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America''.

Personal life

The residence of Jones and his wife is in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Possession of images of child sexual abuse

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", 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. 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. 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.Green Lantern Writer Gerard Jones Writes a Blog From Prison
by

Rich Johnston Richard "Rich" Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist, and founder of the comics news site ''Bleeding Cool''. '' The Comics Journal'' described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet. ...

, at

Bleeding Cool ''Bleeding Cool'' is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston in 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, also called ''B ...

; published May 8, 2020; retrieved July 31, 2021 Jones was released from prison in December 2022.

Awards

*2005

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

, Best Comics-Related Book: ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book''

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Beaver Papers: The Story of the Lost Season'' (with Will Jacobs, Crown Publishers, 1984, ) * ''Honey I'm Home: Sitcoms Selling the American Dream'' (St. Martin's Griffin, 1993, ) * ''The Comic Book Heroes: The First History of Modern Comic Books – From the Silver Age to the Present'' (with Will Jacobs,

Crown Publishing Group The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded int ...

1985, 1996 – revised edition – ) * ''Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence'' (

Basic Books Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York City, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and his ...

, 2003, ) * ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'' (Basic Books, 2005, )

Comics

* ''2099 Unlimited'' #1–10 * ''Batman: Fortunate Son'', DC Comics, 1999 * ''Batman: Jazz'' #1–3 * ''

'' (English translation),

1998–2004 * ''Dragon Ball Z'' (English translation), Viz Media, 1998–2006 * ''Dragon Ball: Full Color'' (English translation), Viz Media, 2014–current * '' El Diablo'', DC Comics, 1989–1991 * '' Elongated Man'' #1–4 * ''Freex'' #1–18 * ''Godwheel'' #0–3 * ''

'' (Volume 3) #1–47, DC Comics, 1990–1993 * '' Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn'' #2–6 (With Jim Owsley,

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (November 30, 1952 – October 9, 2023) was an American comics artist and writer. He was known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of ...

, M.D. Bright and Romeo Tanghal), DC Comics, 1989–1990 * ''Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II'' #1–6, DC Comics, 1991 * '' Green Lantern: Mosaic'' #1–18, DC Comics, 1992–1993 * ''Guy Gardner: Reborn'' #1–3 * ''

Guy Gardner Guy Gardner may refer to: * Guy Gardner (astronaut) (born 1948), United States Air Force officer and former astronaut * Guy Gardner (character) Guy Darrin Gardner, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American ...

'' #1–10 * ''Hulk 2099'' #1–10 * '' Justice League Europe'' #14–57, Annual #2–5 * ''Justice League America'' #0, 93–113, Annual #9 * ''Justice League Spectacular'' #1 * '' Martian Manhunter: American Secrets'',

* ''Oktane'' (with

Gene Ha Gene Ha is an Americans, American comics artist and writer best known for his work on books such as ''Top 10 (comics), Top 10'' and ''Top 10: The Forty-Niners'', with Alan Moore and Zander Cannon, for America's Best Comics, the Batman graphic nove ...

, 1996, ) * '' Pokémon Adventures'' Volumes 1–14 (English translation), Viz Media, 2000–2003, 2009–2011 * ''Power of Prime'' #1–4, Malibu Comics, 1995 * ''Prime'' #1–26, Malibu Comics, 1993–1995 * ''Prime'' #1–15, Malibu Comics, 1995–1996 * ''Prime/Captain America'' #1 * ''Prime vs. Incredible Hulk'' #1 * ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...

'' (English translation), Viz Media, 1993–2006 * The Adventures of Ford Fairlane #1-4,DC Comics,1990 * ''The Score'' #1–4 (with

Mark Badger Mark Billings Badger (October 16, 1958), known as Mark Badger, is an American illustrator who has worked as a penciler, inker, cover artist, painter, and occasional colorist in the American comic book industry. In addition to his career as a comi ...

, Piranha Press, 1989–1990) * ''Solitaire'' #1–12 * '' The Trouble with Girls'' (with Will Jacobs and Tim Hamilton,

, 1987) * ''Ultraforce'' #0–6 * ''Wonder Man'' #1–29, Marvel Comics, 1991–1994

References

External links

''The Porn Prison''
Jones's prison blog * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Gerard 1957 births American bloggers American comics writers Comics critics Living people Comics scholars Comics historians People from Cut Bank, Montana Writers from San Francisco 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers American people convicted of child pornography offenses DC Comics people