J.G. Jones Won't Be Drawing FINAL CRISIS #7
After continued publication delays and art assistance, J.G. Jones is passing doodling duties on the last installment of Final Crisis off to Doug Mahnke.
When DC Comics announced this week, in its solicitations for January 2009, that Doug Mahnke (Black Adam: The Dark Age) would be providing interior pencil art for Final Crisis #7, the closing chapter of its DC Multiverse epic, an astute web-surfer could hear the rage of comics fans blazing across the 'net.
This seemingly innocuous news item even made it as far as Italy:
"J.G. Jones abbandona Final Crisis."
So, CBR News's JEFFREY RENAUD contacted the superstar artist who's been illustrating the series in high-profile fashion.
By email, Jones replied, "Any problems completing the series are my own. I love Doug Mahnke’s art, and he would have probably been a better choice to draw this series in the first place."
Mahnke is, in fact, the title's third interior illustrator, following Carlos Pacheco (Green Lantern), who has been assisting Jones (Wanted) in completing the Final Crisis art on schedule. This series of events just confirms for many, including PETER WHITNEY of seattlepi.com, that Jones is "a better cover artist than monthly artist."
Despite the vitriol, BRIAN CRONIN of Comics Should Be Good! thinks DC made the right decision. "Final Crisis, much like Civil War, is not solely a work of art, it is a driving force of DC’s entire superhero line--you can’t just delay that, especially when the replacement artist is as great as Doug Mahnke."
Jones said he "absolutely will not be redrawing" issue #7 for the eventual trade paperback. "What an insult that would be to Doug, an unnecessary exercise in futility on my part."
Final Crisis #4 (right), written by Grant Morrison (All Star Superman) with art by Jones and Pacheco, is on sale now.