The Four Color Media Monitor

The disgraced former comics writer who was arrested for storing child porn on his computer is set for a court hearing this week, and has apparently changed his plea to guilty, and, it turns out, he even admitted his felonies to police:

According to San Francisco Police Department, Jones was interviewed on December 29th, 2016. He admitted to downloading and possessing graphic child pornography from several different online sources. He admitted uploading and sharing child pornography to YouTube and also admitted to looking at child pornography that involved children between ages 9 and 12. The youngest child depicted in the pornography he possessed was 3 years old.

Well this sums it all up. The man really is deranged. We probably won't be seeing much of his comics work reprinted for a long time now, but in the year since this news made headlines, I'd checked some more books he'd written, and found troubling examples from his work on Green Lantern, Wonder Man and Justice League Europe that'll ensure they don't age well.

Police reports indicate that prior to the current investigation, Homeland Security had been conducting an investigation related to Jones traveling to Britain to meet an underage female for sexual contact. They had apparently met online when she was 15. He had sent her graphic images, travelled to meet her when she was 17, and had sex with her when she was 18.

Is he trying to worm his way out of a serious charge he might actually be guilty of, despite the claim the girl he met with was already 18 when he had intercourse with her? An excellent question with no easy answers at the moment; I assume that was his side of the story, but it could turn out things are different. That Britain's consenting age laws stipulate 16 certainly don't excuse the fact he committed a serious felony with the video material. It goes without saying he also committed adultery, and according to the article, his crime heavily upset his family.

On March 18th of this year there was a stipulation filed wherein the trial date was vacated (cancelled) because there was going to be a change of plea. His change of plea hearing is scheduled for Monday, April 2nd.

Yesterday the prosecutor filed a Motion for Mandatory Remand requesting that after the plea, Jones be placed into custody pending sentencing. It notes that Jones will now plead guilty to two felony counts of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 2252, possession and distribution of child pornography. Jones’s attorney has filed an opposition to the Motion for Mandatory Remand.

The prosecution gave more details into the type of evidence that had been gathered by the authorities, noting the collection of child pornography was “extensive and horrific. The image that the defendant uploaded to YouTube, for instance, showed a prepubescent minor victim being repeatedly sodomized by two adults.” They revealed that the email address he used to upload videos was 8-is-the-new-18@gmx.com, that his video was “just one of thousands of images and hundreds of videos that the defendant collected for his sexual gratification”, and that he “is not merely a collector and distributor of child pornography” as he also traveled internationally to meet with a minor with whom he had sexual contact.

At the moment, it's the 1st of the month, so I'll try to learn more about what comes of this trial tomorrow or in the coming few days, and he'll hopefully get a long jail sentence for aiding and abetting the sexual assault of children. Indeed, that's what he did by distributing that filth online. Also note the address he created for the email he used, which says more about his personality. And what if it turns out he did have sex with more than one individual who was underage? That's certainly what the latter sentence in the paragraph suggests.

It's disappointing to learn that a few comics writers sent him letters of support:

Gerard Jones has also received letters of support against incarceration and in support of his good character, from Rev. Dr. Paul Fromberg of the St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, the Rev. John Kirkley of St. James Episcopal Church, as well as members of the community, businessmen, teachers, veterans, and writers, including comic creators Will Jacobs, Mark Badger, James Hudnall, and Mike W. Barr.

Oh for heaven's sake, do they realize how stupid they're making themselves look by continuing association with Jones? Especially Hudnall and Barr, because they're guys I'd thought were on the level. Hudnall said in the comment section:

I wrote that letter because, while I have never been a close friend of his, I have known and worked with Gerry for 30 years. We worked together at Viz and Malibu. He has never seemed weird or into kids to me.So that's what I said, basically. It's a real shame because he always seemed like a decent guy who loved comics. A real shame.

Somebody else asked him:

To clarify, it was a character witness statement?

And he answered:

Yes. He asked me if I would do one and I said sure. I believe in the innocent till proven guilty rule and he has never given me any reason to think he was a bad guy.

Whether this was before his exact trial date settings, it was very ill-advised to give him backing, as he did some very sick stuff, and now he's bound to pay for it big time for years to come. Of course there's plenty of scummy wolves out there who dress in sheep's clothing and don't usually give signs they have perverted hobbies, and that's why it'd be better to come to terms with that. Jones's reputation is finished, and his comics won't age well for years. Certainly not the 2 Emerald Dawn miniseries, which weren't a good idea for Green Lantern.

Update: while reading the comments section of CBR's coverage, I found more disturbing notes about his past work:

I remember reading his Martian Manhunter mini "American Secrets" and then coming to the realization he wrote his fetishes and perversions into his works. On American Secrets, there's a child actor who often has sex with adult supermodels and tries to rape a ten year old girl whom we later learn she's been raped by studio executives.

Also, DC (and pretty much every publisher) will discontinue his works just like they did with Justiniano

I found some troubling news once about a GL Quarterly special Jones wrote at the time he was on that series where Arisia was reverted to the mind of a 13-year-old, and that story takes place in a similar setting. But Justiniano's work wasn't entirely discontinued, recalling that the work he did with Geoff Johns in the overrated 52 maxiseries was still published, apparently because Johns gets a special privilege. However, a Wonder Woman project Justiniano was working on was cancelled altogether. And although 4-5 of the 29 issues and 2 annuals Jones wrote for the Wonder Man solo in 1991-94 were reprinted because of their connections with Operation: Galactic Storm and Infinity War, the majority of the series is unlikely to be reprinted for a long time. Naturally, it's terrible such scummy writers and artists had to get the keys to scripting and illustrating any of those books.

Update: here's scans of at least 4 letters the aforementioned creators wrote in support of Jones. Again, they made a serious mistake, IMO.

Labels: dc comics, Europe and Asia, indie publishers, marvel comics, misogyny and racism, moonbat writers, technology, violence