JG Jones on Final Crisis

Over on Newsarama there is an interview with JG Jones about his work on Final Crisis. Here is the link:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080730-JGJonFinalCrisis.html

And here are the Supergirl specific bits, about the cover image above and his approach to Kara.

NRAMA: We've seen the Supergirl cover now. How did you approach that character?

JGJ: I love that painting, and I generally don't like my covers or my art that much. But that one, I thought, turned out really well. I really wanted to portray Supergirl as what she is -- a 17-year-old girl. Not, you know, some sex bomb with boobs popping out all over the place. I worked really hard on the pose and that sense of wonder on her face. That's actually why I turned her head away from the viewer. The first two characters are looking straight out at the viewer, more or less, addressing their body language to the viewer. And she's more turned in space, looking up and away at the light source so we don't really know if something's approaching or what's going on.

NRAMA: Is that also kind of a lack of confidence? That she's not looking the reader right in the eye like that?

JGJ: Yeah. That's exactly how I was reading it. She's new here, she has a lot of power, but she's also trying to figure stuff out. I also have a panel in #3 of Supergirl petting her cat Streaky, getting ready to leave her apartment. Grant likes those superpets.

I agree that this cover is really nice. She has a sort of innocence to her in this shot, and the looking away somehow magnifies that. In fact the vibe I got of this was one of innocence, not lack of confidence.

I don't know if I like the 'lack of confidence' take on the character though. Hopefully that doesn't make its way into the Morrison's writing. If it is one thing that we have seen throughout this Kara's history is that she has an abundance of confidence. Whether it was Loeb's run where she took on Luthor alone, Rucka's brief run where she led a Kandor revolt, Kelly's run where she went on her own and shunned Superman, or Puckett's run where she stood up for what she believed in to save Thomas ... she has oozed confidence. Now all those writers had a slightly different take on the character's motivations, but she was never skittish. She was commited and driven. I can only hope that Morrison at least has read some of the Supergirl title to get a sense of her characterization.

And, no matter who's version of Kara you liked ... Loeb's, Kelly's, or Puckett's, I don't think any Supergirl fan is interested in seeing a conflicted and meek character. And I think you can have a Supergirl who is 'trying to figure stuff out' (an idea which makes sense) who is still heroic, pro-active, and self-assured.

I have read on other sites that Morrison really loves Supergirl. And, let's be honest, she is being showcased on the 'hero cover' of Final Crisis #3, the biggest book DC is putting out right now. Supergirl fans should be thrilled. Of course she could be being showcased as the punching bag for a Mary Marvel beatdown.

And let us not forget history. The last time Supergirl was prominently displayed on a cover of a huge DC mini-series, it was this cover:

I'm not ready to re-visit that yet.

And yet another mention of Streaky! Could the founding member of the Legion of Super-pets be making a comeback? Now Kelly did have Kara have a non-super-powered cat named Streaky. But I prefer the X-Kryptonite juiced mischievous cat more.