Trendoids Gerard Jones, Good Comic Books, and the Great White Hero, Whatever Happened to Them?

Since this question about Trendoids, Gerard Jones, and the Great White Hero, can be taken in three stages it may be easier explained in such a manor. Being that only one man can answer all of these questions in any exact form, we should start with him. When it comes to printing word to superhero comic books, he is the man. He is Gerard Jones, and not just any man.

Just saying the name, Gerard Jones, isn't enough to come to a full understanding of his work.

Ahem!

Understanding his work is the challenge. The impact it should have had on popular superhero comics...but didn't, is the tragedy.

Meet Gerard Jones: the one man on this planet who took superhero comics to another world, and went too far.

Strange Facts: Gerard Jones hasn't only collected Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse comic notches for his belt. Though these things are notable, they are not strange. Gerard Jones actually shares his name with another writer who is just as brilliant and misunderstood. Both men will tell you right off that they are not the other, thus reciprocating more confusion, after a fashion.

Now that is strange!

Both men are spectacular talents with regards to the written word. You fans having been led to this article by the promise of Trendoids and the Great White Hero, only wish to read about the lovable writer of "Green Lantern: Mosaic!"

So.

Charge up your power batteries.

Recite the oath.

And away we go!

Gerard Jones' presence has not been relegated only to eBay auctions, and the occasional and fragmented back issues in comic shops, as some seem to believe. Gerard Jones continues to write, like a guru as only he can, on new and interesting projects. His recent fictional works have included a Pokémon comic book series.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

The characters are the same, but the story does not follow that of the popular TV show that aired at the opening of the new millennium.

Perhaps in the past you had to be a Pokémon fanatic to receive enjoyment from anything Pokémon related. Now, you can be a Gerard Jones fanatic, knowing that you are in for an interesting and thought-provoking ride.

The series is available on Amazon.com for a reasonable price.

With Gerard Jones, stories have less to do with any certain fictional world, and what had come before. With Gerard Jones, stories are all about what is possible, and what is interesting about different possibilities. Gerard Jones always provides a unique outlook on the same old characters without betraying everything that has been established.

So why is Gerard Jones not a huge career MAMMOTH in superhero comics?

Superheroes just aren't ready for a Master Writer.

Superheroes are content with producing copied storyline after copied storyline.

Generally superheroes are all so old, they have forgotten that adventures they encounter today were vintage back in the 1990's.

"Crisis on Infinite Earths" was fine back in 1985. Recently DC comic has published "Infinite Crisis" and "Identity Crisis" out of desperation. This scramble, to take readers away from the dominant Marvel Comics establishment, has yet to work.

But we can't REALLY blame superheroes.

In a world where it seems anything goes, Gerard Jones went the distance, and found the boundaries the men behind the publishing companies weren't willing to cross.

It wasn't a racial line, although race did have a strong presence in his work on "Green lantern: Mosaic." It wasn't a political line, although politics was widely considered, and contemplated in the pages of "Green Lantern: Mosaic."

Where Gerard Jones is concerned, all those things and more came together to produce a level of human thought that DC comics just couldn't stomach. "Green Lantern: Mosaic" was canceled after 18 issues, and selling an average of 70,000 copies a month.

"Green Lantern: Mosaic" was funny. It was mysterious. It was serious, and portrayed vivid, if not literal versions of many human issues we confront daily.

Did the publishers not understand?

Did they fear backlash from powerful organizations?

"Green Lantern: Mosaic" was not so controversial to point a blatant finger in any specific direction.

Well, not too many specific directions, anyway.

It wasn't like there hadn't been controversial comics before. But the cancellation was unfortunate, and brings us to the next part of the question.

What happened to the Trendoids?

The cancellation of "Green Lantern: Mosaic" left the Gerard Jones originally conceived characters, we came to love, in a strange sort of limbo. Gerard Jones was offered the opportunity to wrap up the main plot line. He took that opportunity, as any good writer would.

This left characters he conceived, like the Trendoids, hanging on a line. We have yet to see a Trendoid since the end of "Green Lantern: Mosaic."

I doubt we will see one again.

Even the publishers seemed to hate Trendoids!!!

If you're not a fan, Trendoids were a race of aliens that had been conquered countless times in the past. The endless number of masters they encountered would enslave, and kill them. This went on for untold generations. But the Trendoids began to adapt. It was their natural defense mechanism kicking in at last.

It was how they adapted, that made them different, and worth reading about. Trendoids became "Copycats" in the adolescent sense of the word. They were the consummate "monkey see monkey do" expressionists in the most extreme, or even everyday, circumstances.

Why were they like this?

Because they wanted everyone to li-ek them, (Yes, I said, "Li-ek," as would a Trendoid after speaking with a valley girl!) so that no one would conquer or enslave them ever again. It was the quintessential depiction of children dealing with peer pressure, and childish persecution, though the stakes for Trendoids were a little higher.

Only on the Mosaic world, their religion backfired.

It was a world governed by a Green Lantern, charged with bringing piece to a congregation of a hundred different types of aliens. They were forced to live in a close community. The aliens, from hundreds of different worlds, closely depicted our racial, national, and political state here on Earth.

There was no way to get them home to their own worlds, and seemingly no way to keep them from destroying each other.

But the Trendoids were the most hated.

They debuted in an issue of "Green Lantern: Mosaic" called "Low Riders in the Sky" They copied every race they came into contact with, thinking to keep good relations.

They even copied different stereotypes within each race.

Just wait until you see what happens when people start firing guns at Trendoids!

You'd never guess what Gerard Jones has in store for Green Lantern.

Anyway, to find out why the issue is titled "Low Riders in the Sky" look for "Green Lantern: Mosaic" on eBay, or scrounge for issue #8 at your local comic shop. I won't give the answer away here, but Gerard Jones can be reached at http://www.gerardjones.com/

At last we come to Hal Jordan, the Great White Hero, as depicted by Gerard Jones in the pages of "Green Lantern: Mosaic" He appeared in issue #5, "The Child-man and the Great White Hero."

As you could probably tell, Gerard Jones sees nothing wrong in using long and obscure titles.

It sort of reminds me of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

But maybe that's just me.

In this issue Hal Jordan goes toe to toe with fellow Green Lantern, John Stewart for the love of Rose Hardin. This is by far one of the heaviest issues, in comics, I have ever read. It made me feel like I knew Gerard Jones. It made me realize how deep and talented he really is. That I could understand exactly what he was saying made me feel deeper, as well.

To have so much truth spun out in the pages of one comic was overwhelming and thrilling. To have it so powerfully portrayed was a treat in and of itself.

If before issue # 5 "The Child-man and the Great White Hero" you were wondering whether Gerard Jones came from Earth, after reading this, you'd agree with me.

The answer could be a resounding, "Yes."

So, whatever became of the Great White Hero, Hal Jordan?

He died, and was resurrected.

Gerard Jones was moved off of the comic, for refusing to kill Hal.

Now the people behind DC comics would rather sweep Jones under the rug, failing to acknowledge his works, instead of admitting their monumental mistake.

Comics may come off looking cool from the outside, but people in suits run (or should I say - ruin) it all, just like many other businesses. Gerard Jones knows what it is like to be a victim of "Editorial Decisions."

I say, let professional writers write. Everyone else involved, who knows not a lick about writing, should stick to whatever they are good at.

Personally, I tip my hat to Gerard Jones.