| George Pérez | |
|---|---|
 Pérez at the 2012New York Comic Con | |
| Born | (1954-06-09)June 9, 1954 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 6, 2022(2022-05-06) (aged 67) Sanford, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Area | Writer,Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | |
| Awards |
|
| Spouse | Carol Flynn |
George Pérez (/ˈpɛrɛz/;[2] June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an Americancomic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as apenciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s pencilingFantastic Four andThe Avengers forMarvel Comics. In the 1980s, he penciledThe New Teen Titans, which became one ofDC Comics' top-selling series. He penciled DC's landmark limited seriesCrisis on Infinite Earths, followed by relaunchingWonder Woman as both writer and penciller. In the meantime, he worked on other comics published by Marvel, DC, and other companies into the 2010s. He was known for his detailed and realistic rendering, and his facility with complex crowd scenes.[3]
Among the many characters Pérez created or co-created areCyborg,Raven,Starfire,Deathstroke, and theNightwing identity ofDick Grayson.
George Pérez was born on June 9, 1954,[4][5][6] in theSouth Bronx, New York City, to Jorge Guzman Pérez and Luz Maria Izquierdo, who were both fromCaguas, Puerto Rico, but met after settling in New Jersey while searching for job opportunities. They married in October 1954 and subsequently moved to New York, where Jorge worked in the meat packing industry while Luz was a homemaker. George's younger brother David was born in May 1955. Both brothers aspired at a young age to be artists,[4] with George beginning to draw at the age of five.[7][6]
Pérez's first involvement with the professional comics industry was as artistRich Buckler's assistant in 1973,[6] and he made his professional debut inMarvel Comics'Astonishing Tales #25 (Aug. 1974) as penciler of an untitled two-page satire of Buckler's characterDeathlok, star of that comic's main feature.[8] Soon Pérez became a Marvel regular, penciling a run of "Sons of the Tiger", a serialized action-adventure strip published in Marvel's long-runningDeadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine and authored byBill Mantlo. He and Mantlo co-created theWhite Tiger (comics' first Puerto Rican superhero),[9] a character that soon appeared in Marvel's color comics, most notably theSpider-Man titles.[10]
Pérez came to prominence with Marvel's superhero-team comicThe Avengers,[11] starting with issue #141. In the 1970s, Pérez illustrated several other Marvel titles, includingCreatures on the Loose, featuring theMan-Wolf;TheInhumans;[12] andFantastic Four. WriterRoy Thomas and Pérez crafted ametafictional story forFantastic Four #176 (Nov. 1976) in which theImpossible Man visited the offices of Marvel Comics andmet numerous comics creators.[13] While most of Pérez'Fantastic Four issues were written by Roy Thomas orLen Wein, it would be aFantastic Four Annual[14] where he would have his first major collaboration with writerMarv Wolfman. Pérez drew the first part of writerJim Shooter's "TheKorvac Saga", which featured nearly every Avenger who had joined the team up to that point.[15][16] Shooter and Pérez introduced the character ofHenry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers' liaison to theUnited States National Security Council in the second chapter of that same storyline.[17] WriterDavid Michelinie and Pérez created theTaskmaster inThe Avengers #195 (May 1980).[18]
In 1980, while still drawingThe Avengers for Marvel, Pérez began working for their rival DC Comics. Offered the art chores for the launch ofThe New Teen Titans, written by Wolfman, Pérez's real incentive was the opportunity to drawJustice League of America (an ambition of Pérez's that "seemed like a natural progress from theAvengers").[19] Long-timeJustice League artistDick Dillin died right around that time, providing an opportunity for Pérez to step in as regular artist.[19] While Pérez's stint on theJLA was popular with fans, he received greater attention for his work onThe New Teen Titans,[20] which was launched in aspecial preview inDC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980).[21] This incarnation of the Titans was intended to be DC's answer to Marvel's increasingly popularX-Men comic, and it became highly successful.[22] ANew Teen Titans drug awareness comic book sponsored by theKeebler Company[23] and drawn by Pérez was published in cooperation with The President's Drug Awareness Campaign in 1983.[24] In August 1984, a second series ofThe New Teen Titans was launched by Wolfman and Pérez.[25] Moreover, Pérez's facility with layouts, details, and faces improved enormously during his four years on the book, making him one of the most popular artists in comics[26][27] as evidenced by the numerous industry awards he would receive during this time. (SeeAwards section below.)
Pérez took a leave of absence fromThe New Teen Titans in 1984[28] to focus on his next project with Marv Wolfman, DC's 1985 50th-anniversary event,Crisis on Infinite Earths.Crisis purportedly featured every single character DC owned, in a story which radically restructured the DC universe'scontinuity.[29] Pérez was inked on the series byDick Giordano,Mike DeCarlo, andJerry Ordway.[30] AfterCrisis, Pérez inked the final issue ofSuperman (issue #423) in September 1986, overCurt Swan's pencils, for part one of the two-part story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" by writerAlan Moore. The following month, Pérez was one of the artists onBatman #400 (October 1986).[31] Wolfman and Pérez teamed again to produce theHistory of the DC Universe limited series to summarize the revised history of their fictional universe.[32] Pérez drew the cover for theDC Heroes roleplaying game (1985) fromMayfair Games[33]: 167 as well as the cover for the fourth edition of theChampions roleplaying game (1989) fromHero Games.[33]: 148
Pérez played a key role in the 1987reboot of theWonder Woman franchise. WriterGreg Potter spent several months working with editorJanice Race on new concepts for the character, before being joined by Pérez.[34][35] Inspired byJohn Byrne andFrank Miller's work on refashioningSuperman andBatman, Pérez came in as the plotter and penciler of the series,[36] which tied the character more closely to theGreek gods[37] and jettisoned many other elements of her history.[38] Pérez at first worked with Potter[39][40] andLen Wein[41] on the stories, but eventually took over the full scripting chores. Later,Mindy Newell joined Pérez as co-writer for nearly a year.[42] While not as popular as eitherTitans orCrisis, the series was a very successful relaunch of one of DC's flagship characters.[6][43] Pérez would work on the title for five years, leaving as artist after issue #24, but remaining as writer up to issue #62, leaving in 1992. Pérez returned to the character in 2001, co-writing a two-part story in issues #168–169 with writer/artistPhil Jimenez. Pérez also drew the cover forWonder Woman #600 (Aug. 2010) as well as some interior art. For the successful 2017Wonder Woman feature film, directorPatty Jenkins would credit Pérez's work on the title character as a major influence, on par with the work of the original creator,William Moulton Marston.[44]
Pérez returned as co-plotter/penciller ofThe New Teen Titans with issue #50 (Dec. 1988), with the series being renamedThe New Titans, rewriting the origin ofWonder Girl, following theretcons inCrisis on Infinite Earths. Pérez remained aspenciller with the book through to issue #55, 57, and 60, while only providing layouts for issues 58–59, and 61, with artistTom Grummett finishing pencils andBob McLeod asinker. The storyline "A Lonely Place of Dying" crossed over with theBatman series and introducedTim Drake as the newRobin.[45] Pérez remained as inker for the cover art to issues #62–67 and co-plotted the stories for #66–67 before departing from theTitans series once again.
Pérez was involved with Superman in various times over his career, including his tenure onJustice League of America years before. InAction Comics #544 (June 1983), he designedLex Luthor's trademark battlesuit.[46] These new designs for the villain were featured as part of the licensed action figure toyline theSuper Powers Collection and remain in use in today's DC Comics continuity. Pérez pencilledDC Comics Presents #61 (Sept. 1983) which featured a Superman/OMAC team-up. A few years later, Pérez inkedJohn Byrne's pencils for the Superman/Wonder Woman story inAction Comics #600 (March 1988). He drew portions ofAction Comics Annual #2 (1989) before taking over the title with issue #643 (July 1989). His work duties onAction Comics would change from writer/penciller, to co-writer/breakdowns, to providing breakdowns, with writerRoger Stern scripting stories and artistsBrett Breeding andKerry Gammill provided finishing art, while Pérez drew all covers during his run on the title, with the exception for issue #646 with interior pencils byKeith Giffen. With writer Stern, he co-created the characterMaxima who first appeared inAction Comics #645 (September 1989). In the double-size anniversary issue #650 in February 1990, Pérez penciled and inked an eight page flashback story depicting Superman's first post-Crisis encounter with theJustice League of America. Pérez briefly wroteAdventures of Superman, providing plots for issues #457–59 (Aug. 1989 – Oct. 1989), and inks for issue #461 (Dec. 1989). Due to an already heavy workload while doing bothWonder Woman andSuperman at the same time, he leftAction Comics with issue #652 (April 1990).
It was during this run in 1991 that Pérez encountered problems working with DC.[47] Pérez has stated that since the storyline's inception, which ran through theWonder Woman comic and crossed over into others, he had trouble writing theWar of the Gods storyline, mostly due to editorial problems.[47] Pérez felt that DC was not doing enough to celebrate Wonder Woman's 50-year anniversary.[19] To make matters worse in his eyes, DC did not placeWar of the Gods in newsstand distribution, which meant that the comic book could only be found in comics specialty shops. Pérez had built up a plot to marry the charactersSteve Trevor andEtta Candy in his final issue. When he discovered that DC editors had decided to not only pass theWonder Woman title's writing toWilliam Messner-Loebs and have Messner-Loebs write the final wedding scene, Pérez quit the title and separated himself from DC for several years.[47] In 1992, he was guest inker onDeathstroke the Terminator issues #10–11.
Also in 1991, Pérez signed on to pencil the six-issue limited seriesInfinity Gauntlet forMarvel Comics, which was written byJim Starlin.[48] However, due to the turbulence happening concurrently withWar of the Gods, this was a very stressful personal period for Pérez, and he was not able to finish penciling the entire run ofInfinity Gauntlet, leaving the project part way through issue #4. TheInfinity Gauntlet editorial team decided to find a replacement artist to finish the miniseries, andRon Lim was the artist chosen (although Pérez offered to remain on as the inker over Lim's cover art for the remainder of the miniseries).[49]
Because of the debacles overWar of the Gods andThe Infinity Gauntlet, Pérez began to gain a reputation as a creator who could not finish projects as planned.[50] Furthering that impression, he worked with independent comic book publishersMalibu Comics, drawingBreak-Thru andUltraforce (both titles were part of Malibu'sUltraverse imprint), and then working atTekno Comix drawingI-Bots. However, despite being paid well by both publishers, he had no enthusiasm drawing the characters, and lost interest in drawing the titles.[51]
In the 1990s, Pérez left the spotlight, although he worked on several projects, including working on theJurassic Park comic book adaptation of the movie forTopps Comics in 1993, adapted byWalt Simonson and pencilled byGil Kane, with Pérez as inker, but most notably atMarvel Comics withSachs and Violens andHulk: Future Imperfect, both written byPeter David. David has named Pérez his favorite artistic collaborator,[52] and one of the three artists whose art has mostly closely matched the visuals he conceived when writing a comic book script (the others beingLeonard Kirk andDale Keown).[53]
Pérez returned to DC Comics in October 1996 for another incarnation of theTeen Titans.Teen Titans vol. 2 was written and penciled byDan Jurgens, with Pérez as inker for the first 15 issues of its twenty four-issue run. The series ended in September 1998.[54]
Pérez had a stint as writer ofSilver Surfer vol. 2 #111–123 (December 1995 – December 1996). He would also write thecrossover specialSilver Surfer/Superman in 1996. Pérez finally returned to a major ongoing title for the third series ofThe Avengers, written byKurt Busiek,[55] where he remained for nearly three years, again receiving critical and fan acclaim for his polished and dynamic art. After leaving the series, he and Busiek produced the long-awaitedJLA/Avengers inter-company crossover, which saw print in late 2003.[56] A JLA/Avengers crossover was to have been published in the 1980s,[57] but differences between DC and Marvel forced the comic to be canceled.[19] As the artist on the story, Pérez had drawn approximately 21 pages of the original crossover, which were not published until the 2004 hardcover edition ofJLA/Avengers: The Collector's Edition.[58]
In 1997, Pérez began writing and illustratingCrimson Plague, a creator-owned science fiction story about an alien with ultra-toxic blood, with the first issue published byEvent Comics. In June 2000, that issue was re-published byGorilla Comics – a publishing imprint he co-owned with several other creators – with additional material and pages, with a follow-up issue published in September. Pérez cited the debt he'd acquired self-publishing as the reason for discontinuing the series.[59] Artwork from the unpublished third issue was included inGeorge Pérez Storyteller.[60]
Pérez worked for new publisherCrossGen early in the 2000s, penciling four issues ofCrossGen Chronicles.[61] His main project for the company was pencilingSolus,[62] which was intended to be an ongoing series, but was cancelled after eight issues due to CrossGen's bankruptcy.
In May 2006, Pérez illustrated the cover art to one of the alternative covers to thedirect market release of the annualOfficial Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (36th edition) featuringWonder Woman. He was guest artist for an issue ofJSA #82 (April 2006) and was cover artist from issues #82–87. He drew the first ten issues of DC'sThe Brave and the Bold (vol. 2) in 2007 with writer Mark Waid.[63] Pérez worked onInfinite Crisis, a follow-up toCrisis on Infinite Earths, as a fill-in artist. He worked onFinal Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds in 2008–2009, thus contributing to every chapter of DC'sCrisis trilogy. He worked with Marv Wolfman on a direct-to-DVD movie adaptation of the "Judas Contract" story arc fromTeen Titans, scheduled for 2017.[64]
He was co-chair of the board of the comic industry charityThe Hero Initiative[65] and served on its Disbursement Committee.[66] In 2005, an animated version of Pérez made a cameo appearance in theTeen Titans episode titled "Go", which was an adaptation of hisThe New Teen Titans #1. InCity of Heroes, anMMORPG about superheroes, a zone (Pérez Park) is named after him.
In September 2011, DC launched a newSuperman series written by Pérez, who also provided breakdowns and cover art, with interior art by Jesús Merino and Nicola Scott.[67] Pérez remained until issue #6. TheNew Teen Titans: Games hardcover graphic novel[68] was published the same month reuniting the creative team of Wolfman and Pérez.[69] He was the inker of the newGreen Arrow series, also launched in the same timeframe, over artistDan Jurgens' pencils, reuniting the mid-1990sTeen Titans art team. Pérez andKevin Maguire were alternating artists on aWorlds' Finest revival written byPaul Levitz.[70]
In July 2012, Pérez explained his departure fromSuperman as a reaction to the level of editorial oversight he experienced. This included inconsistent reasons given for rewrites of his material, the inability of editors to explain to him basic aspects of the New 52 Superman's status quo (such as whether his adoptive parents were still alive), and restrictions imposed by having to be consistent withAction Comics, which was set five years earlier thanSuperman, a situation complicated byAction writerGrant Morrison having not been forthcoming about their plans.[71]
From September 2014 to December 2016, Pérez wrote and drew six issues of his own creationSirens, published byBOOM! Studios. It is a science fiction miniseries dedicated to a group of women with extraordinary powers, who fight against evil across time and space.[72]
In January 2019, Pérez announced that he was formally retiring due to various health issues, and would continue to produce only a limited number of convention-style head sketches on commission, and attend a limited number of conventions.[73]
Pérez was married to Carol Flynn. He had no children. He had a brother David, and a niece and nephew.[74]
In October 2013, Pérez revealed that he would soon undergo laser and injection surgeries to address hemorrhaging in his left eye that had effectively made him blind in that eye.[75] By the following June, the procedures were not yet completed, but his condition had improved to the point that he was able to resume his work.[76] In May 2017, he was admitted to a hospital with chest pains due to a heart attack while traveling to a convention, and had acoronary stent fitted.[77] By January 2019, Perez was dealing with multiple health issues, includingdiabetes and problems with his vision and his heart.[73]
In December 2021, he revealed that after undergoing surgery for a blockage in his liver, he had been diagnosed withinoperablepancreatic cancer. Given a prognosis of 6 to 12 months, he chose not to pursue treatment.[78][79][80] In early 2022, both DC and Marvel included tributes to him and his work in their comics,[81][82] and jointly approved a limited-run reprint of the 2003JLA/Avengers story he illustrated (long tied up by disagreements between the rival publishers), as a benefit forThe Hero Initiative.[81]
Pérez died at his home on May 6, 2022,[83][84] due to complications from pancreatic cancer.[7] An open memorial service was held atMegaCon Orlando on May 22.[84]
The 2024 filmJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths was dedicated in his memory.
Pérez won a 1979Eagle Award (withJim Shooter,Sal Buscema, andDavid Wenzel) for Best Continued Story for his work onThe Avengers #167–168 and 170–177.[85] In 1980 he won the Eagle Award for Best Comicbook Cover forAvengers #185.[86] He won the Eagle Award for Favourite Artist (penciller) in 1986.[87] Pérez received anInkpot Award in 1983.[88]
In 1985, DC Comics named Pérez as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publicationFifty Who Made DC Great.[89]
His work (withMarv Wolfman andRomeo Tanghal), earnedThe New Teen Titans #50 a nomination for the 1985Jack Kirby Award for Best Single Issue.[90] His collaboration with Wolfman earnedCrisis on Infinite Earths the Jack Kirby Award for Best Finite Series in both 1985 and 1986.[91]
Pérez has won severalComics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards.[92] He won the "Favorite Artist" award in 1983 and 1985 and "Favorite Penciler" in 1987. In addition, he won the "Favorite Cover Artist" award three consecutive years 1985–1987.Crisis on Infinite Earths won the award for "Favorite Limited Series" in 1985.
Pérez worked on several stories which won the CBG award for "Favorite Comic-Book Story":
In 2022, Pérez was awarded theInkwell Awards Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA) for his lifetime achievement in inking.[93]
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Pencil art in all cases, except where noted:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) At the 0:02 mark.My mom, Luz Maria Izquierdo, and my father, Jorge Pérez, were both born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, the same year but would not actually meet each other until they moved – I believe the same year, I don't know the exact year - to New Jersey...by the time they were married they had 2 children and moved to New York.
[Marv Wolfman and George Pérez] created a title that would be DC's sales leader throughout the 1980s.
[The New Teen Titans] went on to become DC's most popular comic team of its day. Not only the springboard for the following month'sThe New Teen Titans #1, the preview's momentous story also featured the first appearance of future DC mainstaysCyborg,Starfire, andRaven.
This series contains material relating to the development and distribution of theTeen Titans drug awareness comic books. The comic books were designed to communicate the dangers of drug abuse to elementary school children. The Drug Abuse Policy Office coordinated the project, DC Comics developed the story line and artwork, and private companies funded the production costs. The Keebler Company sponsored the fourth grade book (released in April 1983), the National Soft Drink Association sponsored the sixth grade book (November 1983), and IBM sponsored the fifth grade book through the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth (February 1984). The files consist primarily of correspondence with educators, parents, and children.
[Alan Gold will] be turning over the editorial reins to Janice Race... She has been working for several months already, as a matter of fact, with a bright new writer named Greg Potter.
Pérez's Amazon: George Pérez will be co-plotting and penciling the newWonder Woman series, scheduled to debut in June 1986 [sic]. Greg Potter will be the writer and co-plotter with Pérez
It was the fall of 1985... I walked into editor Janice Race's office to find out about the fate of Diana Prince. I was curious to learn who was going to draw her. Superman had [John] Byrne and[Jerry] Ordway, Batman had [Frank] Miller and[Alan] Davis (and later[David] Mazzucchelli). Wonder Woman had... A writer, Greg Potter, had been selected but artist wanted to handle the new series. After exhaustive searches, it seemed Wonder Woman would have to be assigned to an unknown... I thought of John Byrne and Superman. What a giant coup for DC. A top talent and fan-fave on their premier character... "Janice" I heard myself say "What if I took on Wonder Woman for the first six months – just to get her out of the starting gate?"
Wonder Woman's sales are some of the best the Amazing Amazon has ever experienced, and the book is a critical and popular success with its weaving of Greek mythology into a feminist and humanistic atmosphere.
It's long been discussed, but it's now officially confirmed.Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, the popular New Teen Titans storyline by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, will be adapted into a feature length animated film in 2017.
Perez's latest book,Sirens (published by Boom! Studios), which he writes as well as draws, is also his own creation, inspired, as he reveals in the following interview, by many of the women in his life.
| Preceded by | The Avengers artist 1975–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four artist 1975–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | TheNew Teen Titans artist 1980–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Wonder Woman writer 1987–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by multiple | Action Comics artist 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Silver Surfer vol 2. writer 1995–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | The Avengers vol. 3 artist 1998–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 artist 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | Superman vol. 3 writer 2011–2012 | Succeeded by |
