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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 12:47:59 GMT -5
George's family announced that he passed in his sleep last night, comfortable and surrounded by family. His battle with cancer has ended. RIP George Perez. It's a huge loss for comics, and George's legacy will endure, but today, let's celebrate his life and work. I traced this splash page so many times as a kid you could see the pencil grooves in my copy of the issue I had as a kid... Thank you for all the joy and wonder you brought into my life Mr. Perez, and with it an appreciation of comic book art. -M
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 12:53:24 GMT -5
I'm heartbroken to hear this even though we knew the day was likely near, and you said it beautifully @mrp.
Going to need a little time to process this, but will definitely be back to pay further tribute. RIP Mr. Perez.
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Post by spoon on May 7, 2022 13:12:27 GMT -5
So sad to hear this. A giant in the comics field.
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Post by DubipR on May 7, 2022 13:57:03 GMT -5
Hearing the loss of George Perez today is truly hit me hard. As most comic fans of my generation and before, the work and influence on comics, TV and film is legendary. His work from every era was flawless, no errors and perfect beyond recognition. George was the first comic professional I met. George was going a signing at the old Golden Apple Comics location on Melrose back in the mid-80s. I begged my mom to drop me off to met this already legendary artist. What to bring? Teen Titans? Avengers? Batman? Superman? The man did every book and every character. I brought a little bit of everything and man he didn't disappoint. With his infectious smile, he took time to care for each fan that was waiting in line for him. Instant fan for life.
Throughout the years, I'd see him a various shows. My friend's comic shop in 1999 did a special signing for the Crisis on Infinite Earths hardcover, along with Marv Wolfman. My friend asked me to help out at his shop, doing line work and getting people ready to meet Marv and George. George, always a kidder, constantly smiling telling stories of everything and everybody comics. At the end of the day, I was one of the last people to get my book signed and other things. Without a flinching, George says "Hey, why don't you join us for dinner?" Having dinner with two legends? Hell yes. A great day and night.
Also working along with George with Hero Initiative, the man's artwork when it came to auction and raising money was amazing. From an empty bucket in front to him to money overflowing, like a dry well getting flooded with rainwater. He was there for his fans and his fans loved him back.
He was the greatest and I had the beautiful honor of knowing this man for 18 years. His work will live forever.
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Post by DubipR on May 7, 2022 14:10:01 GMT -5
Sharing a little personal George Perez art from my collection. Interior of the Crisis on Infinite Earths hardcover. Signed by Marv Wolfman, Jerry Ordway, Alex Ross and George, with a little surprise by all. George then upped everyone that did a bust and gave me a full page piece.
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Post by kirby101 on May 7, 2022 15:18:09 GMT -5
COIE was not a great story, it went on to long and was done so DC could start over. what it did have was simply spectacular art. A tour de force by a great talent.
I loved his work since I first saw it in Avengers and FF.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 7, 2022 16:35:06 GMT -5
Yeah, we knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier seeing the news. What an amazing artist, and - by all indications - an amazing, lovely human being. Don't think I have scans of my own book, but here's some images I found online from one of my favorite single comic books and one of the issues that cemented Perez as one of my all-time favorite artists, X-men Annual #3: And another example from earlier in his career, the Marvel Logan's Run adaptation, which showed he was a friggin' master pretty much right out of the gate: Thanks for all of the lovely art, Mr. Perez.
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Post by tarkintino on May 7, 2022 17:06:49 GMT -5
So long, George. One of the more genuine souls to work in an often unforgiving, egocentric business. That he was able to not become so jaded or full of himself with such enormous ability was/is rare. I will always cherish the creative highs reached on the brilliant Crisis on Infinite Earths / History of the DC Universe, and one of the best film adaptations with Logan's Run. So many great memories.
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Post by Icctrombone on May 7, 2022 17:08:41 GMT -5
A really sad day. He was the master of crowd scenes with super people and I really enjoyed his FF work the most. RIP Mr. Perez.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 17:23:58 GMT -5
I'm still pretty speechless, but I'm going to add a favorite cover of mine. I remember thinking at the time this came out this was the height of how good comic books could look, and I still think that to this day.
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Post by The Captain on May 7, 2022 18:49:12 GMT -5
The last time I saw George Perez in person was at a Pittsburgh Comicon a number of years ago. It was Sunday afternoon, about an hour before closing, and he finished signing for a guy, then stood up on his table and just started handing out free pre-signed merch to the people standing in his line who could answer trivia questions about books he’d worked on. He was laughing and joking with everyone, clearly having as much fun as everyone else was.
It sucks that as we get older, the artists we loved growing up, who were already older than us, are starting to pass one by one. Perez was a true giant in the industry and will be missed by many, his legacy secured by the amazing art he created over his career.
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Post by majestic on May 7, 2022 20:20:55 GMT -5
Not one of his "crowd" scenes that he was known for but a really powerful image that captured a great moment in one of the biggest DC/Marvel crossovers.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 7, 2022 20:46:34 GMT -5
I'm gettin' tired of this. It feels like I've said goodbye to a lot of people, in the last decade, and two giants, here, recently. I'm not certain what my first Perez comic was; either Avengers or Fantastic Four, though possibly Logan's Run or one of his single-issue jobs. Perez turned up in a lot of places, so I saw a lot of his stuff. I probably saw more of the FF stuff, from the period where they came back from Counter Earth and Galactus ate the Impossible man's world (and got indigestion). I saw a little of the Avengers, when Grim Reaper attacks his brother, Wonder Man, and then Ultron Hank Pym turns up, as Ant-Man, soon followed by Ultron. My first sustained Perez work, though, was New Teen Titans. I fell in love with that as soon as I saw the first issue, with everything happening all over and it was cemented in the second, with the coolest baddie around, The Terminator (technically, Deathstroke the Terminator, before a certain Austrian cyborg killing machine). Perez' stuff was always so dynamic (well, maybe not Sons of the Tiger, though he tried and improved by the time it gave way to White Tiger) and the detail. I hated the when he drew conventional firearms (didn't seem to have the time to research them and draw them realistically); but, he did energy weapons and blades well and went nuts with technology (with an obvious light switch in the middle of some techno-wall), making him one of the few who could rival Kirby's machines and tech (Bryne could do it, but tended more to panels and vague controls; Perez made his stuff look functional). I liked the fact that he could do sleek heroes and didn't feel the need to make everyone look like a steroid freak (his Captain America was almost dainty, compared to later artists), and he drew some sexy women, especially if they were a bit kinky. He also liked his women with some curve and his super ladies tended to be of the bombshell variety. Loved the Black Widow piece he did, in Marvel Fanfare, with Ralph Macchio. He wasn't above sexualizing her, a bit, while she kicked butt, as she starts the story defending her place from an attack, while wrapped in a towel (then soaking wet, in her costume). He gave her some Amazonian features. Notice he also got her in ropes, in a later chapter, which was won't to happen, in his books. He definitely made Starfire and Blackfire into a rather twisted family, in NTT. I'm fairly certain he put in some visual references to actual fetish models and producers, in Sachs and Violens, before he would direct superhero female fight fetish videos. Hey, he was never boring (or deeply repressed). The way he could cram characters into a panel and be recognizable, and still serve the story was awe-inspiring. I also liked the fact he kept a foot in the indie world, with things like Wally Wood's THUNDER Agents and the cover to The Dark, for Joseph Naftali's Continum. If there was one facet of his work I really loved (aside from his women) it was his ability to draw chain mail and have it look like chain mail. Before him, it was Wally Wood (who swiped some of his technique from Hal Foster); but, Perez went one better. Too many who tried to follow ended up either making it look like cloth or scale mail, which is not the same thing (Captain America is supposed to wear a shirt of chain mail, not scale mail, as later artists started drawing, following Kevin Maguire, on the Adv of Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty). A favorite piece was his raven story, from the first issue of Wally Wood's THUNDER Agents, from David Singer's Deluxe Comics.... Phoenicia was inspired by his wife, who was a belly dancer. I wish George could have gone out at a ripe old age, basking in the glow of acclaim and wealth; but, at least he isn't suffering and he had the acclaim and possibly some of the wealth.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on May 8, 2022 0:28:59 GMT -5
Definitely a blow. Even with foresight of this happening, it doesn't make it any less demoralizing as a fan of his work. Losing both Neal Adams and George Perez within a few days of each other is like a massive punch to the gut. Both of those guys were sensational, and really I think were some of the last vestiges of the classic "draftsman" that could and/or did work in the advertising industry with the skillset they brought to the table. Their depictions of characters and places in comics had the perfect balance of realism and escapism. Faces looked authentic, but figures also looked dynamic within the same breath. Backgrounds looked like destinations I could set foot in. Aren't a lot of those guys left, and I already know I'm going to be even more sad when some of the OGs like Brent Anderson, John Byrne, or Jose Luis Garcia Lopez pass on. Frustrating, but at least we have stacks of all of their work to enjoy time, and time again.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on May 8, 2022 0:36:25 GMT -5
I think this is probably my favorite page I ever saw Perez illustrate. From Infinity Gauntlet.
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