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| image by Luigi Novi |
There are many amazing people who have drawn our favorite super heroes. But no one can touch the mighty George Perez.
His is the ideal of the comic book form. His images are dynamic, clean, and attractive. Some have criticized his art as not being overly stylized. Some have even called his art bland. And while there is always a subjective element to art, I would take issue with anyone who would criticize Mr. Perez. He could infuse such incredible character and drama in the body language and facial expressions in the midst of action-battle chaos. Look at his handling of the emotional-manipulator Psycho Pirate, who had to mirror such incredibly distinct and convincing emotions throughout his story.
I cannot remember the first time I ever saw his art. I want to say I saw the cover of The New Teen Titans #1 in a book when I was very young.
Equal credit must be given to Marv Wolfman for his writing of this book to make it DC's top selling comic. But Perez' art brought to it such life. The first issue of this series that I ever bought was #38.
While it began with a big, splashy action sequence, the main thrust of the story was about Dick Grayson giving up being Robin and Wally West giving up being Kid Flash. I remember reading this comic over and over again and just marveling at the visual elements.
But the very first comic of his that I think I bought was Crisis on Infinite Earths #11.
I saw that cover when I walked into one of my first comic book stores. And even though it was the next to the last issue of a major maxi-series, how could I not buy it. A very popular YouTube comic book critic said that "The cover of a comic is it's opening paragraph." What he meant by that is that if you don't draw the reader in with the visuals on the cover, they will not be interested in reading on. But Perez always made me want to read what was inside.
Crisis on Infinite Earths was a visual epic that I do not think will ever be matched. Just in terms of sheer number of characters involved, it is hard to think of a comic that comes close. And I think it is unthinkable that anyone but Perez would do it. His images in that story are iconic. Very often when I read a comic, the basic impression of the panels is left in my head so that I can recall them with some clarity. But with Perez' work in Crisis, there are so many images that permanently burned into my brain. I can bring to my mind's eye the angle of the panel as Ultra-Man walks up to the Anti-Matter. I can visualize the disintegrating Barry Allen standing in front of Batman. And who can forget the punch to end all punches of Golden Age Superman taking out the Anti-Monitor once and for all.
The thing that people speak of most in Crisis are the gigantic group shots. Perez became famous for his ability to integrate dozens of heroes and villains in gigantic images that would turn two pages of a comic story into a two hour fun game of "Where's Waldo" for super heroes.
Perez' talent for epic storytelling got him the gig drawing Marvel's Infinity Gauntlet. And although Ron Lim eventually ended up finishing the book, those early issues continued to showcase Perez's singular talent.
One of my favorite stories about Perez is that he was hired to draw a Justice League/Avengers crossover book. Marvel and DC had great success with their Superman vs. Spider-Man, Batman vs. Hulk, and The New Teen Titians and The Uncanny X-Men crossovers. However, Marvel and DC abandoned the project over which team would come out on top, even though Perez had penciled (I believe) 10 pages. This was the great George Perez epic that would never be.
Until in the 2000's both companies came back to the table and we finally got this ultimate crossover. And finally Perez was able to bring this unfinished work to life.
And yet one of the biggest thrills for me was when my favorite artist teamed up with my favorite writer, Geoff Johns, to gives Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.
DC's Legion of Superheroes had been retconned multiple times. Johns decided instead of retconning them again to bring all three versions together. This gave Perez a chance to do some of his most challenging work: show a gigantic super team made up of the same characters from radically different eras. And bringing them all together, Perez made it work in a beautiful ode to this loved team of heroes.
I could go on and on about Mr. George Perez. He is one of the reasons I fell in love with comics. His images have inspired my imagination, dazzled my eyes, and delighted my heart.
Mr. Perez just announced that he is officially retired from drawing comics and that 2019 will be his last year on the convention circuit. I hope I am able to see him this year at an upcoming con. I don't need his autograph or a fan sketch. I hope to meet this man, shake his hand and tell him, "Thank you."
Thank you, George Perez!
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