The Art of
GEORGE PEREZ
™
´
The Art of
GEORGE PEREZ ´
The Art of
GEORGE PEREZ ´
text by George
Pérez Cliff Biggers
edits and design by Joe
IDW editor Justin
Pruett
Eisinger
CONTENTS 6
THE ART ART OF GEORGE PÉREZ ™ & © 2012 George Pérez. All DC characters, images, and likenesses ™ & © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. All Marvel characters, images, and likenesses ™ & © 2012 Marvel Comics. All rights reserved. All other characters and their likenesses ™ & © 2012 by their respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. Published by IDW Publishing, a division of Idea
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THE ‘70s
and Design Works, LLC. Editorial ofces: 5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109. Co-published by Desperado Publishing Company, Inc. Editorial ofces: 143 Nectar Place, Dallas, GA 30132. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofce. Printed in Korea.
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THE ‘80s
126
THE ‘90s
196
THE ‘00s
This is a scholarly work. All trademarks and copyrights appear solely as historic examples of George Pérez art. All rights reserved. All similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC and Desperado Publishing Company, Inc. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.
INTRODUCTION
244
THE THEATER
268
SKETCHES & COMMISSIONS
Ted Adams, CEO &Publisher Greg Goldstein, ChiefOperatingOfcer RobbieRobbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist ChrisRyall, ChiefCreative Ofcer, Editor-In-Chief ef MatthewRuzicka, CPA, ChiefFinancialOfcer Alan Payne, VPofSales
www. IDWPUBLISHING .com ™
www.desperadopublishing.com
JoePruett, President &Publisher StephanNilson, CreativeDirector Gary Reed, BusinessDevelopment Malcolm Bourne, SpecialProjectsCoordinator
ISBN:
978-1-60010-859-4 (regular edition) 978-1-60010-860-0 (signed edition)
Special thanks to: Chris Caira, Tony Harris, Michael Lovitz, Mike McDaniel, James A. Owen, Mike Perkins,
INTRODUCTION What I know. Te truth is, what I don’t know is George Pérez. So does that make me the perect choice or writing an introduction to the impressive tome you’re presently holding? Apparently. Both George and I began our respective careers in comics back in the ‘70s, him a ew years later than me. Around then I was living in Caliornia, he in New York. As it would turn out, George was usually working or DC Comics while I was occupied over at Marvel Comics. Ten a Pavlovian bell would ring (one that obviously only George and I could hear) and we’d switch companies. Tat has been pretty much a constant or the past orty-some years. During that time George and I have had maybe a hal dozen brie conversations. At comic book conventions both o us would be kept separated by ans and the hundreds o comics that required autographing. autographing. Aer the shows shut down or the night we’d be whisked o to dine with our respective publishers. No real contact has ever been ostered. Tat’s just the way it is in this industry sometimes. I never met Jim Aparo until years aer we’d nished our joint run on the Batman series.
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George and I are acquaintances, not riends. Tere’s no bad blood between us that I know o. Mr. Pérez has always struck me as a very nice guy and a gentleman. You’ll have to ask him what he thinks o me. I haven’t a clue. We only worked together once and he stepped away beore nishing that particular job. Why? I don’t know. I’ve heard a ew dierent explanations concerning his premature departure rom the series. He’s never personally given me a reason or the unexpected exit. I’ve never asked.
N O I T C U D O R So right about now you’ve got to be asking yoursel, “Why in Hell did T N Desperado Publishing ask this jerk to write George’s intro?” I
Te answer’s simple. Tat one job that George and I worked on briefy together was Te Infnity Gauntlet . Tis turned out to be a milestone in both George’s and my own careers. It was a monster hit when it rst came out and is now probably one o the most reprinted series in the comic book industry. I’ve personally signed about a zillion copies o dierent editions o this story. I that was the only job either George or I ever worked on, period, Te Infnity Gauntlet would surely secure both o us a spot in comics’ pop culture history.
But that’s ar rom the only hit George Pérez was involved in. His successes are many and myriad. Early on, he and Marv Wolman Wolma n took a very se cond-tier title over at DC Comics and morphed the een itans into one o the company’s major and longest-lastingg series. longest-lastin Te two o them then turned the DC Comics universe on its collective ear with their Crisis on Infnite Earths series: another best-seller and a story that has most likely been reprinted even more oen than Te Infnity Gauntlet . Ten there have been his epic runs on Te Avengers, Avengers, Superman Superman,, Wonder Woman, Woman, War o the Gods, Gods, the Avengers/JLA the Avengers/JLA crossover, Infnite Crisis, Crisis, and so many other titles. It’s a body o work that ew but Jack Kirby could rival. Most cartoonists come into this business wanting to draw their own highly personalized version o every superhero in the business. Nearly all soon get past this passion, opting or single-character jobs instead. instead. Not George. It seems the more characters Mr. Pérez has to draw on a page, the happier the man is. Tis alone makes George a standout in our business. O course, there’s also his great storytelling ability and his unique page layouts. No wonder the guy has lasted as long as he has. In recent years the torrent that has been George Pérez has slowed a bit, what with him now dedicating a good deal o his time to raising money or dierent charities, locally and with groups connected to the comic b ook business. Last I heard he’s still co-chairman o Hero Imitative, an organization that helps reelance cartoonists with their medical bills. Looking back and just skimming through this book, one can’t help but come to the conclusion that Mr. Pérez has enjoyed a very illustrious career and an extremely good lie. He’s both entertained and helped. What more need be said about a man? So to come ull circle, again I ask, “Why was I asked to write the intro to this book?” Well, the answer to that question is painully apparent. When it comes to a book about George Pérez and his art, what does it matter who writes the intro? Te work itsel speaks volumes.
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Z E R É P E G R O E G F O T R A E H T
JIM STARLIN
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N O I T C U D O R T N I
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Z E R É P E G R O E G F O T R A E H T
I began working with Rich Buckler in 1973, aer I got married. My whole time there lasted only about six months. Tat was pretty much it; by the time I had been there or six months, editors had gotten used to seeing my ace and they knew what I could do. Tey knew I was Rich’s assistant, but they also knew that my style was changing quite a bit and that I didn’t just draw like Rich.
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Rich was responsible or my rst work, a two-page gag strip or Astonishing ales#25, ales #25, the rst Deathlok issue. He thought it was something I could do less harm to than something more workintensive. Te only thing I didn’t draw in that two-page gag strip was the Deathlok gure; Deathlok was Rich’s baby, and no one was going to draw him other than Rich. He worked more closely with other assistants like Keith Pollard and Arvell Jones, whom he had known longer and worked more in his style. Rich was doing Kirbyesque work back then, and he was looking or good Kirby reerences. I would help with that, and sometimes I did a little layout work—I had a pretty good sense o Kirby mysel at that time. Tere was only one issue o Fantastic Four where Four where I did the layout work. It ended up being a book that Rich didn’t pencil, so those layouts were never used. My rst shot at working on a more extensive story was “Gulliver o Mars” or Monsters Unleashed . Rich and I had pretty much parted ways at that point. Jim Salicrup and ony Isabella suggested that I do the “Gulliver o Mars” story. I was hungry enough that I jumped at it, and as a result I ended up getting other series that no one else wanted. Tey were supposed to be or one issue, but they kept on going. My rst Deadly Hands o Kung Fu was ghosted by Denny O’Neil (under the name Jim Dennis) and then the stories went on to Bill Mantlo. Bill was happy to work with a new artist, so I became the regular illustrator. I was then partnered with Dave Kra on “Man-Wol” “Man-Wol” in Creatures on the Loose.. Both o those assignments Loose became regular gigs.
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Z E R É P E G R O E G F O T R A E H T
Monsters Unleashed #8
Page 66 inked by Duffy Vohland 1974
