George Perez Drew ALL The Superheroes. Seriously. On One Panel.

Not in the mood to announce this, not on Free Comic Book Day (first Saturday of the month of May), but saw this on Twitter just a few hours ago:

To all of George’s fans and friends,

Constance here, with the update no one wants to read. George passed away yesterday, peacefully at home with his wife of 490 months and family by his side. He was not in pain and knew he was very, very loved. pic.twitter.com/0aGnBpYd6z

— TheGeorgePerez.com (@georgepereznet) May 7, 2022

I've mentioned George Perez once or twice, running into him at the local Comic Cons between Tampa and Orlando. If not on this blog at least on my librarian/writer's blog over here.

When I seriously got into comic books as a teen, it was at a pivotal moment in the industry as the two major publishers - DC and Marvel - were beginning to straighten out their respective universes and provide better continuity - an accurate and faithful history - to avoid all the narrative confusion that had begun piling up since the 1960s.

In particular, DC Comics - which had multiple Earths to deal with the all the convoluted storylines that were adding up since 1938 - decided to do a 50th anniversary mini-series to streamline everything into one 'Verse. Called Crisis on Infinite Earths, it killed off various major characters, got rid of the multiverse in favor of one Earth, and rebooted everything to fit modern times.

None of it stuck, of course. The need for multiple storylines in order to tell tales that wouldn't conflict with the main 'Verse - DC tried Elseworlds stand-alone issues for awhile - overwhelmed the intent. But at the time it was grand storytelling, one of the classics in all of comic book history.

One of the reasons the work is held in high esteem even 35 years later - oy - was the brilliant artwork drawn by George Perez. One of the biggest in-demand artists of his day, known for not only believably-drawn figures but also for incredibly detailed line work, Perez drew some of the most famous images in the comics medium:

The cover of Issue #7,
the Death of Supergirl.

Above all, Perez was famous for drawing Crowd Scenes: Piling in as many figures - heroes, villains, bystanders - as possible within the frame to imply an intense, overwhelming moment. In that cover above, he inserted every major and minor superhero of the DC Universe into the background, each of them conveying personal shock at the loss of their friend.

Such work made him high-demand between both DC and Marvel, so much so that he had to take breaks every so often because his wrists would need splints and rest. But when it came to one of the biggest events of all time - an official Justice League/Avengers crossover, decades in the planning - he was the only artist qualified to draw it.

JLA/Avengers alternate cover #3 in 2003.
Perez drew 208 (!) characters from both 'Verses.
When he finished this he had to rest for THREE MONTHS to recover.

There were few artists of his era - Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, maybe - who could draw with that level of detail. There are few artists today who could dare match it - Phil Jimenez his most obvious successor - in terms of such overwhelming scope.

There have been other great artists over the decades - many popular, many with long, heralded careers - each of them who provided impact and inspiration to graphic artists everywhere. Neal Adams for example, who also just recently passed, was highly praised for his shaded, emotive work. But NONE of them had the impact or influence that Perez had to the fanbase.

The MMO superhero game City of Heroes named an entire city zone - Perez Park - in his honor. When I got the game in 2004 and saw it on the game map I squeed.

I'd actually met him a few times at the local Comic Cons. The first time I'd met him, he was a guest of honor at a new comic book store opening in Palm Harbor. I think it was in 1989, maybe 1988, it was when they were about to redo Wonder Girl's origins (again) and I had a question or two about it. He was friendly and helpful, explaining why they were rebooting her origins - in reaction to some of the changes made in Crisis the year before - and also helped correct a character's name for me. I was mispronouncing Lilith's name wrong.

Last time I saw him in person was 2013, at Tampa Bay Comic Con:

He always worn that shirt or something similar ever since I met him in that Palm Harbor store, it's blurry but it was made up of art panels he'd drawn over the years.

Perez revealed back in 2019 that he was retiring for health reasons, and it came out a little later that it was terminal cancer. He wasn't going to fight it, but take palliative treatment to cope with the pain. Even though the fanbase - and his fellow artists and writers - were prepared for this moment, I guarantee you this is a huge blow to everyone this weekend.

They're planning a memorial for George Perez at Orlando MegaCon this May 22nd. I wasn't planning on going - I'm still wary of COVID super-spreader locations - but I might now.