George Perez died May 7, 2022. His story is amazing, and I hope not rare, just easily remembered by me because I was close to it. It's the classic scenario of a child of an immigrant family that succeeds almost entirely on the grounds of hard work.
Perez was an artist. I was almost tempted to say "comics artist" because he primarily made his living illustrating comic books, but just as a truly raceless assessment of a person should be made on the grounds of the individual's achievements and contributions and not genetic heritage, an artist is an artist, regardless of the medium. Perez was a great one. Self-taught and a tireless worker, Perez illustrated hundreds of books over his career. He deservedly became a fan favorite due to his style's crisp detail and great layouts for action and large group scenes.
I was blessed to be a kid in the 1980's, when Perez and Marv Wolfman were helming DC's The New Teen Titans. The title was a hit and really DC's only competition to Marvel's phenomenal line-up headed by the X-Men. It was the perfect title for teen readers as it had the superhero staples, but also discussed issues maturing teens dealt with like growing up, becoming independent, relationships, and dealing with parents or parental figures. It was nice that I could buy those issues at retail price when they came out. The 80's were a time of high price volatility in comics speculation and being a popular title, Titans back issues could get expensive.
Perez was a force for a long time, and continued to be popular as he worked on other titles, notably the Wonder Woman reboot, also with Wolfman. The pairing of Wolfman and Perez is a special one. It was the right combination of writer and artist. Their stories went beyond the rock'em sock'em roots of early superhero comics and elevated comics with mature themes and welcome forays into non-violent paths. At least a couple of their Wonder Woman issues involved no fighting at all.
The work the pair did certainly inspired me and I'll be forever grateful for their efforts.
It was probably in the mid-1980s that I got to meet Perez briefly at a convention. I went with my best friend at the time, and we sat near the front row of the hall where Perez was speaking. I remember being in awe at learning Perez was self-taught and perhaps that was the beginning of my recognition that we should limit the gravity we impart to the superficialities of a college degree.
I'll always remember Perez's response to the audience asking him who his favorite superhero was. "It was Iron Man. When I was a kid growing up in the Bronx, wearing a suit of armor made sense!"
Godspeed, Perez, to you and your surviving family. You affected more lives than you know.
