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George Pérez, Legendary Superhero Artist and Writer, Dead at 67

By | May 7th, 2022
Posted in News | % Comments

[Header art from the 2022 reissue of “JLA/Avengers”]

Pérez in 2012

Per a family statement, legendary comic book artist and writer George Pérez passed away yesterday on Friday, May 6, at the age of 67. The news comes five months after Pérez announced he had inoperable pancreatic cancer, and that he would not seek radiation treatment, choosing to spend as much of his remaining time as possible with his family, instead of prolonging his life. Pérez reportedly passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by family.

George Pérez was born to Puerto Rican parents in the South Bronx, New York City, on June 9, 1954. After starting to draw aged five, his first professional involvement in the comics industry came in 1973 as an assistant to Rich Buckler. Pérez made his debut in Marvel Comics’ “Astonishing Tales” #25, penciling an untitled satire of Buckler’s character, Deathlok. He then started penciling ‘Sons of the Tiger’ in Marvel’s “Deathly Hands of Kung Fu,” and created the first Puerto Rican superhero, White Tiger, with writer Bill Mantlo. Pérez’s reputation continued to grow throughout the ’70s, debuting on “The Avengers” with issue #141, as well as working on series such as “Creatures on the Loose,” “The Inhumans,” and “Fantastic Four.” In 1979, Pérez’s work on “Fantastic Four” led him to his first collaboration with Marv Wolfman for “Fantastic Four Annual” #14.

This partnership continued when Pérez started working for DC Comics in 1980, when he was offered the opportunity to work alongside Wolfman for the launch of “The New Teen Titans.” This relaunch of the team saw the pair co-create Raven, Starfire and Cyborg. He took a leave of absence from “The New Teen Titans” in 1984 to work on his next project with Wolfman, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” He was then tasked with rebooting “Wonder Woman” in 1987, working as a plotter and artist for the book. It was his work during the 1980s that earned Pérez a multitude of awards, including an Inkpot Award in 1983, as well as the Comic Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards “Favorite Artist” in both 1983 and 1985.

Pérez's wraparound cover for 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' #1 (1985)

Pérez’s relationship with DC deteriorated following problems with his storyline ‘War of the Gods’ in 1991. It was that year, too, that he started work on “The Infinity Gauntlet” with Jim Starlin at Marvel, although after personal complications, he was only able to complete four issues of the series. Pérez’s subsequent projects included the Epic Comics book “Sachs and Violens” with Peter David, a new incarnation of Teen Titans in 1996, “Silver Surfer,” and a return to “The Avengers” with Kurt Busiek. Their landmark relaunch of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in 1998 led to them reteaming in 2003 on the biggest (and last) DC/Marvel crossover to date, “JLA/Avengers.”

In 2000, Pérez, Busiek and several other comics creators founded the Image imprint Gorilla Comics, which proved unsuccessful; he also drew books for CrossGen Comics before its bankruptcy. He penned the “Superman” relaunch during the ‘New 52’ in 2011, and wrote and drew a creator-owned science-fiction series, “Sirens,” at BOOM! Studios between September 2014 and December 2016. In 2017, Pérez suffered a heart attack, and was forced to retire from comic books two years later as a result of his increasing number of health issues. As well as all his comics credits, Pérez served as co-chairman of the charity The Hero Initiative.

Pérez is survived by his wife, Carol Flynn. A memorial service will be held at MegaCon Orlando, at 6pm on Sunday, May 22. DC responded to the news saying, “George Pérez made everything look effortless. His contributions were pivotal in both driving and reinventing DC’s long and rich history. George’s stories were a joy to read, and his work resonated with everyone he met. He will be missed by those here at DC and fans worldwide.” DC previously announced they will run a tribute by various artists, featuring Pérez and the DC characters he was best known for drawing, in all of their June releases, to mark what would’ve been his 68th birthday.


//TAGS | obit

Luke Cornelius

Luke is an English and American Literature and Creative Writing graduate. He likes spending his time reading comics (obviously), going out on long walks and watching films/TV series.

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