Remembering and celebrating George!

 

MOST of the time--- in my dinky little corner of the web--- I strive for an over-all 'light-hearted' groove with what's posted-up here at the 'ol bloggie-thang! BUT... for the SECOND time in just a two-week period, ANOTHER comics-field legend has left us! The deservedly legendary Mr. George Perez passed away on May 6th, at the age of 67.

This is INDEED sad news! And.... yet, in the days since I learned of his passing.... I've been thinking about the JOY his artwork brought to not ONLY just little 'ol me--- but to MILLIONS of other comics fans! So.... with maybe a bit of a lump in my throat, and a tear in the eyes now and then.... I can't help but think of some of the WAY-COOL projects he had a part in--- and just break-out into a big, SHAMELESS geek-a-zoid smile!

 

As is also usually the case---- there are, no doubt--- MANY other sources you can check out, if you'd like an over-all-view of Mr. Perez's career, top 20 projects, past interviews with the man himself, and on and on! ALL that would without a doubt be more thorough, than anything I could put together here in this little space! 

So, what I'd like to do here, in my little 'virtual-version' of the 'Secret Sanctum'--- is what I ALWAYS end up doing!--- focus on the work the man created, that I personally have enjoyed over the years! Stuff that--- even though some of it is close to 4-decades old---- STILL has me DIGGING it, all these years later!-----

Ah, the grand-daddy of ALL the 'universe-shaking-changing--over-haul' / 'event' storylines! 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' truly rocked my world, back in 1985 (yes, that's right folks--- 37 years ago!)! I'd seen glimpses of George's art before then.... but this was the first series, featuring his artwork--- that I actively collected. I've re-read it several times over the years, and it STILL packs a wallop! The deaths of TWO major DC characters, countless 'superhero-crowd-scenes' (as well as a couple of  'villain-crowd-scenes'!)---something the artist was famous for! (that, and CROWDED-epic-battle-scenes!) scripter Marv Wolfman was no slouch in the writing department either! This is one over-sized EPIC, that holds up as an all-time classic! 

 

The first issue of this series, the 3rd starring Marvel's 'A-team' (in 1998)---- featured EVERYBODY who had ever been an Avenger! Right up Mr. (super-hero-crowd-scene!) Perez's alley, no doubt! He and writer Kurt Busiek, ended up doing a nearly 3-year run on the book. Entertaining, well-crafted superhero story-telling at it's finest! 

PLUS--- each character looks like an actual, unique individual--- instead of a 'generic hero-type' (like comic book characters tended to look, for MANY years!) Truly a gift Mr. Perez had, that sometimes gets over-looked! I've also re-read this run of issues a time or two, and it has continued to entertain me--- and make me smile that aforementioned 'geek-a-zoid' smile!

The story BEHIND the scenes of this LONG-awaited-by-the fans cross-over event, (released in 2003) is almost as entertaining and interesting as the DC / Marvel 'big-guns'-team-up story itself! After an earlier 'inter-company' cross-over had the plug pulled on it, way back in 1982--- for which George had already penciled over 20 PAGES (!!!??!)--- the artist had to wait over 20 YEARS to fulfill his dream of drawing this ULTIMATE superhero-universe-mash-up! 

VERY much worth every penny to this 'ol 'gray-whiskered' comics-fan-boy! Just seeing the heroes of DC / Marvel meet-up and interact with each other, made it  a 'TWELVE' on the 1-to-10 'coolness-meter'! Not to mention, you can see the love-for-the-characters in EVERY page of Mr. Perez's artwork!

Actually, this is one I haven't re-read in a while! Once my stuff from the former 'Bat-cave' is unpacked in the (hopefully NEAR) future, I fully intend on diving into it again!

And that's my trip down memory lane, looking back on some of my faves, from the work of one of the GREATS of  the comics-creating profession! George Perez was truly a unique, and gifted artist. He was also, from what I've learned about him--- a pretty shameless comics-geek himself! 

I'd like to think that somewhere 'up above', he's smiling that warm, (obviously) big-hearted smile--- like in the picture up at the top of this post---- knowing he's brought so MUCH joy and excitement into the lives of COUNTLESS 'fans-of-the-fantastic', like the 'ol Loydster! May that joy and excitement continue for generations to come! 

In the past few days, I've read where a fellow comics-fanatic had wondered: 'What if, in 'the great-beyond', Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, and now George Perez... are right this moment, plotting-out an EPIC superhero extravaganza together? Something that would just BLOW all of us away?' That thought made me smile about those comic-art legends once again. To create made these folks happy. Their talents truly blessed all of us comics-fans with thousands of hours of fun and entertainment!  So.....God bless George Perez! Gone but NOT forgotten indeed!