NYCC 07: THE GEORGE PEREZ PANEL

[MattBrady]

by Steve Fritz

George Perez was standing there right in the middle of NY Comic Con’s Artist Alley, and hardly anyone noticed.

“They don’t know it’s me,” he joked. “That’s because I’m not wearing a Hawaiian shirt.”

Considering the freezing weather outside at the Javits Center, Perez’s preference for more sensible, toned down and warmer clothing made quite a bit of sense. From the way he behaved, Perez also appeared to be enjoying the unexpected perk he was getting from only being recognized by a few media types and not many more.

As it was, Perez did have another reason for being in the Alley. He was trying to find exactly where his signing booth was located. No one knew precisely, which made NOT being recognized somewhat disenchanting. Then one smart fan figured everything out, and led the NYCC’s Guest of Honor to his appointed space.

“I guess I found me!” Perez laughed gleefully as he then had some fans get him two empty candy jars, as he unpacked his pad, pencils and other sundry items.

As it turned out, there was a reason for the two empty jars. Anyone who paid to get an autograph from Perez got a lottery ticket from Perez’s assistant. Half the ticket went into one of the jars. If the fan wanted to buy more tickets, he/she may do so at a cost of $1.00 per ticket. The cash went into the second jar.

Every day during the Con, Perez would draw one of those tickets. Whoever’s ticket got pulled would win a Perez sketch of any character he’d ever worked on. The only catch was the ‘winner’ would have to pay an additional $50. The money Perez generated would go to the charity HERO Initiative.

As it turned at, this didn’t stop fans from putting their money down. Perez reported one fan putting $60 for 61 tickets and was willing to put up the additional $50 on top of it.
As it turned out, Perez has done this multiple times in the past. The most bizarre request was for Jimmy Olsen as a gorilla. The most common request was for Wonder Woman.

“It all started when a friend of mine had a child that was born with cerebral palsy,” Perez recalled. “It took them about a year before they got any government money. Until that time, I helped them get those those very tough financial times.”

In the meantime, Perez’s first work on the Brave & The Bold with Mark Waid came out this week, and fan reaction has been tremendously positive.

“One thing I noticed is in the first issue I was working with a lot more shadows and was a lot more elaborate than I’d been recently,” says Perez. “Obviously, this is because I’d been doing a lot of scenes in the Batcave. But it also had a lot to do with the story itself.”

Not that Perez is doing badly himself. He confided that one year he received enough in royalties from the animated Teen Titans and his work on JLA/Avengers that he was able to buy his wife a brand new car with enough left over for “five trips to Europe.”

One other bit of information Perez imparted was to enjoy his presence while you can, Hawaiian shirts or not. Perez will not be making to many more convention appearances for the foreseeable future.

“That’s because I work on a monthly magazine,” Perez acknowledged, “and I’m tired of doing pages in my hotel room.”

In the meantime, even though it was freezing outside, Perez was basking in the glow of approving fans…Hawaiian shirts or not.


New York Comic Con 2007 coverage brought to you by Comicraft's ELEPHANTMEN #7, on sale right now from Image Comics!

[PHEEL]

Absolutely love George's work. Pity he's never made it to England for any convention...

[Samy Merchi]

I love George Perez and I'm very glad to hear that he's raking in the cash. He's one of the people who deserves it the most in this industry.

[theWeapon]

Very nice guy. Very easy to talk with about anything comics.

No outrageously-colored floral print shirt?!?

I'd ask him to do Iron Man for me...

[Mike Cruz]

I met George Perez at the SDCC and he was a great guy. I admire him and I adore his work. He deserves every award the all the success that comes with it.

[roshambo]

good to see he's putting his work in front of PR appearances for the future. others should take a lesson.
nice guy, professional, knows how to draw a little bit, too.

[The Spirit]

Perez is one of the greatest comic artists and one of the mos consistant artists.

[ParisCub]

Originally Posted by PHEEL

Absolutely love George's work. Pity he's never made it to England for any convention...

He did a few signings in the UK during his travels though, including one at Forbidden Planet Edinburgh.

[The Guvnor]

Nice report and Perez is a great artist. Nice to see that he is supporting charity too.

[bcondray]

Awesome man.

George Perez has been my fave comics artist since 1980..

[RWNeal]

Originally Posted by The Guvnor

Nice report and Perez is a great artist. But paying to have his autograph seems a bit cheap. Is it not enough that people pay to buy his books?

The article may not have made it clear - If he's doing like he did at MegaCon, George isn't charging for his autograph, per se (like those sad sci-fi actors) - he's raising money for the Hero Initiative. It's a suggested donation. Plus, you can win a chance to commission a sketch.

[garion]

Originally Posted by RWNeal

The article may not have made it clear - If he's doing like he did at MegaCon, George isn't charging for his autograph, per se (like those sad sci-fi actors) - he's raising money for the Hero Initiative. It's a suggested donation. Plus, you can win a chance to commission a sketch.

Nope, it was clear. The other poster just missed it.

It's for charity. It says it right there.

Every day during the Con, Perez would draw one of those tickets. Whoever’s ticket got pulled would win a Perez sketch of any character he’d ever worked on. The only catch was the ‘winner’ would have to pay an additional $50. The money Perez generated would go to the charity HERO Initiative.

[grayhulk76]

Originally Posted by Capt. Marvel

Perez is one of the greatest comic artists and one of the mos consistant artists.

How very true.

It was great to be into comics from 1975-82. When Perez showed up his work always stood out.

when many of the 1960s and early 70s greats were doing the "grand human figure" type work of a Adams or Buscema (which I also luv very much!) Perez created his own style just as awe-inspiring.

Instead of making his bodies large & dramatic, Perez looked at the ability of detail and ornamentation to tell his stories & generate emotion. Although his style was new for its day, and was/is very traditional with its emphasis on line work vs shadow, it also has a timeless quality to it.

Its like jewelry or chocolate. You see & taste the attractive finish and flavor, yet you still want to experience more of it, no matter how many times you see or taste it.

but most of all hes also a great human being & a dedicated comic creator.

[rroch]

I met him a few years ago at a local comic-shop here in Germany, a great guy.

[CodeGuy]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

One other bit of information Perez departed was enjoy his presence while you can, Hawaiian shirts or not. Perez will not be making to many more convention appearances for the foreseeable future.

“That’s because I work on a monthly magazine,” Perez acknowledged, “and I’m tired of doing pages in my hotel room.”

I've always wondered about how much of a time strain that is. It's really nice for creators to come out and meet the fans, but the cons have to take out a fair chunk of their time.

[Dennis K]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

One other bit of information Perez departed was enjoy his presence while you can, Hawaiian shirts or not. Perez will not be making to many more convention appearances for the foreseeable future.

“That’s because I work on a monthly magazine,” Perez acknowledged, “and I’m tired of doing pages in my hotel room.”

Ah nerts. I was hoping to try and get a sketch from him at SDCC this year.

[Jeremy Williams]

Imagine how cool that book would have been in 1981!

[Drcharles]

Perez is a great artist, his work on the Teen Titans brought me into DC way back in the 80s, and his work on the Avengers is some of the best ...........Ever !

[O.J. Flow]

...and I say to myself, "How can you NOT love George Perez??"

[Bobby Nash]

George is a class act. One of the nicest creators to meet at a con.

Bobby

[Atomic Jake]

As it turned out, Perez has done this multiple times in the past. The most bizarre request was for Jimmy Olsen as a gorilla.

Hey, that's my sketch!

[The Guvnor]

Originally Posted by garion

Nope, it was clear. The other poster just missed it.

It's for charity. It says it right there.

Thanks for clearing that up. It seems I'm losing the ability to read. It's very good then that the money is going to charity.

Apologies to George Perez on the oft chance he read this forum and felt insulted.

[roshambo]

Originally Posted by Atomic Jake

As it turned out, Perez has done this multiple times in the past. The most bizarre request was for Jimmy Olsen as a gorilla.

Hey, that's my sketch!

George liked the press pass, but i was more impressed with the signal watch blaring "ook ook ook" lol

[Disco Cookie]

Great to hear that George wants to concentrate on B&B - and that he's reaping the rewards of his talent. What a legend this guy is.

[ScottRowland]

George Perez is a class act!

Love the Jimmy Olsen Goirilla sketch.