Revered comic book artist George Perez announced his retirement yesterday. Looking back over his voluminous body of work, I realize how his art was such an inspiration to me growing up as a young creator of fiction.
George Perez illustrated a lot of fantastic comic book covers over the course of his illustrious career. These were my favorites…
#10. Crisis on Multiple Earths, vol. 5
Solemn and foreboding.
#9. The New Teen Titans, vol. 1, #71
I love this one because it looks like a hungover Nightwing is left to clean up after a particularly raucous party.
#8. The New Teen Titans, vol. 1, #39
Sure, the abandoned foreground costumes have become a bit of a chestnut, but back then it was shocking and new. Love the little touch of having some of the pieces hanging off the Titans logo.
#7. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, vol. 1
This team-up with Dave McCaig featuring one of comicdom’s most woefully under-appreciated members of a woefully under-appreciated team.
#6. The New Teen Titans, vol. 1, #13
Shockingly eerie.
#5. Avengers, vol. 1, #166
THE run that first introduced me to the wonder of comic books.
#4. The New Teen Titans, vol. 1, #36
For a series that centered on teenagers, Titans could get incredibly dark – and this cover does a great job of reflecting the title’s more adult tone.
#3. The Infinity Gauntlet #1
Thanos has never looked so formidable.
#2. The Korvac Saga
When ten year old me first read this arc, it blew my mind.
#1. Crisis on Infinite Earths, vol. 1, #7
Boy, no comic book cover has ever equaled the emotional impact of seeing a weeping Superman holding a lifeless Supergirl in his arms.
Hey, George, thanks for the memories!
WOW!
My first memories are of G.I. Joe and a small story of a guy and his machine gun. His unit was attacked and he laid down fire. He fired but the enemy kept coming. As the last attacker made a fateful lunge at the gunner, he said with his dying breath, the irony of being taken out by a guy with a boy scout knife.
Great covers and career indeed. I’m not really familiar with his work, but looking at those covers, I’m surprised to see some I already knew and some arks I’ve read. My comicbook reading was messy as a kid, just like the french editions we had at the time, so I can’t really tell what I read or not.
His artwork really did count in the business, he did a lot of remembered cover art and some of the most famous arks in history. I really like his Superman, a classic one, very clean and reasonably muscular. That’s the kind of artwork that inspired me as a wannabee artist. Characters might have been a bit stiff at times in their postures, but compositions were always very thought through and easy to read. I love a good easy to read cover with a strong message.
Also, I’m really happy, after reading his retirement letter, that it can happen for artists too. He can stops because he want to and have the actual means to, and that’s great. We’re not all doomed to work until we die on the drawing table, in total misery. ^^ And I can tell, it’s not easy to say “I’m done with comics and professional art”. It’s so much in our DNA and guts.
Anyway, sorry for the long comment, and thank you for your post.
It’s so unnerving when folks retire, it means that we are left to try to run things as well as they did (hopefully). All great covers, I remember being amazed that HBO was showing 1984 Supergirl twice a day! Like for free, so of course we had to watch it every time it aired. If I lived in a crystal star bubble I would never come to Earth.