TEEN TITANS (Unpublished page from "Games") (1983), art by George Perez, colored by Tom Smith. From Tom Smith

JLA / AVENGERS (Unused color scheme) (2004), art by George Perez, colored by Tom Smith. Cover used for JLA/AVENGERS HC. From Tom Smith

SCARLET WITCH (1979?), art by George Perez, colored by Wattana Bo (2006).

July 19th saw the release of Justice League of America #0 and Back Issue #17, which includes a previously unseen Starfire/Wonder Girl sketch by George (along with several other Perez illos).

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Well, it's time for an all-too-infrequent update on what's going on at the International House of Pérez. I've read quite a number of posts on various message boards asking such things as"When will George be starting on THE BRAVE & THE BOLD?", "Will GAMES: THE TITANS GRAPHIC NOVEL ever come out?", "Is he working on the DC character turn-arounds for DC's official bible?" "Will that art be made available to the buying public?"

Well here are some answers, a few unfortunately vague because, quite truthfully, I'm not sure of the answers myself.

DC's big event books have really put a major monkey wrench in the production of the monthly books (not to mention some of the event books themselves). Because of my involvement in INFINITE CRISIS, which seems to grow with every issue, I've not been available to start anything on B & B except for the first issue's cover, which was done months ago in anticipation of my starting the actual title in November of 2005. That cover was supposed to appear in the WIZARD issue announcing DC's 2006 schedule of new titles. It was yanked when it became obvious that I could not start the book until after my return from vacation in late January so the release schedule was still undetermined. That vacation, planned over a year ago as a partial celebration of Carol's and my 25th Wedding Anniversary, also explains why I will have no interior art in IC #5. Upon my return I learned that Mark Waid, now heavily immersed in writing his share of 52, had not been able to work on B &B during my absence and will likely not be able to do so for a couple of months. I'm not hurting for work, however, as there are plenty of pages to draw for IC 6 & 7, far more than I had imagined when I agreed to help out on the project. INFINITE CRISIS' schedule overrules all others for the next two months. That includes B &B and any art for the DC Bible.

As for the character art for the DC Bible (not its official name, by the way), I really have no idea whether it will appear in a published format, although I think it would be cool if I do a good enough job to warrant such a publication. Lord knows the royalties would be nice. But, until I can actually start on drawing them the subject's rather moot.

The official status of GAMES is a bit more tricky. With all the post-IC work I have lined up, I don't see how I will have the time to get back on the graphic novel. Quite honestly, and honesty can be quite brutal, I wouldn't hold my breath on it ever being released. I know that my wonderful friend and co-creator Marv Wolfman is still guardedly optimistic on the resurrection of this project (a lot of that positive thinking having been fueled by me two years ago when I stated my intent to complete the art), but my subsequent exclusive contract with DC has prompted the company to utilize my talents on more current projects aimed at forming DC's future rather than just basking in the nostalgia of its past. The completed art in GAMES is over 15 years old, although it does hold up pretty damn well, in my opinion. I guess it could conceivably be restarted yet again, but it seems to become more unlikely with each new DC assignment in each passing new year. For that, I am sincerely sorry-- For Marv, for inker Mike Perkins who signed a Marvel exclusive since inking ten of the un-inked pages, for Al Vey, who had inked the earlier pages over a decade ago, for color artist Tom Smith, for the fans who have waited so long and whose hopes may be dashed yet again-- and, finally, for me. It would have been nice to put closure to the project. Oh, and for those who suggested that some other artist or artists finish the project, I suggested the same thing years ago. Unfortunately, DC only wanted this as a Wolfman/Pérez Titans story; so, without me, it's not getting done. An unfortunate Catch-22, I'm afraid. Still, there is always that small glimmer of hope. After all, what if I'm done with all my IC stuff and there's still no B & B work ready? You never know.

I do have some non-IC work down the pipe, mostly covers. I still have two more JSA covers to draw and I've drawn a RED SONJA cover for Dynamite Comics (part of an agreement that pre-dated my DC exclusive) and still have a few covers to draw for that company. There's also the cover for the final collection of my WONDER WOMAN work. I've been approached by Wildstorm for a cover, but I haven't followed up on that yet.

I am grateful that there are so many fans out there for which my continuing output seems to actually matter. Thanks for the support, the kind words, and even the critiques. Despite illnesses and setbacks, I'm thankful for the loyalty and affection of my fans. Along with the love and support of my wife, family and friends, it's what gives me the drive to get up in the morning and face that drawing board and peer into the snow-white blankness of the page-- and make my mark.

Titans "Games" on Hold
Sunday, December 04, 2005

Ah, the Titans graphic novel: GAMES. Marv Wolfman and George Pérez started the graphic novel way back in 1989; Pérez completed about 70 pages before the project was put on hold. Last year, DC announced the project was revived - meaning Pérez would complete his pages with a revised script by Marv Wolfman. The long-delayed Titans Graphic Novel, GAMES, was originally scheduled to hit shelves by the end of 2005.

So what is the status of the long-anticipated project? Right now, Pérez is booked up with projects from DC, and there may not be time to complete it during his contracted period with them. As of right now, it's on hold once again, and might likely stay that way. Stay tuned to titanstower.com for any future news concerning the final fate of GAMES.

For the long history of GAMES, check out this page.

posted by Nightwing @ 12:41 AM | comments

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

WWC: DAY 2 - DC CRISIS COUNSELING PANEL
posted 08-07-2005 02:36 PM by MattBrady

Featuring panelists Dan DiDio, Greg Rucka, VP of Sales Bob Wayne, and editor Joan Hilty, DC’s Saturday evening “Crisis Counseling” panel at WizardWorld: Chicago offered a little in terms of upcoming information, a touch in terms of teases, and more often than not, the phrase, “All will be revealed” to fans’ questions about upcoming stories, endings of stories, fates of characters, and more.

(excerpt)

• Asked about George Perez’s upcoming role with DC, DiDio repeated an earlier announcement that Perez would be drawing the alternate covers to all seven issues of Infinite Crisis (Jim Lee will be drawing the regular covers). Asked later about the status of Teen Titans: Games, the original graphic novel by Perez and Marv Wolfman the two began years ago, and were at one time working to complete, DiDio said that the GN is on hold for now.

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Info from the Chicago Comiccon: • Asked about George Perez’s upcoming role with DC, DiDio repeated an earlier announcement that Perez would be drawing the alternate covers to all seven issues of Infinite Crisis (Jim Lee will be drawing the regular covers). Asked later about the status of Teen Titans: Games, the original graphic novel by Perez and Marv Wolfman the two began years ago, and were at one time working to complete, DiDio said that the GN is on hold for now.

25th Anniversary of Teen Titans at San Diego Comic-Con 2005
update >> july 19th >> 2005

(excerpt)

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Marv Wolfman said he had fun reinvigorating the book in 1980 with George Perez. He praised George as a creative partner who "always brought more to the table." Marv mentioned New Teen Titans #8 as a particular turning point in the series. In that issue, George added much to the personality of the characters, particularly Cyborg. Wolfman said Wonder Girl was his favorite of the old Titans... But out of the Titans he created, Raven was his favorite.

A fan asked Marv why he thought the Titans didn't live up to the popularity of the X-Men in the late 80s, when it once rivaled them in sales. Marv said he never looked at the Titans as an X-Men-type concept. "If anything, it was more Fantastic Four." He said he developed a very 'family' type atmosphere in the book. Also, he was aware when creating the book, to give it many places to go. Starfire gave space epics. Raven gave mystical/magic stories. And Cyborg had more high-tech sci-fi. And so on. That way, it never gets dull.

Wolfman also cited the lack of spin-off titles as one reason the Titans never matched X-Men. Also, the direct-only format ended up making the book less accessible.

When asked about the Graphic Novel GAMES, Marv answered, "I have no idea what is happening with that." He hasn't seen any new art.

[ Read more 25th Anniversary of Teen Titans at San Diego Comic-Con 2005 ]

SDCC DAY 2: TEEN TITANS 25TH ANNIVERSARY PANEL
MattBrady

DC COMICS PRESENTS #26 (Oct 1980) NEW TEEN TITANS #1 (Nov 1980) NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Friday’s Teen Titans 25th Anniversary panel at Comic Con International: San Diego saw the room packed as Nick Cardy, Marv Wolfman, Geoff Johns, Glenn Murakami, and Barb Kesel talked Titans old and new, in print and animated.

(excerpt)

After introducing himself Geoff Johns praised Wolfman, saying that his writing has served as an inspiration and influence on him over the years.

Murakami said that he, like Johns, was a fan of the Wolfman/Perez comic series growing up, and lept at the chance to develop the group of heroes as an animated series when the opportunity was presented to him.

...

Asked about the progress of Games, the long-delayed in finishing original Teen Titans graphic novel by Wolfman and Perez, Wolfman said that it will happen when it happens, noting that Perez needs to finish it first, as it is something Wolfman said he doesn’t want to write in pieces. “It’s the best Titans George has ever drawn, though,” Wolfman said.

[ Read more SDCC DAY 2: TEEN TITANS 25TH ANNIVERSARY PANEL ]

GEORGE PEREZ TITANS, INKING, & EXCLUSIVES
posted 06-27-2005 10:40 AM
by George Nelson

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010) ddd5)

George Perez, who recently signed a five-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics, should have no problem filling that time with work. He's inking several DC projects, including The Return of Donna Troy, and has tons of offers for even more work within the company.

“If I were to say 'yes' to every offer that’s been made to me in the past few months I’d be busy through 2011,” the superstar writer/artist reflected at the Pittsburgh Comicon, grateful that after 30 years doing comics professionally he is still in demand, he joked “I'm the pretty girl at the prom.”

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his landmark series The New Teen Titans with writer Marv Wolfman, Perez is currently inking Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’ pencils on the Return of Donna Troy miniseries “I‘m getting such an education,” he said. He also recreated the cover of NTT No. 1 for the cover of this year‘s Overstreet Price Guide. Plus he's resumed work on the Titans graphic novel, Games with collaborator Wolfman. Though he isn’t involved with the Cartoon Network's Teen Titans show's production, he also gets a percentage of profits from the cartoon and spin-off merchandise. In fact, between that and the financial success of the long-awaited JLA/Avengers, Perez has spent most of the past year on vacation, making up for lost time with his wife, Carol. Time that he lost while creating the work-intensive JLA/Avengers crossover which, at one point, gave him tendonitis. “I have not drawn an interior comic book page in nine months,” he said.

[ Read more GEORGE PEREZ TITANS, INKING, & EXCLUSIVES ]

BOOKSHELF Q & A: GEORGE PEREZ
published in WIZARD #165 (Jul 2005)
transcribed by Vu
www.wizarduniverse.com

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

If you can name it, chances are George Perez has drawn it, from Marvel's first family to DC's teen team supreme. Now collected for the first time, two of Perez's seminal works make it to trade in June with FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONAIRES: GEORGE PEREZ vol 1 (collecting his 1970s work on the book) and NEW TEEN TITANS: WHO IS DONNA TROY? (featuring Perez and a variety of other artists.) Here's what Perez had to say about dominating the bookshelves…

WIZARD: What's your favorite Fantastic Four tale that you drew?
PEREZ: The issue with the Impossible Man [#176]. The fun part was drawing myself and [writer] Roy Thomas - boy, did I look good in those days! - and having my comic book self talking to Jack Kirby whom I had never met and wouldn't meet for the first time until 1985.

What was best about working on FF?
It was a nice learning experience for me. I got to add another notch in my gun as far as establishing myself as an artist who really likes doing group books. I was doing Avengers and Inhumans around the same time.

A standout New Teen Titans tale you penciled - #38, "Who is Donna Troy?" -will be included in the new collection. So who is Donna Troy to you?
I think Donna Troy will always be a feminine ideal who's basically the girl next door that everyone just has to fall in love with. She was rather perfect in her own way - strong, intelligent, giving, loving and of course, gorgeous.

But who wins in a fight between Donna Troy and the Thing?
In the long run, it would probably be Donna because Ben would be a little reluctant to use all his strength at first on a female character, despite his experience with Thundra and everyone else. That one brief hesitation is all she needs.

What will your next big project be after the Teen Titans: Games graphic novel?
Nothing specific at this point because Games won't be finished until the end of the year. A lot of people have been coming up with a lot of proposals. I'm very flattered that at my age, I'm still being considered the pretty girl at the prom. [Chuckles] it's very humbling and I'm gratified.

GEORGE PEREZ'S EZ PROJECT
Wednesday, March 2, 2005

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

George Perez told The Continuum he is working with Phil Jimenez and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez on what he calls "The EZ Project," a soon-to-be-announced project from DC Comics.

"I'm having the time of my life inking the incredible Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez," Perez told The Continuum at last weekend's MegaCon. "Phil is writing and drawing the covers, so I get to ink him, too."

The "EZ" is a reference to the last two letters in each of the creators' names. It has been rumored that the project involves Donna Troy.

Perez is drawing a new cover to a Marvel Visionaires featuring his run on Fantastic Four. He's also doing three pages for a 10th anniversary edition of Witchblade and some City of Heroes covers for Top Cow Productions.

Perez said he will be concentrating on his New Teen Titans graphic novel with Marv Wolfman in May.

"I've got learn to say no. I'm getting so many great offers," Perez said. "I'm proud to say that after 30 years in the business, I'm still kind of the pretty girl at the dance."

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

I am currently inking the incredible Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez on a project written by Phil Jimenez, who is also the cover penciler, with me inking Phil. Unfortunately, beyond that, I'm not at liberty to reveal what the project is so I've been calling it "The EZ Company Project" since all three creators share the same last two letters in our family names. DC Comics should be making an announcement relatively soon and it will be a relief to finally be able to talk about it openly.

Contrary to solicitations I have indeed drawn the cover for FALLEN ANGELS #20. Due to a mix-up in the scheduling it initially appeared that I couldn't do the cover, so the regular team was told to go ahead and draw the cover. When Peter David found out about that he reminded the editor that the deadlines had been pushed back and even though the book had been solicited with another cover, Peter figured few would be bummed out to find that there was a Pérez cover after all.

I have also drawn a cover for a Marvel Visionaries book spotlighting my 1970's run on FANTASTIC FOUR. Tom Smith colored that piece and, as usual, did a wonderful job.

I am currently drawing a variant cover for Top Cow's CITY OF HEROES #1 and will be drawing the cover for a CITY OF HEROES novel called "Web of Arachnos". This should be the first of three covers for a series of CoH novels. And since I just mentioned Top Cow, I should also announce that I will be participating in a special 10th Anniversary edition of WITCHBLADE. I will be drawing three pages written by Ron Marz. And as I draw those pages I will be filmed by a video crew for TwoMorrows' DVD companion to its MODERN MASTERS book series.

There have been other offers, including some covers for Dynamic Forces' RED SONYA and ARMY OF DARKNESS. I also will be providing a cover for DF's STORYTELLER, yet another retrospective on my career. (I am definitely being over-exposed). A cover for ForceWerks' B.A.B.E. FORCE is also on my schedule. There have been other one-shots I've been offered that I'm not yet free to discuss, or yet to accept, but after "The EZ Company Project" I will be primarily focusing my attention on completing GAMES: THE TITANS GRAPHIC NOVEL. Inker Mike Perkins has already started on some pages and Tom Smith has 30 pages ready to start so it's up to me to get busy so that Marv Wolfman can start dialoguing the first half of the book.

As for conventions this year, here's my schedule for 2005 so far.
February 25-27: Mega Con in Orlando, FL.
March 18-20: Wizard World Los Angeles in Long Beach, CA
April 22-24: Pittsburgh Comicon in Monroeville, PA (I even provided the T-Shirt art)
July 14-17: Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA
September 13-17: Comic Book Festival in Avilés, Spain

Those are the confirmed shows. There is a possibility of more, but I'm trying to limit my time away from the drawing board this year.

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Just some tidbits from George at the recent Canadian Comic Expo: - Mike Perkins will be inking him on Titans: Games, since George was so impressed with the results of their previous collaborations. The pages already inked by Al Vey will see print as they are. - George said that when the convention was over, he would draw his contribution for Astro City: A Visitor's Guide. (The book is scheduled for release on October 13th.) - He drew 2 covers and 5 interior pages for the cancelled Sojourn/Lady Death. One thing I forgot to ask him was whether his work would appear in Even More Fund Comics. He was originally announced as a contributor, and the book was apparently made available at the Baltimore Comic-Con this past September 11-12, so I'm curious to look at it when it hits comic store shelves.

People In Motion
Sunday, September 5
By Blair Marnell

Tales of Wonder

Earlier this week, an item that appeared on George Perez’ fan site sparked some speculation regarding his next DC project:

Here's a little tease about George's next project - Phil Jimenez writes, Jose Garcia-Lopez pencils and Perez inks... something. George wouldn't go into any more detail, and I think he wants DC to make the official announcement, but I thought you might want the heads up.

The project in question is likely the Troia miniseries Jimenez has been asking for since he signed his DC exclusive contract. Donna Troy is reportedly one of his favorite characters, and he’s been looking to “right a wrong” since she was killed off a while back.

As for Perez, his participation in this project shouldn’t preclude his work on The New Teen Titans: Games, which was announced last year. Games will reunite Perez with his original Titans collaborator, Marv Wolfman.

This Has A “Life After Death” Factor of Seven Out of Ten

DC Announces, Clarifies Future Plans
26 July 2004 at 1:58
written by Julian Darius

(excerpt)

Teen Titans: Games, the original graphic novel by Marv Wolfman and George Perez that was mostly completed during the team’s heyday on New Titans, was abandoned at the time but will be finished up -- allowing Perez to complete a bulk of work without having to draw it all from scratch. The original pages had been sold but have been loaned back to DC for scanning. The graphic novel has a target release date of October 2005.

Permanent Damage Issue #151
Wednesday August 4, 2004
written by Steven Grant

(excerpt)

"I read with sadness your comments about Marv Wolfman and George Perez. It's absolutely outrageous that Marv Wolfman has trouble pitching his ideas to DC considering the debt they owe him. My question is this: Is Marv Wolfman's problem related to not being considered contemporary to current readership or is it an ageism problem in the comic book industry?"

That's really the same thing, isn't it? It's funny; thirty years ago, "ageism" was a problem in that DC and Marvel were letting virtually no young talent in; almost everything was being written by men in their forties or older, and there was no audience complaint about it. Comics haven't gone completely ageist yet, but they tend to pick up bad habits in imitation of Hollywood these days. There has been a not-so-silent rule of thumb in Hollywood for the past couple decades – though you can certainly find exceptions – that in order to appeal to the young (the target audience for most studio movies, and the perceived natural audience for comics) you should have the young generating the material, since "they" know what "they" like. Ageism is something a lot of comics writers have complained of in recent years, but, again, you can also find plenty of exceptions, and I know Marv's case re:DC is somewhat more complex than that. (Again, I'll let Marv elaborate if he wants, but I'm not going to.)

George Perez and GAMES Titans Play
Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:55:50 PM
written by Bill Walko

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2004 (22-25 Jul 2004) NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

I spotted George Perez at the DC Booth early on in the convention, but he wasn't listed as a guest anywhere. When I arrived at the con Sunday at around 10:45am, I picked up the daily newsletter. I immediately saw George was scheduled to do a signing and sketching session at the ACTOR booth at 10am. As quickly as I could weave through the crowds, I found my way to the booth.... to see someone already had a 'last in line' sign. I wanted to fall to my knees in comic book fashion and wail: "Nooo!" But I have too much dignity for that. Really.

Regardless, it was a good opportunity to talk to George about his upcoming projects... and the Titans Graphic Novel, GAMES. George said he has a 6-page Avengers sequence to do, in conjunction with the relaunch of that book. He also mentioned an upcoming project - still under wraps - where he would be inking Jose Garcia Lopez. "That will be an education of a lifetime", George noted.

So what's up with GAMES? George believes it should be hitting stands in the last quarter of 2005, just in time for its 15th anniversary. Sixty-some pages are pencilled and inked from those years ago. Some pages are pencilled but not inked. And there are 40-plus pages that need to be pencilled from scratch. Al Vey inked the original 60 pages, but a different inker will be used for the remainder; Al Vey's inking style has changed too much in the last 15 years.

[ Read more George Perez and GAMES Titans Play ]

Permanent Damage Issue #150
Wednesday July 28, 2004
written by Steven Grant

(excerpt)

From a reader:

I believe that one of the reasons Wolfman and Perez had the impact that they did was that they were able to fuse superheroic fare and adapt it to their era. A lot of it is due to Claremont and Byrne creating a hunger for characterization and evolving plotlines. Fans looking for more of this were able to latch on and see something similar. Yes, there were flaws. However, Wolfman and Perez however brought an intimacy to their work which made me and others care for the characters. I wasn't around for the birth of Marvel, but I've heard that a very similar thing happened in the '60s. As I've heard from so many writers, "Make people care about the characters and the audience is yours." Wolfman and Perez made fans care, and saved the company.

I know many people credit Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and Neil Gaiman for bringing DC critical acclaim. But where would DC be if Wolfman and Perez hadn't helped save the company where new visions and talents could develop?

Sadly creative tastes change and time passed for the Titans. Liefeld, Lee, McFarlane and others became what fans craved. I haven't seen much from Wolfman in the last few years. It would be nice if DC would provide him the opportunity to tell his stories.

I have a feeling many will cringe at the suggestion that the creators get a pension from DC. From what I've heard they both received ample amounts of royalties at the time. Much of what I see on the stands seems to be a modern version of what they did about two decades ago. The TEEN TITANS cartoon and Geoff John's TITANS book seem to be heavily inspired by the work the two gentlemen created. One of the saddest things about this industry is how companies can dispose of talent once sales start to dip. Reminds me of a statement Ice-T once made, "The companies don't love me. They just love that I make money for them. Once I can't make money for them anymore I'm out on the street." Both creators are working on a TITANS graphic novel and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope that Wolfman reaches a new audience and that he can reverse the trend of creators falling off the face of the earth once they fall out of favor."

TODAY'S VIEW
written by Marv Wolfman

APRIL 21:

Based on my request a few days ago, a couple of questions have been coming in for my Q&A page. I want to thank you guys for sending them in. The latest one is about the Teen Titans "Games" graphic novel George Pérez and I are doing. If any of you are interested in knowing the latest scoop, take a look. And if you don't know anything about "Games," I suggest you READ THIS first then read my answer. As for everyone else, send in your questions and you might get the chance to see your name on the internet, an exclusive club of only nine billion, collect them all.

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS:
DREAMCON - June 11-13, Jacksonville, FL
Copenhagen International Comics Festival - November 5-7, 2004.

CONTINENTAL COMICS - Northridge, California (3 Apr 2004)

APRIL 5:ALMOST BACK INTO IT / COSTUMES/ GEORGE PEREZ written by Marv Wolfman (excerpt) We managed to get some time together to discuss our re-teaming for next year's Titans' graphic novel, "Games," and we came up with a really cool way into the story that we're both completely happy with. For those who don't know about "Games," CLICK on the "Secrets Of The Teen Titans" link to the right and enjoy. No, there's no plot giveaways, but there is some cool repros of a few pages as well as the story of how this 120-plus page graphic novel has been delayed for more than fifteen years. But it is set to come out in 2005 in time for the 25th anniversary of George and my first issue.

Re: But What's Next? . . .
Posted by Kurt Busiek on Friday, March 19 2004 at 00:10:22 GMT

(excerpt)

George and I have talked about doing another project -- a pretty big one too -- after he finishes GAMES, but that'll be a ways off.

kdb

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

WIZARD: THE COMICS MAGAZINE #149 (Mar 2004), finally covered Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's TEEN TITANS: GAMES GN, which was, ironically, announced at WIZARD WORLD TEXAS (21-23 Nov 2003). George-Perez.com have been following the lead from Mark Metz (email), since October 26, 2003. Also note that the artwork used by Wizard (as well as other websites) was colored by Marcus Mebes. Read article: >>>

DC, MARVEL, TOP COW @ WIZARD WORLD TEXAS 2003
Nov 23rd, 2003 12:53 pm
posted by Eric J. Moreels

(excerpt)

The inaugural Wizard World Texas convention is well underway this weekend in Arlington, Texas, and live from the con floor Patrick James and Omar A. Safi have provided ComiX-Fan with a wrap-up of news from the first two days.

At the DC Comics panel on Day 1, the publisher revealed a host of news and information as follows:

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES (2010)

Writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez will complete their New Teen Titans original graphic novel from 1987, Games. Pérez originally completed 73 pages of the project before it was put on hold due to the artist's increasingly busy schedule. Now, the OGN will include a new framing sequence set in current continuity that will lead into the flashback tale. Look for the hardcover in late 2004 or early 2005.

On Day 2, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada held his regular Cup O' Joe panel in which he discussed several topics.

JLA/Avengers artist George Pérez announced that issue #4 will be delayed due to stress injury he incurred from the three weeks he worked on the cover to issue #3. Pérez said that the delay should only be about three weeks, and the issue should be out by mid-January. Pérez also stressed that JLA/Avengers has no continuity connections to the previous Marvel Comics Versus DC mini-series'.

WOLFMAN & TITAN GAMES
posted 11-24-2003 10:57 AM
BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO

(excerpt)

You asked for it, DC Comics heard and is finally delivering a project years in the works, Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s unfinished New Teen Titans graphic novel, Games. Announced at Wizard World Texas, Games is a story Titans enthusiasts have been clamoring for. Perez told THE PULSE, “Marv Wolfman and I will finally be finishing the other major aborted project that fans have been asking about for years. I learned that all the original artwork (about 60 or more pages) is owned by one man and he is more than willing to give them back to me so I can ink the pencilled pages and tweak those already inked. This gives me a major head start for a planned December 2004 release. Tom Smith will join the party as color artist.” We caught up with Marv Wolfman for a quick few questions about the project.

THE PULSE: Is it still called New Teen Titans: Games or does it have a new name? If it has a new name, what is it? How many pages is it? What is the projected release date?
MARV WOLFMAN: Wow. A lot of questions disguised as one. I have no idea at this stage if it will be called The New Teen Titans or not. That would harken back to our original title so it would be good, but that's DC's decision. When it comes time to name it I'd probably enter in a vote for NTT, but we'll see. Our plan is to do it as 120 pages, as it was originally intended, but if, as he draws out the last pages, George needs more or less, I'm sure the book will adjust accordingly. I believe the release date is next winter.

...

Check back with THE PULSE for another interview with Wolfman later in the week about the NEW TEEN TITANS.

Marv Wolfman wrote GAMES PLAY (11/24/03).

WIZARD WORLD TEXAS: DC COMICS PANEL
Saturday, November 22, 2003

(excerpt)

JUSTICE LEAGUE

* JLA/Avengers artist George Perez, who has a hand injury, said that the fourth and final issue won't be out in time to meet its originally solicited Dec. 31 release.

"It'll probably be out two or three weeks after that," Perez said. "Do not blame Marvel or DC or Kurt (Busiek, the writer) or anybody else. Blame me. I am the sole person to blame."

TEEN TITANS

George Perez reunites with Marv Wolfman to complete The New Teen Titans graphic novel Games, begun in 1989.

...

Perez said that the final graphic novel will be about 160 pages.

Marv Wolfman is excited about his new upcoming project, according to TODAY'S VIEWS (11/18/03).

Although he did not name what it was, he did mention that the project will be announced at WIZARDWORLD TEXAS 2003.

We all know what it is, but please act surprise.

George Perez to do a Titans Project
Posted: 2003-11-16 17:23:34.0 by rusedski73

I spoke with George for about an hour at a signing in October, and he confirmed that the Titans project he will be working on is the completion of "GAMES".

From what I understood him to say, the material that is already completed will serve as a flashback sequence, and a framing sequence in the present day will be written around it.

He seemed extremely enthusiastic about it, and about working with Marv again on Titans, but that was just how I interpreted it, ha ha ha.

He said the finished book will be approx. 144 pages, and will be released next Christmas.

He thinks it's a good project to come out in 2004, the year of his 50th birthday and 30th year in comics.

Posted: 2003-11-16 17:31:26.0 Oh, Marv will be writing the additional pages of "GAMES". George said he is glad to be using the old material, as it put him "about 75 pages ahead already" on his next project, ha ha But he insisted it had to be as a flashback sequence, as he did not want to have to take the time "to draw late 80s fashions and styles", I believe is how he put it, in the rest of the book. When I met George for the first time in 97, he had expressed then how he was "finished" with Wonder Woman, Titans, etcetera. I refreshed his memory of this when I saw him on Oct. 25, and he kind of smiled. Guess he changed his mind on both characters, as he also said he's working on new covers for four trade paperback collections of his first two years on WONDER WOMAN (the 24 issues he pencilled). I guess each book will contain 6 issues a piece. He said it was a bit challenging to come up with some kind of "fresh" visual for the covers, since those stories were from so many years ago. But it will be interesting to see what the finished project looks like.....

Posted: 2003-11-16 20:03:28.0

One of the comments George made when I saw him was that, unfortunately, the plot of GAMES is terribly similar to JLA/AVENGERS, in that the heroes are being manipulated by higher forces.

Despite that, he said he is still glad to be finally finishing this project, just hopes readers will overlook the similarities in plot structure on these two "long-awaited" projects that are finally coming out back-to-back.

He kept emphasizing that the story is, literally, about GAMES......I believe the illustration he used is the Broadway musical CATS........the show was literally about CATS!!!!

I am looking forward to it, and I don't think George would have made all this up to throw us off the trail of his future projects.

George said he had a lot of prospects for work in the next few years. He said Brian Michael Bendis REALLY wants to do a project with him, and that Bendis asked "permission" of someone at Marvel if he could have George's number to call him........well, it went something like that, really quite humorous. George can certainly tell a story!!!

ALL THE RAGE: F IS FOR FANTASTIC
Sunday, November 16
written by Markisan Naso with Blair Marnell

(excerpt)

Teen Talk

Turns out that JLA/Avengers won't be the George Perez superhero swan-song after all. Perez is currently re-teaming with Marv Wolfman on their unfinished 120-page graphic novel, The New Teen Titans: Games, started in 1989. Perez had finished nearly 80 pages of Games before over-commitment to new projects forced the artist to put it on the back burner. Expect an official announcement next year as we get closer to con season. To read a good summary of the whole saga go to: www.titanstower.com/../games.html.

This Has A "Name of The Game" Factor of Nine Out of Ten

LYING IN THE GUTTER Monday November 10, 2003 written by Rich Johnston (excerpt) DC SNIPPETS There will be three trade paperbacks collecting George Perez' "Wonder Woman" work coming through. George Perez' next project will be a Titans graphic novel.

Just thought you might want to know. My brother visited a store in North Carolina that George was signing at today (October 25th). He says George told him that his next project was a Titans Graphic Novel. He didn't get more detail than that, so I don't know if this is something new or if he is completing the one he an Marv Wolfman never finished. Hopefully that is the case. I figure we'll hear something official sooner or later, but that's what he says he working on.

Today's Views
8/28/03

(excerpt)

DC Comics just gave me the okay to print a few pages from the never before seen "Games" Teen Titans graphic novel that George Perez and I began back in 1986. George completed 70+ pages (the best Titans pages he ever did) but then stopped. He had Titans overload and couldn't continue. Although George and i continued to work together on History Of The DC Universe and a few other projects, this one was something special. In the next few weeks I'm going to write an article about "Games" and put it up on this site with some of the astounding art. Will "Games" ever be finished and printed?

Subject: TITANS GAMES
03/14/03 09:31:28 AM

In opposite numbers:

5: I NEVER said the current stories in Titans suck. First, I don't read the book and haven't since I got off it. That's just my policy. Since I haven't read it I obviously can't make any comment on it. Second, if I did read it and didn't like it I would still never say anything like that. It's not my style. The most I'd say (if I read it which I don't) is that it isn't my approach, but that's acceptable because I didn't follow the style of the writers who preceded me on the book and I wouldn't expect anyone to mimic what I did.
#4: With a new editor in place who would let me do the Titans the right way, I would have cured Vic and Raven. Brought Joey back to life (I maintain that the Joey we saw after issue #50 wasn't the real one but a clone who came out of the Wildebeest clone stories). The Titans would have become friends again and the nastiness owould have been gone.
#3: DC seems to have absolutely no interest in my doing any Titans stuff. All my pitches have been rejected.
#2: In case the story ever does get published I think this should stay a secret.
#1: I have high res scans of the original art but again, there seems to be no interest as I don't get any responses to any of my proposals to do this. Go figure.

Replying to: Hi, I know you might really be tired of this questions on this topic, but here they are: 1) Do you think DC would be interested in finishing the GAMES story and publishing it? Maybe have a penciller like Phil Jimenez finish the remaining 16 or so pages. As memory serves I think maybe 80 pages has been don already. 2) You mention before one of the characters died? Who is it? Maybe the story could be an elseworld story or whatever, so we don't need to look into continuity... even though it's pretty screwed up already. 3) I really enjoy your story in LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE #18 and the special #1, and even in the Titans #50. Do you think DC would make give you a couple of titans project in the future, or if you have any pitch for a Titans story, maybe an elseworld story picking up at a certain poin in titan continuity. Like maybe Jericho and Kole are going steady, Dick choosing to leave earth and be with his wife Kory, Deathstroke running for president,...etc etc. 4) Given a chance, how would you continue writing the Teen Titans after the events of #130? 5) I do agree with you that the current stories in the Titans suck! Erik

WHAT THE--?
Still More Letters!
Sunday, February 16
written by Marv Wolfman

(excerpt)

From: kpierc72@e....

How did the entire concept of the Teen Titans came about? Was it DC's intention for it to complete with the X-Men or was it a surprise hit? Had you and George Perez always had the idea of Cyborg, Raven and Starfire, back in Marvel? Why did DC not include firestorm within the Teen Titians. Who had come up with the concept of Nightwing.

You’re not asking for much, are you? Seriously, I get this asked a lot and I may have even answered a version of this before here, but since folk don’t generally go through the back date archives, here we go again: Titans came up because I had decided to leave Marvel and move over to DC. Back then you could only work for one company, not both. Len (see above) was an editor at DC at the time and though I was given a number of assignments when I got there, I really wanted to do my own thing. Len and I had written a Titans story way back in the first series (the Russian Starfire (later Red Star) story and I always had a love for the Titans concept. I came up with a bunch of characters – more on this in a moment – then Len and I pitched it to the Powers That Be. Unfortunately, they didn’t want a new Titans series because they didn’t like the previous one. They had no thoughts about doing a DC version of X-Men, no matter what people think. Nor did I, by the way. Despite Len – who created the New X-Men being my editor – I was never much of an X-Men fan and doing a DC version of that book never crossed my mind. I wanted to do a ‘family’ book. Frankly, in my mind I wanted to do a DC version of the Fantastic Four, which, as Stan Lee himself has always admitted, was a Marvel version of the J.L.A.

Anyway, the Powers That be asked us why they should publish a new Titans book when the last series didn’t do well, and we replied, with no false modesty, “Because we’ll do it better.” I guess they agreed because they not only greenlit the book but an introductory story that appeared in DC Presents #26. At this point I ran into George Perez up at Marvel and offered him the book. He said yes thinking it would be dead 6 issues later. 16 years later I got off the title and it’s still running today, with most of the characters intact, albeit in a somewhat different form.

As for how the individual characters were created, that’s harder to say. I gave the group a lot of thought. I knew I’d want to use original Titans members Robin, Wonder Girl and Beast Boy (with a new name) in the new group. Kid Flash would probably appear but I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about him. My feeling has always been that writers have to pull back on that character because if you use him properly in a group book he’ll not only get to wherever they’re going faster than the other can, but he will probably have already solved the problem. In short, he’s too powerful for a group dynamic. I also didn’t want to make Aqualad a regular member because if you use him you are forced to use water stories to fit him in.

I prepared a list of new characters. I wanted an alien, and that became Starfire. I wanted an athlete and that was Cyborg and finally I wanted an empath which became Raven. Obviously, it wasn’t as simple as that, but the work to create those characters, and to come up with a back-story I could keep mining whenever I wanted to, would take much too long to explain. Suffice it to say I spent a lot of time working out the characters so they would blend together both emotionally and power-wise before I gave the character descriptions to George to design. One he did I refined what I wrote and, as they say, the rest is history.

To continue on how the Titans were created…

***
From: David Peattie

1.) I'd like to see a series of columns describing how you came up with the new characters you introduced in NEW TEEN TITANS. Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and the ones who came later like Deathstroke, Terra, Kole, and so on. What prompted the idea for each character, what was involved in fleshing them out as characters, and what kind of response you initially got from DC about them all. Did the finished, published product closely match what you'd originally intended? If not, how much different did the end result come out to be? I know you said you didn't want to spend a lot of time on "behind the curtain" stuff, but I am always curious about how much of a writer's ideas make it to the printed page, and when something is rejected or altered, why the editor felt that was necessary.

2.) In a similar vein, I remember that some years ago, you and George Perez were supposed to do a TITANS graphic novel that never did show up. Since the odds of it ever being finished and published are about the same as my chances of becoming Miss Universe, I wonder if you might clue us in on what the plot would have been?

...

Okay, continuing from the above – I came up with Deathstroke pretty much right after I came up with the Titans. I knew Deathstroke would be in issue #2 but his son would appear in issue #1. The genesis of Deathstroke came very fast. I wanted a very moral character who was also a criminal, a sort of Batman for the mercenary world, complete with his own Alfred. Unlike Alfred, however, I wanted his partner to be his mentor. That’s where Wintergreen came from. His name, of course, came from the gum, just as Princess Koriand’r’s name came from the spice, coriander. She was the spicy Titan, after all. I wanted Slade Wilson to be the kind of character that you never could fully understand. You would also never know which side he would be on because he operated by his own very strict code of conduct. Slade would be troubled by what he had to do, but he was also caught up in a web of his own creation and was unable to break free. Simply, I wanted to create an antagonist who would be as well defined as the Titans themselves. Only mistake I think I made with him is having him have a physical relationship with the 16 year old Tara Markov. That was wrong.

Which leads to Terra. That was easy. George and I wanted a Titan who betrayed the others. We also wanted to play against every reader conception of who characters are. George and I knew her whole story before we began and we knew she would die. We set the story up with her trying to destroy the Statue of Liberty to show she was the bad girl, but we knew if George drew her as a cute kid everyone would simply assume she would be ‘turned’ from the dark side because that’s the way it was always done which is why that wouldn’t be the way we did it. Tara was insane and stayed that way right until the moment she died. By the way, she IS dead. I don’t know what other writers will do with her – if anything – but if they want to honor the original series they will leave her dead. The Terra from Team Titans was – as stated – some kid the villain kidnapped and physically and mentally altered her into looking and acting like the original. But she was NEVER the real Terra.

One last note: I came into DC with Terra the same day Mike Barr came into DC with Geo-Force. Both had earth-shifting powers. It would have been unfair for one of us to get rid of our character, so we decided to make them brother and sister.

Finally, Kole. Because other editors were not pleased that they were asked to come up with characters to kill in the Crisis, I realized I’d have to come up with somebody to knock off as well, if only to assuage their feelings somewhat. I came up with the crystal powered Kole who was named after and drawn to look like a real person we knew. The problem was, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, who drew the Kole issues did a magnificent job and I grew to really like the character and wished I hadn’t created her to die. But if I were to play the game nicely, she had to weave her last crystal.

As for “Games,” the graphic novel George and I began way back when. George drew about 80 pages of the best Titans work he ever did before going into artist’s block on the Titans. I kept trying to convince DC to let another artist finish the last 30 pages, but for reasons that have never made sense to me they have always refused to do so. Every so often I bring it up again and the answer is still no. Why? I can’t imagine. There are 80 pages done. I’d have to dialogue the job and much of it would need to be inked, but I think even if it now had to be an Elseworlds book – or at least a Hypertime story – that people would flock to buy a hardcover Perez/Wolfman Titans book. What do you think?

Topic: Questions for Bob Greenberger
posted January 24, 2003 09:19 AM
posted by Bob Greenberger

(excerpt)

TITANS: GAMES was intended as a 96+ page graphic novel that George never finished. He partly never finished it because the story was never to everyone's satisfaction, if I recall. Once the project was shelved, many of the story elements were taken from the GN and used in the monthly. So, when the issue of finishing the book came up at some point, we realized how poorly it would compare with the stories done to date and it was decided by TPTB to keep it shelved.

TITANS TOWER (letter page)
Apr 88

NEWS! NEWS! Just today, Marv handed in his contract for a Titans graphic novel to be produced by Marv and George Pérez. It'll feature the Teen Titans and the Titans of Myth. This will take at least a year to produce, but it's definitely going to be worth waiting for!

Re: Thanks for the great stories, Marv!
Date: 12/5/02 08:50:42 AM

(excerpt)

Thanks, Mike. I'd love to see DC print all George's an my Titans, and with a second Archives edition coming out soon, as well as the Titans Baxter reprinting, they are on the way to doing just that. I'd also love for them to finally finish and print the Titans graphic novel George and I started so many years ago. He completed about 80 pages of incredible art and we can always get someone else to finish it up and then have me write it as planned.

Vu: Check out Marv's Bravenet Forum, Marv Wolfman and DC Indexes

The Terror of Trigon TPB
posted 11-27-02 16:39 by ES

Marv,
DC just announced that The New Teen Titans Volume 2(1984) issues 1-5 will be collected into a Trade Parerback. Did you write a intro for the new TPB? I always like the introductions that provide a little behind the scenes info on the project. Just wondering.

posted 12-04-02 04:31 by Marv Wolfman No, I was not asked to write an intro to the Trigon storyline. On the other hand, I did write the intro to the second Titans Archives edition. It is possible they asked George, which would make sense as it was, in many ways, his swan song on the Titans. He did do approximately 80 pages of a 120 page Titans graphic novel - that I think is still the best Titans work he ever did - but that has never seen print and to date there seems to be no interest in having me finish writing it and him - or someone else - finish drawing it. Even with another artist it would still be 80 pages of Perez/Wolfman Titans. As for the Trigon collection - I don't know too much about it. But I, too, hope it's printed as least as well as the original which was beautiful.

Letters, We’ve Got Letters!
Sunday, October 6
By Marv Wolfman

From: kpierc72@earthlink.net

How did the entire concept of the Teen Titans came about? Was it DC's intention for it to complete with the X-Men or was it a surprise hit? Had you and George Perez always had the idea of Cyborg, Raven and Star fire, back in Marvel? Why did DC not include Firestorm within the Teen Titans. Who had come up with the concept of Nightwing?

I will assume you’re asking about The New Teen Titans and not the original group. I don’t know who created that group – it could have been the editors or the writer, Bob Haney. Maybe someone out there knows? As for my group, I was leaving Marvel and coming over to DC (in those days you could only work for one company and not both) and was getting my assignments. My only request was no team-up books, so, naturally, I was assigned to DC Presents and Brave & Bold, both team-up books. Therefore, my first order of business was to get off those titles.

Len Wein and I had written a story or two for the original Teen Titans way back in the late 60s, and I always had a warm spot for those characters, so I asked Len – who at this point had become an editor at DC – if we could revive the title. I went home and came up with the characters, so, no, there was not always a Starfire, Cyborg or Raven. You can read my introduction for the first Teen Titans Archives to see how they came about. Len and I went into publisher Jenette Kahn’s office and pitched my idea. Jenette said she did not like the previous version of the Titans and therefore wasn’t hot on the idea, but we said we’d do it better. Honestly, that’s all we said. Jenette, who trusted us, said fine.

As I fleshed out the characters I ran into George Perez at the Marvel offices. I mentioned to him that I was working on a new version of the Titans and would he be interested in drawing it. George thought the book would last maybe a half dozen issues, and there was a chance he could also draw the Justice League, which was the book he really wanted to do, so he said yes. George then designed the look of each and every one of the characters.

We showed Jenette what we had done and she liked it so much she decided we should do a 16 page original Titans story that they would put in free in DC Presents #26 to get people interest.

[ Read more We've Got Letters (Oct 6) ]

NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES ASHCAN
2001
Publication is 80 pages, plus covers
Self-published by a fan, printed by color photocopy.
Features entire 71 pages of art for unpublished graphic novel, pencilled by Pérez, with first 30 pages inked by Pérez and Al Vey
Also includes 8-page plot by Pérez, based on the mutal plot with Marv Wolfman.
Limited to 15 copies for creative team and select audience only.

(excerpt)

As mentioned earlier, GEORGE PEREZ NEWSLETTER #2 (Diamond Edition) is in stores today. The GEORGE PEREZ NEWSLETTER #2 (Limited Edition) will probably be shipped in a week or two. The reason ? George Pérez is autographing all 250 copies. Marcus Mebes said that they will be autographed next Wednesday, and will likely be mailed Thursday or Friday.

There are three interviews in this issue, George Pérez, Tom Smith, and Kurt Busiek. The Busiek interview mostly focused on his work, including his upcoming POWER COMPANY. Smith's interview mostly is about coloring, although it's interesting to note that Smith got into coloring because Neal Adams thought his art "sucked" but liked his coloring.

Excerpt from the interview with George Pérez:

TL: ...Now all we need is the never finished "GAMES" graphic novel to be completed. I can dream right?
GPz: And I'm afraid that now that GAMES dream is never going to be more than that. In addition to the presence of dead chracters like Jericho appearing, a major scene in the story took place on the World Trade Center towers. That pretty much ends the speculation for me.

[ Read more December 5, 2001 | GPN #2 in Stores ]

Check out Titans Tower: Games for more details on the unpublished "Games" Titans Graphic Novel. As always be sure to check on Titans Tower for the latest in all things Titans.

(excerpt)

Juggling Schedules
[from Comics Scene Magazine #11, 1990]

Perez is now co-plotting The New Titans, plotting Wonder Woman and doing layouts for Action Comics. However, comics fandom hasn't seen the last of full Perez pencil art. He has a major work due out sometime in 1990: the long-awaited Titans graphic novel, Games.

"I'm working on it right now. I'm trying to produce four pages a week so I'll be done by the end of January," Perez reports. "They're being inked by Karl Kesel and colored by John Stracuzzi. There's no firm release date. There have been so many that have come and gone that I want to play this a little closer to the vest. That's my fault, nobody else's. By producing on a four-pages-a-week schedule, I'm not forcing somebody else to do their part in a hurry. Karl's not going to get 120 pages to ink all at once: 'You have two weeks!' " he laughs.

Titans Lost and Genes Found
Dateline: Saturday, July 21, 2001
By: ARNOLD T. BLUMBERG

(excerpt)

"I didn’t know we were already referred to as legends," said Wolfman at a San Diego Comic-Con panel. "It’s like, we’re not around any more, but we’re remembered fondly."

Their legendary status hasn’t slowed them down one bit. During the course of a one-on-one panel (a concept that left both creators a bit stymied as to how to proceed), Wein and Wolfman discussed their beginnings as teenagers breaking into the comic book business and the path that led them through both major publishers (at that time) and even into the frontiers of television animation. Wolfman also elaborated on the never completed TITANS graphic novel written by Wolfman and illustrated by George Perez, a project that – like many in the industry – faded into the background and still lingers in the minds of fans and creators alike.

"George drew 80 pages of [an 120 page story] and hit an artist’s block," said Wolfman. "He literally could not draw another picture of the Titans. Having been in a writer’s block, I totally understand. He just hit a wall on it. I said, ‘Let’s get so and so to finish it up.’ For reasons that have escaped me for fifteen years, DC just decided to write it off. I would love to finish it. It was the best Titans story we had ever come up with."

Although that project may be doomed to never see the light of day, for Wein and Wolfman, the future looks particularly bright. After decades of creating highly regarded comics, they have sold their very first feature film, and the convention attendees were some of the first to hear about their new take on superhero movies.