Jack Kirby would be 100 on August 28, 2017From Vu
SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 1986 (31 Jul - 3 Aug 1986)
San Diego, California
Jack "King" Kirby would have been 100 on August 28, 2017.Winners at the 1986 Kirby Award: George Perez, Jack Kirby, Steve Rude, Dave Gibbons, John Totleben, Frank Miller, Jerry Ordway, and Karen Berger.
Posted by Vu Nguyen
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
Wondering about Wonder Woman?
13 Jun 2017 By ANDREW A. SMITH • Tribune News Service
“Wonder
Woman,” the movie, is shattering box office records like, I dunno,
glass ceilings. Which means a lot of new Wonderfans are going to be
looking for some supplemental reading. But where to start?
Like
the ancient myths of her GrecoRoman patrons, Wonder Woman’s
oft-contradictory history is vast, and contains multitudes. Here,
then, are five suggestions to take to the bookstore:
(excerpt)
1. ‘Wonder Woman: Gods And Mortals’
There
are few revamps that have been as successful — or as necessary —
as what writer/ artist George Perez (abetted by writer Len Wein)
achieved with Wonder Woman in 1987. Perez jettisoned a lot of the
awful baggage that had built up around the Amazing Amazon through
decades of mediocre or just plain terrible stories, relaunching
the character afresh as a 20-something on her first journey to Man’s
World. He emphasized the mythological aspects of the strip,
returning the Amazons to their roots (and put them on Themyscira
instead of Paradise Island), and setting up as their eternal foe
the war god Ares (who had, until 1986, been referred to by his Roman
name Mars). That armor you saw in the “Wonder Woman” movie? That’s
Perez’s handiwork, as he raided ancient Greco-Roman culture for
every aspect of the new Wonder Woman, from clothes to architecture
to armament to philosophies.
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
You may see this "In the Spotlight" advertisement, showcasing George
Perez's Wonder Woman work. Note the cover artwork for Gods &
Mortals is actually WONDER WOMAN #1 (Feb 1987).
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
Wein and cheese
Posted on January 27, 2009 - 09:00 AM by Tom Bondurant
Len Wein is becoming something of a go-to writer for DC Comics’ superhero flashbacks. After retelling the origin of Libra (a character he created for May/June 1974’s Justice League of America vol. 1 #111) in the recent Final Crisis Secret Files, last week’s comics featured two similarly-styled issues written by the comics veteran. Justice League of America vol. 2 #29, drawn by ChrisCross, was a condensed version of three1972 issues which introduced Starbreaker, the cosmic vampire*; and it prefaces next month’s new Starbreaker story. Meanwhile, Superman/Batman Annual #3, penciled by Chris Batista and inked by Mick Gray and Jack Jadson, continued the S/B Annuals’ pattern of backwards-looking tales by revising the origin of the Composite Superman.
(SPOILERS FOLLOW for these issues and the original stories which inspired them.)
While I’m not opposed to this kind of revisionist-nostalgia approach
— I’d rather revisit a status quo through a flashback than roll back to
it through convoluted continuity gymnastics — I have been surprised at
just how deliberately retro these stories are. Len Wein
didn’t (and doesn’t) go for the sort of wildly-over-the-top plots and
dialogue which inspire bloggers to create gleeful retrospectives (see,
e.g., Bob Haney).
Instead, his bio is full of enjoyable, entertaining,
solidly-constructed stories which look very impressive in the
aggregate. Here’s a partial list of his credits, off the top of my
head: co-creator of Swamp Thing, Wolverine, and the initial batch of
“all-new, all-different” X-Men; editor of the Batman titles, New Teen Titans, Crisis On Infinite Earths, and Watchmen; writer of Justice League of America, Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, multiple incarnations of Star Trek comics, and the late-‘80s Blue Beetle revival; and scripter of George Perez’s Wonder Woman revival. He and Walt Simonson also produced one of my favorite Batman stories, “Once Upon A Time” from Detective Comics #500. I am always glad to see Mr. Wein’s name in the credit box.
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
Be here for the next step
in the evolution in comics. The Crisis and its aftermath have led to
this! Come join senior group editor Mike Carlin and senior editor Matt
Idelson with Gail Simone (Secret Six, All-New Atom), Howard Porter
(JLA, Trials of Shazam), as they take you inside DC's Brave New World.
Recorded live on July 23, 2006 at Comic-Con San Diego, CA. Brought to
you by DCcomics.com
(excerpt)
Fan: Since Infinite Crisis, I
have no idea what the hell the continuity of the DC is. All of a
sudden, Wonder Woman is part of the Justice League beginning. How does
that affect the George Pérez series? Where does that fit in? ... What
is and what isn't part of the current world? Are we going to find out,
or are we going to have to read for years.
Matt Idelson: There's a project in the works for next year. And I
don't know if it's been announced, so I'm not going to say too much,
except that it's designed to address some of these things, from some of
the books and different characters.
Mike Carlin: A lot of
what we're doing is not going to say that the George Pérez series fits
perfectly right now. That's 15 years ago, almost 20 years ago. It's
going to change and evolve every decade or so.
JSA #85
Written by Paul Levitz
Art by Rags Morales, Dave Meikis and Luke Ross
Cover by George Pérez
The thrilling new story by legendary
Justice Society writer Paul Levitz and superstar penciller Rags Morales
continues as the ghosts of the JSA's past rise to fight the team today!
Plus, more insight into the secrets of the Gentleman Ghost!
On sale May 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
WONDER WOMAN: DESTINY CALLING TP
Written by George Pérez
Art by Pérez, Art Adams, Brian Bolland, John Bolton and various
Cover by Pérez
The fourth and final volume collecting
the incredible run by comics master George Pérez (CRISIS ON INFINITE
EARTHS)! Wonder Woman must face a god among men! This volume collects
WONDER WOMAN #20-24, plus ANNUAL #1, featuring a host of comics'
greatest artists!
Advance-solicited; on sale June 21 • 176 pg, FC, $19.99 US
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
WONDER WOMAN: GOD AND MORTALS TP
Written by George Pérez, Greg Potter and Len Wein
Art by Pérez & Bruce Patterso
Cover by Pérez
Reoffered to coincide with WONDER WOMAN:
DESTINY CALLING, this first volume in a series of four spotlighting the
work of George Pérez collects WONDER WOMAN #1-7, featuring the young
Amazon's origin and her introduction to "Man's World." Plus, an
introduction and rare art by Pérez.
On sale May 3 • 192 pg, FC, $19.95 US • Relist
WONDER WOMAN: CHALLENGE OF THE GODS TP
Written by George Pérez and Len Wein
Art by Pérez & Bruce Patterson
Cover by Pérez
Reoffered to coincide with WONDER WOMAN:
DESTINY CALLING, this second volume collects WONDER WOMAN #7-14,
featuring the debut of the deadly Cheetah! CHALLENGE OF THE GODS also
features a gallery section of rare Pérez art.
On sale May 3 • 176 pg, FC, $19.95 US • Relist
WONDER WOMAN: BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS TP
Written by George Pérez , John Byrne and Len Wein
Art by Pérez, Byrne, Dick Giordano, Bob Smith and Frank McLaughlin
Cover by Pérez
Reoffered to coincide with WONDER WOMAN:
DESTINY CALLING, the third volume collecting classic stories by George
Pérez reprints WONDER WOMAN #15-19 and ACTION COMICS #600. Wonder Woman
faces her toughest opponents yet in tales featuring Silver Swan,
Superman, Circe, Darkseid and more!
On sale May 3 • 160 pg, FC, $19.95 US • Relist
First of all, George
Perez is about as good a comic artist as you will ever find. There are
only a handfull of living grandmasters whom I rank alongside him (Walt
Simonson, Jim Starlin, maybe John Byrne on his good days).
After the New Teen Titans, Perez's
Wonder Woman run stands as his most notable achievement in the craft
(Personally, I think his early Justice League of America run is his
best work, but that's me.).
Looking again at his run on Wonder
Woman, I have a few immediate reactions: first of all, the story hasn't
aged as well as I thought it would. The political inuendo is comically
outdated by today's standards, with the story subtly attacking US
policies that just a few years later would rid the world forever of the
evil empire. But the writers didn't know that at the time, so they used
the conventional wisdom that the US military buildup would destroy the
world instead of liberating it from the leftist doctrines that hate
free will.
But keep in mind that all this is just
the plot. It manifests itself through politically-naive mis-portrayals
of eighties-era events around the would, through cardboard caricitures
filling military uniforms instead of three-dimensional characters and
through the utterly-impossible-to-reason concept that eighties US
foreign policy was playing into the hands of the God of War.
WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB
(Feb 2004)
DC Comics
Lamar Henderson: "This cycle is something that happens to all serial
stories, no matter how we may wish otherwise. It happened to the STAR
TREK franchise sometime during the run of DEEP SPACE NINE. It happened
to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and X-FILES around the end of season 5 for
each. It happened with X-MEN after the 'Dark Phoenix' storyline in
1980. The thing with TV show and most movie franchises (James Bond
being a notable exception) is that there comes a time when the show has
to end. Not so with comics. A series can continue with the same
characters indefinitely, in spite of the fact that there's pretty much
nothing new that can be done with the characters. And that's the
problem with Superman, in my humble opinion. There's nothing new that
can be done with the characters and the series can't be significantly
changed because of its mythic status. If DC were going to make a bold
move with the series, what they'd do is let Clark Kent and company
retire and pass on the name to an entirely new concept, something
different but still true to the basic principles of the Superman
mythos. That, however, will never happen." Perhaps not, Lamar – but the
other difference between comics and television/movie series is that,
while each may run through periods of stagnancy or times when even fans
get well and truly sick of them, comics tend to push through those
periods until a moment comes when true innovation occurs and the
character is revitalized. Batman was one of the most boring characters
around during the late 70s and early 80s, for instance, but no one
would say that about him now. Wonder Woman is enjoying a similar
renaissance now, even though her last big heyday in the public eye
(apart from George Perez and Phil Jimenez's much-admired run in the 80s
and early part of this decade) was the late 70s. STAR TREK itself came
back to television after a long period of "hiatus," broken only by
movies and ongoing fandom. Perhaps we're experiencing that same sort of
renaissance for Supes right now?
INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE PEREZ
written by George Pérez
published in WONDER WOMAN: GODS & MORTALS TPB (2004)
transcribed by Vu
Wow - it sure feels
strange traveling this road again. So many changes have dotted the
landscape since I last regularly trekked these mythical pathways. Has
it really been over 16 years since I first journeyed to Paradise
Island? Has it been longer than a decade since I last set foot on
Themyscira, the mythical isle of the Amazons? The birthplace of
Princess Diana - the heroine known to Patriarch's World as Wonder
Woman? Yes, it has. Calendars don't lie. It has indeed been a long
time.
Yet, somehow it feels like only
yesterday that I sat in then-WONDER WOMAN editor Janice Race's office
and suggested that I may have something to contribute to redefining the
Amazon Princess, who was effectively mooted out of existence in the
final pages of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. It feels like a mere night's
passing since Janice embraced me for going where few supposed superstar
artists had wished to go. After all, the WONDER WOMAN series had quite
a checkered history since the character's introduction by writer
William Moulton Marston (under the pen name "Charles Moulton") and
artist H.G. Peter in 1940 and had become a series that few volunteered
to draw. It was a book that was assigned to whoever might be available,
regardless of interest or compatibility. Despite some creative
highpoints during its four decades of publication, there had been far
too many lows along the way, and the character had been revamped so
many times that its continuity had become a muddled mess.
Just picked up George
Perez tpb of Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals. While I have always held
Mr. Perez iin the highest regard, i have been on line for the last few
days searching for reviews of the book itself. While they will not
affect my love for the work itself, i was just curious how others have
received it. MY WIFE DOESN'T GET IT but my bestfriend, who is female,
does. I've read comment on "cheap paper" and agree it affected the Teen
Titans Trigon tpb but the color looks so damn good on Gods and Mortals.
i'd like to hear opinions on the art, the text, etc please.
Perez eventually moved on
from the title, and predictably, Diana started floundering for lack of
definition. She lost her title to a renegade Amazon, became a Goddess,
rejected divinity, had a hell of a retcon so that her mother could be
Wonder Woman before her, and suffered various other identity crises.
Currently, Greg Rucka is striving to bring back her progressive side,
take Perez’s young and naïve Wonder Woman just discovering the rest of
the world and showing her from a more mature and seasoned perspective.
Some love it, some hate it, but it can’t be denied Rucka’s instincts to
focus on the political implications are true to the core of Wonder
Woman. It’s not what the writer believes that makes up Wonder Woman –
though it true it’s usually the more liberal writers who tend to play
up her political side – it’s the attention to her origins and what kind
of opinion she would have based on her upbringing and beliefs that make
her character so distinctive. Fan of Rucka as I am, reading these Perez
stories made me realize how much Diana’s been missing all these years,
and how much personality leapt out from his take on her, a personality
not seen in such force since the passing of Marston.
So if there are any questions about
whether Wonder Woman can be an interesting read or not, look no further
than Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals and be amazed all over again by the
art of George Perez and more importantly, the incredible understanding
evident in every panel of who a true Amazon champion would be and how
the world would gladly – and lovingly – submit to her example.
The following products are expected to ship to comic book
specialty stores this week. Note that this list is tentative
and subject to change. Please check with your retailer for
availability.
> Any chance he may show up coloring elsewhere? Hints? Before I die, he will be doing the coloring for Iron Man.
1587 × 600
WW.jpg (289 kb)
I'm on board to color Teen Titans
"Games" with my good buddy George Perez for DC next year but that's all
at the moment. I'm still looking for a new monthly book though , any
editors out there listening?
Happy Holidays!
Tom Smith "A/JLA CAL!"
Iron Man would be very cool !
PS..
Here is a little something I just did for the upcoming Perez Wonder Woman collection .
Surprisingly well-hidden, considering
how long so many people have been waiting for this collection, is
George Perez's WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS. The trade collects the
first seven issues of Perez's legendary run on the character, and was
at the top of many TPB wish lists for years. Final price is a mere $20,
which probably means it's probably on the el cheapo paper. ::sigh::
As his recent work on the chart-topping
JLA/Avengers crossover shows, master artist George Pérez continues to
provide comics readers with some of the medium's greatest images.
Readers will be able to enjoy some of Pérez's earlier larger-than-life
visions when DC Comics releases the Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals TP
(DEC030290, $19.95). Collecting the first seven issues of Pérez's run
on the series (following his epic work on the Crisis on Infinite Earths
maxi-series), the volume will contain stories recounting the Amazon's
origin, her introduction to Man's World, and her battle to prevent the
Greek god Ares from triggering World War III. In addition, the book
will contain a new cover and introduction and rare art by Pérez, making
it required reading for any Wonder Woman fan. Written by Pérez, Greg
Potter and Len Wein, with art by Pérez & Bruce Patterson, the
192-page collection is set to ship on February 18.
PIPELINE: THE BLOG
Pipeline, Issue #336
Tuesday November 18, 2003
written by Augie De Blieck Jr.
(excerpt)
Thursday 13 November 2003
The press release
came out from DC today announcing the collection of George Perez's
WONDER WOMAN run. There's one series I can see everyone checking off
their "Modern Comics Classics That Remain Uncollected." There are
plenty more to go where that came from, though, starting with John
Byrne's FANTASTIC FOUR.
WONDER WOMAN: GOD AND MORTALS
Written by George Pérez, Greg Potter and Len Wein; art by Pérez and Bruce Patterson; cover by Pérez
Collecting WONDER WOMAN #1-7, featuring
the young Amazon's origin and her introduction to "Man's World." Before
she has a chance to fully assimilate into her new home, Wonder Woman
must battle the chaos of the Greek god Ares, as he plans to bring upon
World War III! This collection, the first in a 4-volume series
reprinting the first two years of George Pérez's run on WONDER WOMAN,
also features an introduction, rare art, and a new cover by Pérez.
DC UNIVERSE | 192pg. | Softcover | Color | $19.95
On Sale February 18th, 2004
In 1987, after completing work on the unforgettable maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, George Pérez took on a new assignment as penciller and co-writer of DC Comics' most iconic heroine, Wonder Woman.
Now, DC embarks on a series of four
trade paperbacks collecting the entire 24 issues pencilled by Pérez.
The series kicks off in February with Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals, a 192-page trade paperback collecting Wonder Woman
#1-7. The first two of these issues were written by Pérez & Greg
Potter, while the rest were written by Pérez and Len Wein. Art on all
seven stories is by Pérez and Bruce Patterson.
Each volume of the series will feature a new cover by Pérez. Gods and Mortals will include an introduction by Pérez as well as a gallery of some of his rarely-seen Wonder Woman art.
"I'm thrilled to see these issues
collected," says Pérez. "The series holds a fond place in my heart
because of working with Karen Berger, Len Wein, Bruce Patterson and
everyone else, not to mention getting my first taste of full creative
control with a major character. There was lots of rich, fertile ground
to till with Wonder Woman, and she was always fun to draw."
Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals is a 192-page trade paperback, and will be solicited in the December issue of Previews (Volume XIII #12). It is scheduled to arrive in stores on February 18 with a cover price of $19.95 U.S.
There will be three trade paperbacks collecting George Perez' "Wonder Woman" work coming through.
George Perez' next project will be a Titans graphic novel.
November 4, 2003 | WW: Gods and Mortals - New Cover
From Anton Kawasaki
Subject: Re: Wonder Woman Trades
From: Anton Kawasaki
Does anyone remember (Anton) what the release dates for the TPBs of
Perez's Wonder Woman are? When are these coming?
The first volume (of four), WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS, is due in February,
collecting #1-7 and featuring a new cover and introduction by Pérez! Expect
the second volume before 2004 is through.
COLLECTED EDITIONS EDITORS RESPOND
October 15th, 2003 - Hi everyone. Bob & Dale here, to thank you
for the questions, comments and pleadings. We've read all the posts,
many of which were pleas for favorite titles to be collected, and will
answer a large selection of comments below. Some questions are beyond
our scope of knowledge while others (such as boxers or briefs) are
really best left to the imagination.
...
Q: I'm
interested in the current status of the TPB of George Perez's run on
WONDER WOMAN. Also, Superman and Batman both have TPBs of "In The
Fifties/Sixties/Seventies." When will Wonder Woman get her due? She was
also being published continuously in those decades and deserves equal
treatment with the other members of DC's "Trinity."
A: WONDER
WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS will reprint the first seven issues from the
current series in spring 2004. Should sales warrant, more will follow.
As for WW through the decades, we've considered it but no decisions
have been reached.
The TRIGON collection is a trade and the
next Perez Titans material you see is will be the second volume of the
Archives, probably in 2004. Yes, we'll be recoloring his JLA and Wonder
Woman books when we get to them. No, George won't be doing new covers,
as mentioned earlier.
Right now, the Perez volumes are moving
slowly through the system. Until we need the covers, we're not sure
which way we're going. Neither JLA or WW are currently on the schedule
so we have time to make this work out.
Yes, the plot to #4 is approved but
there's no way George can do all that's left and still have all 4 come
out this year. Neither DC nor Marvel, I suspect, want to wait on a
bi-monthly schedule so we need for George to be well into #4 before
scheduling the monthly event.
George Perez is under contract to
CrossGen and every page he does for DC beyond that contract really
should be for JLA/Avengers so it finally sees print in 2004 or so.
Right now we do not have a title for the first volume of his WW
collection.
I think Forge and Edge are interesting
ideas but now that CrossGen has repurposed them into a new size, I need
to see those before I offer any opinion/observation.
...
Yes, I know what's on our March and
May-December schedule. However, as stated elsewhere, we constantly
revise the schedule based on market conditions. I'd much rather not
tell you something is coming out in a specific month and then have us
change it. For March, which is locked down, we will have a volume of
JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES, NEW TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT (back to
press), WONDER WOMAN: PARADISE FOUND (issues #170-177), GREEN LANTERN:
EMERALD DAWN II and 100 BULLETS: COUNTERFIFTH DETECTIVE.
...
Yes, we're doing our homework on
collecting George Perez's run of Wonder Woman but exact details and
release dates will be forthcoming. Part of the problem is that with
older film it takes longer to inspect and prep.
posted December 13, 2002 08:57 AM
...
SwordQuest, with gorgeous George Perez, is owned by Atari, which is now
longer an AOL Time Warner company. Therefore, it'd be tough to produce.
It was also drawn for a different size and wouldn't necessarily adapt
to the traditional comic book trim size. Finally, I don't recall if the
fourth book was ever finished. I do recall, though, seeing the real
prize, the jewel-encrusted sword at a trade show and thought it looked
awesome.
posted December 23, 2002 09:07 AM
The paper stocks we use on the trade
paperbacks are selected using a variety of criteria. For example, are
we picking up existing film? How was the material colored (believe it
or not, changing paper stock may suddenly ruin a beautiful color job).
And of course, there's that pesky issue of price. Our commitment to a
quality package never diminishes.
Yes, we're talking about collecting
George's JLA and Wonder Woman material. However, given his detailed
work, we have to make sure the film is intact and complete. If not,
then we need to address how best to restore the work without ruining
the look of the artwork which does george and the reader a disservice.
And obviously, we'll be looking for an optimal marketing opportunity to
release such collections.
...
Covers are very important to the overall
mix, but should a collection have 185 story pages, 5 covers and a
minimum of 3 pages of front matter, that's 193 pages. The next signatur
eup makes it 208 pages and raises the issue of how to fill the
remainign pages and by going up a signature does that also mean the
price has to increase? We look at these issues closely before making a
decision.
------------------
Bob Greenberger
Senior editor - Collected Editions
November 16, 2002 | CBG #1515: 2003 Projects
From
COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1515 (29 Nov 02)
Pérez has more than crossover on tap in 2003
written by George Nelson
transcribe by Vu
published in COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1515 (29 Nov 02)
website: www.comicsbuyersguide.com
If JLA/Avengers doesn't provide comics fans with enough of George Pérez in 2003, don't worry - there's more.
Next year will also see the debut of the new series Pérez is drawing for CrossGen: Solus.
"The details are still being kept close
to the vest. It deals with a globetrotting - globes-trotting, to be
more specific - character named Andra," Pérez told CBG at the recent
Baltimore Comic-Con.
"I guess the best way for me to describe it is to be able to do the CrossGen Chronicles
that I was doing but with a recurring cast, with a regular cast of
characters and a female lead, which I really wanted to do - and work
with Barbara Kesel, whom I've known for many years. I'm finally getting
a chance to work with her on a regular basis. Basically, I just wanted
something that would keep stretching my wings."
Pérez observed that, when writers and
editors discuss putting together "the ideal George Pérez book," it
means "they're going to make me work like a dog." However, he
acknowledged that he typically does more than the plot requires.
"If I complain about it, I guess it's
the way that inkers complain about working on me: that they do enjoy
the craft; it's just that it's a lot of work," he said. "I like rising
the challenge. It's very easy to be complacent and just do the things
that you're comfortable doing."
Pérez said he already has completed designs and promotional pieces for Solus
and recently received the plot for the first issue. "I even drew a page
this morning, so by the end of next week I should be a quarter of the
way done with the first issue. The cover is already done," he added. He
said he thought it would be scheduled for late February or early March
release. "I may be off on that by a month or so. It will come out
before JLA/Avengers."
Pérez also said that, to die it with JLA/Avengers, DC is planning to release a trade paperback covering his run as penciller on Wonder Woman,
which he also wrote. He said the trade would cover the series' first 24
issues, possibly the first annual, and the main story from Action #600, on which he collaborated with John Byrne, teaming up Superman and Wonder Woman.
Through he is not actively involved with the project, Pérez said he was pleased to hear about the Teen Titans
cartoon in production for Cartoon Network. The new series features five
of the seven characters that appeared in the launch of the New Teen Titans
in 1980: Robin and Changeling (called his original name, Beast Boy, in
the new animated series) along with the three characters Pérez and
writer Marv Wolfman created for the series - Cyborg, Starfire, and
Raven.
"I had absolutely nothing to do with the project itself but I am flattered, to say the least," he said.
Pérez said he first heard about the
series when DC Publisher Paul Levitz called to let him know about it.
"I thought that was a real classy thing for him to do. I am - from a
financial point of view - very, very tickled about the Titans cartoon
and I've been away from it long enough hat I don't get bothered by the
changes, since the book itself has gone through so many changes since
I've been off it, for a decade now.
"Other than that, it's a really, really empty looking 2003 for me," he joked.
WAR OF THE GODS
written by Patrick Daniel O'Neil
interview with George Pérez, appearing in COMICS INTERVIEW #104 (Winter 1991)
transcribed by Vu
(excerpt)
Pat Daniel O'Neil: I understand that
Wonder Woman may be worth a lot more to DC on the level of licensing
than as a published character, although I also understand that their
agreement with the Marston estate is that they have to keep publishing
it or else they don't have rights to the character.
George Pérez: That I've not heard and I'm not privy to that information.
Pat Daniel O'Neil: That came from a reliable source.
George Pérez: If that's true, it
explains why DC's still doing it. I appreciate the compliment about the
good work I was doing with Wonder Woman but I had hoped that they would
have had a little more faith in the character. Particularly on the
fiftieth anniversary. This is, after all, the longest-running female
character in comics, almost non-stop!
I had proposed other things that they
could have done for her anniversary. I was really pushing these
projects - for example, the anniversary poster, which I drew. They were
supposed to be doing a WONDER WOMAN trade paperback. WONDER WOMAN: YEAR
ONE, which reprints the first eight issues of my WONDER WOMAN, is nice
but I don't consider it an anniversary book - because there's nothing
from the fifty years, just from my version. When I first heard about
it, they were planning to print it with regular comic paper like they
did DEATH IN THE FAMILY and I said, "For fiftieth anniversary, this is what you're going to give us?"
Now that they're not advertising WAR OF
THE GODS as a WONDER WOMAN book they don't have anything to advertise.
If I were drawing it, they would have advertised it as such, because
then they would have figured that the Perez name would override any
negative feedback that would follow a WONDER WOMAN anniversary since
DC's faith in Wonder Woman is pretty much nil; other characters that
didn't sell well were promoted because it was prestigious.
I was feeling a bit angry because it was
like I was the only person fighting for Wonder Woman. Then I lost my
editor due to an act of God and of husband because she went into labor.
Karen Berger went on maternity leave and so we ended up with an editor
who, try as he might, is still a novice who doesn't have the push that
Karen has in the company. Everything was starting to fall apart and at
this point I was incredibly depressed.
I was trying to contact the editor for a
week without any luck, and I wasn't the only one; the new artist had
been trying to get through, and he couldn't contact the editor, either.
DC had this new answering machine - unfortunately the new answering
machine doesn't tell you if the person is in or not, it just take the
message. I had a good number of pages of artwork turned in and they sat
on a desk at DC for over a week and no one even knew they were there.
It was quickly becoming a fiasco and the
second issue really came out late because of all the problems. I knew
when I had finished scripting the last page of issue two that the book
was late - but I didn't understand why it was so late. I was doing the
scripting after the inking had already been done. And when it came out
they let a lot of mistakes get through, even after I proofread and
pointed out the mistakes. And unfortunately the new artist suffered
from the WAR curse, too. We were getting artwork from him for the
pin-ups in random order; we finished all the pinups for issue four
before I got half of the pin-ups for issue three. The editor should
have prioritized the work by saying that he need the artwork for the
work due now, not for the work due later.
I later heard that there was never any
newsstand distribution for WAR OF THE GODS #1. Diamond Distributors
asked me if there would be a newsstand edition of #1. I knew that
physically there would be no difference, but - as far as I know - no
newsstand has carried WAR OF THE GODS. Automatically, WAR OF THE GODS
#1 sales have been cut down because all of a sudden it had no newsstand
distribution. Anyone reading comics that has no access to a comics shop
would have the crossovers with no availability to the main story!
I must say that there were some people
who were put on the spot in working on this project! Keith Giffen
really came through, considering he had no knowledge of WAR OF THE GODS
until I called him. John Ostrander was a real prince to work with, as
was Marv Wolfman. Marv literally had to stop mid-stride with what he
was doing to fit my storyline in. he actually regretted that he
couldn't have done more with the Titans.
The last straw was in the case of WONDER
WOMAN when I have Steve Trevor and Etta Candy getting married in the
last issue. I had it in the synopsis months ago, the plot was handed
in, I finally scripted it, off it went, and when I receive a phone call
saying that Bill Loebs is now the writer and that he was going to be
doing the wedding. This was something that I was setting up and I was
the one who wanted to handle it. It could even have been a
misunderstanding between Bill and me - maybe he assumed that iw as just
getting them engaged and he was taking care of the wedding - but the
fact that was the entire issue went through all the final steps, the
wedding had to be redrawn and I just refused to rewrite it.
I finally was so angry that I had to ask
Karen Berger to please send me a check, which they had already delayed
by two weeks, and I just hung up the phone.
I have not spoken to anyone at DC Comics since then.
Right now I'm working for Marvel and
other people. I once compared Marvel and DC, when Marvel was going
through the controversial Jim Shooter stage, to one being a tank and
the other a cab. Marvel was the tank at the time. When I faced up to it
I realized that this was a dangerous machine coming at me and I have to
get out of the way.
To me, DC has now become a cab where you
don't know that the driver is asleep at the wheel. You think it's
benign and you have nothing to worry about - until it's too late. If
the problems were just with WAR OF THE GODS, I could say definitely
it's just me. But other people tell me I'm no the only kid on the block
in that situation at DC.
Well the Baltimore convention for me was
cool. Got to meet Mr. Perez finally. Though my friend and I drove him
crazy with signing comics. He signed every issue of his Wonder Woman
run for her, and I went on a Find Perez Issue hunt, and every time I
found one, He signed it. Prime, Ultraforce, Wonder Woman, Superman.
Anyway, Mr. Perez let us know with some excitment on his face that DC
Comics is finally going to do Trade Paper backs of Wonder Woman 1-24.
Of course you know, this is Mr. Perez's run of Wonder Woman. Thought
you might like to know. Also he had the pencil cover for his new book
there. OUTSTANDING!!!!!!
Have fun.
I actually just left the Comic Con here
in Baltimore and George Perez was there. He stated that DC was planning
on putting his entire run as writer/artist on Wonder Woman, in three
volumes. 8 issues in each volume, if I'm not mistaken, to kinda
coincide with the whole JLA/Avengers thing. He's a nice guy and he
signed my Wonder Woman (vol 2) #2! Wooo!
October 21, 2002 |
Perez's Wonder Woman TP in 2003
Why are there no compilations of
WONDER WOMAN in the 50s. 60s and 70s? When are the collected Wonder
Woman TPB collections by George Perez coming out?
-- Sherman Williams
No plans for a WW IN THE (PICK YOUR DECADE) volume any time soon. The Perez volume is tentatively planned for next year.
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