DC PROFILE #80, from DAILY PLANET vol 81, #11 (Aug 81)
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DC PROFILE #80: GEORGE PEREZ
August 1981
written by Michael C. Carmichael
transcribed by Vu, thanks to ES
The instant success of THE NEW TEEN TITANS is not nearly so remarkable as the fact that one of the reasons
behind that success, artist George Pérez, has never had any formal art
training. "I've been drawing since I was five years old," recalled the
black-bearded Pérez in a recent interview, "my first drawing board was
the hamper in the bathroom."
That bathroom, along with the rest of George's house and family (his
parents and a younger brother), was located in the South Bronx, New
York, where George was born on June 9, 1954. "I learned to read from
super-hero comics," admits George, "so it was natural that I turned to
them for inspiration for my drawing. The first one I recall reading was
DETECTIVE COMICS #270, it had Batman and Robin fighting a space creature, and there was Roy Raymond and the Martian manhunter. I loved the Martian Manhunter."
But it was to be years later before George was to get his chance to
create, professionally, his own science fiction visual concepts. In the
meantime, George created amateur super-heroes. "I didn't have any real
favorites because I liked to make up my own. I remember creating
Rubberband Man - a hero with a human head and a rubberband body. The
body was the easiest thing to draw."
After the elementary school years at St. Luke's Catholic School, George
entered the Cardinal Hayes High School. "The only art course they had
there was a babysitting course," grumbled George, "they let you draw,
but they never taught you anything."
But despite this disappointing art "training," it was doing this course
that George made the acquaintance of Tom Sciacca, a comic book fan of
the first order. "It was Tom who actually started me into the comic
book business," claims George. "He took me to my first convention."
CREATURES ON THE LOOSE: FEATURING MAN-WOLF #33
(Jan 1975)
Marvel Comics |
In 1972, George graduated from high school and began working as a bank
teller. But he still attended the comic conventions whenever he could,
his portfolio in hand so he could show off his work just as often. "I
got rejected by DC's 'Junior Bullpen' project in 1973, but artist Rich
Buckler saw my work and soon hired me as an assistant." In 1974, George
received his first solo penciling assignments. "It was a MAN-WOLF tale for Marvel," he remembers, "I only did the penciling while Klaus Janson did the inking."
Before long, George found it impossible to keep his bank teller's job -
he was too busy drawing Marvel's top-selling book at the time, FANTASTIC FOUR and THE AVENGERS, along with the THE INHUMANS and SONS OF THE TIGER.
"It was Marv Wolfman who brought me over to DC," says George, "to specifically do the new Titans. I said that I'd only do it if I got the chance to do at least one JUSTICE LEAGUE issue. This was only a few weeks before the tragic and unexpected death of JLA artist Dick Dillin. I never wanted to get the JLA assignment for that reason!"
Soon George will take on a new assignment - his marriage to aspiring professional dancer, Carol Flynn. "My biggest fan!"