News Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:26:40 CST Vu

George Pérez and Mike Middleton (Jun 2002), at the THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL SCI-FI & FANTASY CREATORS CONVENTION 2002

Me and George Perez
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
posted by Mike Middleton @ 4:14 PM

One of my all time favorite comic books growing up was The New Teen Titans. I was always amazed at the art on that book. The artist responsible for all that goodness was the great George Perez. I was thrilled to meet him at one of the first conventions I ever went to back in 1992. I've been fortunate enough to see him a few more times through the years. He's incredibly nice and gracious and was very friendly to me and my buddies. When I saw him in New York in 2002, he did an awesome sketch of Sgt. Rock for me. He was happy to do it because he didn't get very many requests for Sgt. Rock. It was hard to choose the character for him to do because he's drawn practically every character DC and Marvel has had through the years and did them very well. Needless to say I was very pleased with the final results!

SUPERMAN & LOIS LANE (Jun 2002), commissioned at NY INT'L SCI-FI & FANTASY CON by Brian

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SENTINELS #1 (Dec 2003) ELECTRON (28-30 Jun 2002), art by George Pérez, commissioned at NY Int. Sci-Fi & Fantasty Convention 2002

I wanted to let you know about some Perez work I have on my site. My name is Rich Bernatovech and I am self-publishing a graphic novel called Sentinels. It is a 216 page book in black and white, written and inked by myself with pencil work by Luciano Vecchio.

George Perez has been a huge inspiration on my work and I've known him for a good 15 years through Titantalk.

Sentinels will be released on December 3, 2003 and is solicated in the new Previews magazine that comes out of Wednesday of this week.

The book will have 4 pin-ups of some of the characters in the book and 1 color team shot all drawn by George Perez.

If you get a chance please check out our website at www.sentinelsonline.com and view the flash animated trailer we have done to promote the book. If you like that then look throughout the site and in the gallery section we have the first Perez pin-up.

George Pérez and Mike Negin. Photo from Mike Negin.

I feel like a very small fish in a very big pond!

I've often visited the Comicart-L site to drool over all the amazing artwork but I finally decided to take the plunge and become a member myself! I'm nowhere near the level that most of you guys are but I just wanted to be a part of all this.

I mostly deal in sketchs....I'm one of those guys you always see running around the conventions with their sketch books like a chicken without their head. I actually only have one peice of published art; The cover to Teen Titans #48 (the original series) which is my pride and joy!

I'm a big George Perez fan! He is an artistic God and also an absolute Gentleman! My grail is to one day own on of his Titans covers (if I can pry one from anybodies hands!). I'm also a HUGE Alex Ross fan!

I've included in my gallery a few of my sketchs...there were so many to choose from I just flipped through and grabbed a few that caught my eye and brought a smile to my face; Over time I'll be switching them in and out so I can share as many as possible because to me there are so many worth sharing!! Thanks so much for taking a look and if you have any questions or just want to B.S. about art feel free to e-mail me at MikeNegin[a]aol.com.

Lowry Gallery Items

Ben "The Thing" Grimm smokin' his everlovin' cigar
I met Joe Sinnott at the Classic Comic Convention in White Plains, NY in 2000. It was an amazing convention with a lot of comic legends including Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, and Jerry Robinson. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Joltin' Joe Sinnott. He told some great stories about Jack Kirby and the old Marvel Bullpen (and lack thereof). Joe drew me this amazing sketch of the Everlovin' Blue eyed Thing! Thanks Joe! You're a true Legend!

Hawkman & Hawkgirl
A few years back there was a Yahoo Club and website devoted to the JSA called the Justice Society of America Appreciation Association; A few comic professionals frequented the site and a couple even donated some artwork. When I saw Buzz at the San Diego Comicon 2001 I told him how much I loved the Hawkman / Hawkgirl piece that he had done for the JSAAA; I was ecstatic when he was willing to recreate it for me! It took him most of the weekend but it was well worth the wait! Thanks Buzz!

Jack Knight Starman
I was a big fan of the James Robinson Starman series and when I got the chance to meet Tony Harris at the San Diego Comicon 2001 there was no other option but to get a Jack Knight Starman sketch! Thanks Tony!

Mary Jane Watson in Spidey Suit
I saw Mark Bagley at The Madsion Square Garden Convention in NYC this year and I asked him for a Mary Jane sketch. He drew MJ in nothing but the top to Spidey's costume. As he handed me the sketch he said the with a big smile on his face that this was the adult Mary Jane from the regular Spidey books and NOT the MJ from Ultimate Spider-man book! He laugh and said the Ultimate MJ was an underage girl and that he could get arrested if he drew her like this!!! ;-) Thanks for the great sketch Mark!

Mera Queen of Atlantis
I saw Jim Califiore at the Madision Square Garden Show in NYC this year; I loved his run on Aquaman so I asked if I could get a sketch of Atlantis' King. Jim politely said "He couldn't do it"; He had drawn so many Aquaman sketchs that he just couldn't do another one. So I figured that if I couldn't get the King of Atlantis I'd settle for the Queen. Jim was more than happy to draw this beautiful sketch of Mera for me and in the end I'm happier with it that I would have been with an Aquaman Sketch! The detail on it is amazing! Thanks Jim!

SCARLET WITCH

Scarlet Witch Sketch
I saw George again at this year's Madision Square Garden convention (New York Sci-Fi & Fantasy Creators Convention 2002); As always it was an absolute pleasure to see George! He held court at the convention like a king...I spent hours listening to him tell stories, answer questions and tell jokes. My son had just been born a few months earlier and it was my first time out of the house since his birth. I couldn't think of a better way to spend that day then hanging out with George Perez! and even though money was a little tight because of the baby I couldn't help but get something from him.....And as you can see, even from something as simple as a Scarlet Witch headshot, why George is considered the master!!! The detail on this is amazing!!!When I look at it I feel like Wanda is staring back at me!!! Thanks again George!!! You gave a very tired new father a real treat!

Starfire and Wondergirl Commission

STARFIRE & WONDERGIRL (2001), art by George Pérez, commissioned by Mike Negin

George's New Teen Titans is the reason that I'm collecting comics today! I have always wanted a George Perez Titans cover! but I know that they are next to impossible to find and off the charts price wise when they do show up. When I caught up with George at Midtown comics in NYC (Midtown Comics, NY - Jun 15, 2001) I told him how disappointed I was that I would probably never get to own one of his Titans covers. He said that there was nothing he could do about that but if I was interested I could commission him to do a Titans piece! He really didn't have the time (and I really didn't have the money) to do a full blown cover quality piece but what we worked out was more than enough to make me giddy like a school girl! And one of the best parts is I got to brainstorm with George about the piece, each of us pitching ideas back and forth until we came up with the different elements that made up the whole. Thanks again George!...."working" with George Perez was really this fanboy's dream come true! As always your the Best!!!

Teen Titans 48 Cover (1977)
This is the cover to Teen Titans #48 (The original series). It's the only piece of published art I own and it is my pride and joy! It's a little yellow, has a couple of stains and it's missing the comics code and Mal's name but it's my baby! I'm a big Titans fan and when I saw it I just had to have it! Thanks to Mitch from Graphic Collectibles for giving me a chance to own a peice of Titans History! I even caught up with Rich Buckler a few years back and got him to sign it for me!

Wonder Woman

WONDER WOMAN (1999), art by George Pérez, colors by Tom Smith, commissioned by Mike Negin

I am a big George Perez fan! He is the whole reason I got into collecting comics in the first place! I had read comics as a little kid but just threw then out; But when I saw New Teen Titans #1 drawn by Perez I knew I had to keep it forever...and the rest is history! I met George for the first time in Chicago in 1999. I was so excited I could barely speak! My wife explained to George that the studdering mess before him was actually one of his biggest fans! George being the gentleman that he is and realizing how awe struck I was, got up from the table, shook my hand and even gave me a big hug and thanked me for being a fan! I had waited most of my life for that day and to top it all off George drew me this beautiful Wonder Woman sketch! (which I had Tom Smith color a year later). It was really this comic fan's dream come true! Thanks so much George!....Your The Best!!!

Wonder Woman
I caught up with Steve Rude at the Big Apple Convention in NYC this year. I'm not a big nexus fan but I had always loved Steve's art. When I asked him if he would do a Wonder Woman Sketch for me he just looked at me blankly for a second and then turned my sketch book sideways and said with a sly little smirk "I got an idea!". The result is this little beauty of a sketch you see below! Thanks Steve!!

George Pérez honestly has make a strong impact in my life. He is the reason I draw and paint today.

In 1984 my father gave me a copy of ''Accent on the First E'' by George Perez, I was 4 years old... and since then all I do is draw aside from my real job. I traced every page of that book cover to cover, every single day when I was 5,6 years old.

As I got older I simply refused to trace knowing that George didn't trace the drawings... so I started to draw them by eye, literally mastering every detail of each page.

If you've seen this book before you'll know that it's an awesome black and white showcase book if Pérez's early art. From then on.... I would draw everything in sight.... tables, cars, faces....... everything. Trying every day to be a master at detail like George.

Today I draw and paint as a side job and it was all because of ''Accent on the First E''....that book rocked my life!

I still have it till this day along with literally thousands of other George Pérez comics and posters......and I just wanted to express my love and respect for the man's talent and what he has inspired me to do.

Well I'm happy to tell you that I met him at the New York Sci-fi and Fantasy Art Show at Madison Square Garden on the 30th of June.

Hahahaha.... like a little punk I almost cried. LOLOL picture a 22 year old at a show crying over a comic book artist. But I held it in. I let out one tear when I got home.

The show was great. I little small but George Pérez was all I cares about. Wow... all types of people were there... Adam West, Billy Dee Williams... Virgil from wrestling... Stacey Walker(((hot fantasy art Model))) and a whole lot of other top name comic book people. But you know..... I honestly didn't give a !@#$% about those people. Mr. Pérez was the only one I cared about. He took a picture with me and autographed 3 books. The man was simply amazing. I wanted to stay with him there till the show was done....but I didn't want him to think I was a nut. LOL

So I walked around the place to loosen up and found myself walking in circles to George's table over and over and over again. LOLOLOL.... what a memory. All the other artist..... I didn't even say hello to them or even ask for an autograph. It's like those people were all shadows.

I was that shocked.

Well it was a pleasure meeting George Pérez and I have the memories to enjoy forever. Or until I hopefully meet him again.

What I Learned at the NY International Sci-Fi & Fantasy Creators Con...
Posted by Lenny on Monday, July 15 2002 at 18:47:59 GMT

(excerpt)

Tom was selling prints of some stuff he had colored and was hand coloring George's sketches for a fee. He had with him his sack o' markers and was ready to go.

Captain America (6)

George was charging, and it was expensive. While walking into the show I immediately saw a dude from my local comic shop standing there. After saying what's up I asked if George Perez was there yet and if he was sketching.

"Yeah, he is. And he charging a fortune."

$60 for a head shot. $150 for a full body. Ouch.

Well, you only live once.

Head shot please. Captain America.

[ Read more NY Sci-Fi Conv Review ]

Anyone went to this convention? I checked with the official website (Innervision Comics and they did update their site (previously did not mention Pérez attending and that Tom Smith was artist of JLA/Avengers; item 020606-1.)

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COMIC BOOK GUESTS

UPDATE: John Romita Jr. and family have a two year old niece who is going through treatment for a serious illness. It may not be possible for him to make this years' show. We are keeping the door open till the last moment for him if he still decides he can make it. George Perez has graciously agreed to come in his place or in addition whichever it may wind up to be. Mike Mignola has cancelled due to his upcoming Hellboy movie.

George Perez- Artist of JLA/Avengers, Avengers, Writer/Artist New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman

Tom Smith- Color Artist of Avengers and JLA/Avengers
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Here is an excerpt from NY Times about the convention.

>>>
Words Worth 1,000 Pictures (June 28, 2002)
By LAUREL GRAEBER

(excerpt)

Fans can also meet more than 100 of the talents behind such creations, like the writers Peter David ("The Incredible Hulk") and Chris Claremont ("X-Men"), the comic book artists Mike Kaluta and Jae Lee, and Kevin Eastman, a co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Young buffs can watch trailers from forthcoming sci-fi movies and attend presentations by Marvel and DC Comics. And while they won't be able to zoom off in a Batmobile, they can sit in one. "We're going to have a replica of the one from the TV show of the 1960's," Mr. Brindisi said.