RIP: George Pérez
George Pérez
We all knew the day would come. Especially since December 7, 2021. That’s when George Perez announced that he had surgically inoperable Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer. Although offered other options George said,
“… after weighing all the variables and assessing just how much of my remaining days would be eaten up by doctor visits, treatments, hospital stays and dealing with the often stressful and frustrating bureaucracy of the medical system, I’ve opted to just let nature take its course and I will enjoy whatever time I have left as fully as possible with my beautiful wife of over 40 years, my family, friends and my fans.”
And that is what he did,
George Perez passed away yesterday the result of his pancreatic cancer. He was 67. The announcement on his Facebook page read:
George passed away yesterday, peacefully at home with his wife of 490 months and family by his side. He was not in pain and knew he was very, very loved.
We are all very much grieving but, at the same time, we are so incredibly grateful for the joy he brought to our lives. To know George was to love him; and he loved back. Fiercely and with his whole heart. The world is a lot less vibrant today without him in it.
He loved all of you. He loved hearing your posts and seeing the drawings you sent and the tributes you made. He was deeply proud to have brought so much joy to so many.
Everyone knows George’s legacy as a creator. His art, characters and stories will be revered for years to come. But, as towering as that legacy is, it pales in comparison to the legacy of the man George was. George’s true legacy is his kindness. It’s the love he had for bringing others joy – and I hope you all carry that with you always.
Today is Free Comic Book Day. A day George absolutely loved and a fitting day to remember his contributions to comics and to our lives. I hope you’ll enjoy your day today with him in mind. He would have loved that.Please keep his wife Carol in your thoughts and again, I thank you for respecting her privacy. I remain available through the contact on the page.
George’s memorial service will take place at MEGACON Orlando at 6pm on Sunday, May 22nd. It will be open to all. Details to follow.
We will miss him always.
George Perez entered comics as an assistant to Rich Buckler in the early 1970s. He quickly graduated to penciling his own series. It didn’t take long for George Perez to become a fan favorite. Throughout his career George Perez worked on some of the most popular comic series published: The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The Justice League of America, The New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman, The Infinity Gauntlet, to name just a few. Whatever George Perez worked on was worth the price of admission.
Evidence of George Perez’s importance and impact to comics is the number of places his death is quickly being reported. Sadly, often when we lose comic creators, the only place their passing is noted is comic-related websites. George Perez’s passing has shown up already in The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Daily News, TMZ and The Daily Mail (England) to name just a few of the mainstream publications.
George Perez won numerous fan favorite awards of the course of his career. Here are some of them…
- 1979: Eagle Award for his role in creating the Best Continued Story for Avengers #167–168 and 170–177.
- 1980: Eagle Award for Best Comic book Cover for Avengers #185.
- 1983: Inkpot Award
- 1983: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Artist
- 1984: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Comic Book Story: “The Judas Contract” in Tales of the Teen Titans #42–44 and Annual #3
- 1985: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Artist
- 1985: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Cover Artist
- 1985: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Comic Book Story: “Beyond the Silent Night” in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
- 1985: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Limited Series: Crisis on Infinite Earths (with Marv Wolfman)
- 1985: Named as one of the honorees in DC’s 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.
- 1985: Jack Kirby Award for Best Finite Series for Crisis on Infinite Earths (with Marv Wolfman)
- 1986: Jack Kirby Award for Best Finite Series for Crisis on Infinite Earths (with Marv Wolfman)
- 1986: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Cover Artist
- 1986: Eagle Award for Favorite Pencil Artist in 1986.
- 1987: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Penciler
- 1987: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Cover Artist
- 1989: Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards – Favorite Comic Book Story: “A Lonely Place of Dying” in Batman #440–442 and The New Titans #60–61
- 2022: Inkwell Awards Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA) for his lifetime achievement in inking
George Perez was not only one of the most popular artists to ever work in comics, he was one of the nicest. I first became aware of his art on The Avengers. Then I went back and found his earlier work. Following George Perez was easy, because word of his art on a new comic always spread quickly.
I was fortunate to spend time with George Perez at a comic convention in 1980 or 81. My best friend, John Beatty was inking George on Justice League and was also a guest at the show. Sitting with John and George was great. George was wonderful with each fan that came up. He listened and smiled and exchanged stories. George had as much fun (if not more) than the fans.
After the show, George invited John and I to have a bite to eat and hang out. George drew more sketches as we talked. I’ve never seen an artist more at ease while drawing. At one point he even was lying on his back and drawing!
When George Perez announced that he had cancer and most likely only 6 months or so to live, he continued to interact with fans and enjoy the time he had left. What a great human spirit! It was an honor to meet George Perez not only because he was a legendary artist, but also because of the great human being we came to know.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to George Perez’s family, friends and fans.
