News: New Project to Address Perez Wonder Woman Sat, 12 Aug 2006 12:51:11 CST [ submitted by Vu ]

 From www.dccomics.com

DCU: Brave New World (Direct MP3 Link)
Mon, 7 Aug 2006 — 48:15

WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TPB (Feb 2004) WONDER WOMAN: CHALLENGE OF THE GODS TP (Sep 2004)

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.

News: DC Solicitations for May 2006 February 14, 2006 12:24 am

 From www.newsarama.com

DC COMICS SOLICITATIONS FOR MAY 2006
02-12-2006 07:04 PM

JSA #85 (May 2006)

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 (May 2006)

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: GOD AND MORTALS TP (Feb 2004)

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 (Sep 2004)

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 (Sep 2005)

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

July 16, 2004 02:52 am | WW: Gods & Mortals Review on Amazon

From Amazon.com

Five star art, two star writing., June 14, 2004
Reviewer: A reader (Kentucky USA)

(excerpt)

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.

[ Read more Five star art, two star writing., June 14, 2004 ]

Jun 11, 2004 11:07 pm | Cinescape: Superman, Your Responses Part 2

From Cinescape

Superman: Your Responses, Part Two
Dateline: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
By: TONY WHITT

(excerpt)

WONDER WOMAN: CHALLENGE OF THE GODS TP (Sep 2004)

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?

[ Read more Superman: Your Responses, Part Two ]

April 2, 2004 | WW: Gods & Mortals Introduction

From WONDER WOMAN: GODS & MORTALS TPB (Feb 2004)

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.

[ Read more INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE PEREZ ]

March 11, 2004 | Site Update

[ Forum ] From deCruz

Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals tpb
« Thread started on: 03/11/04 at 2:34pm by deCruz »

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.

March 6, 2004 | WW: Gods & Mortals Review

From Comic World News

The Search for Wonder Woman's Identity
Friday, March 5, 2004 • Published Weekly
written by Rachel Gluckstern

(excerpt)

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.

[ Read more The Search for Wonder Woman's Identity ]

February 16, 2004 | WW: Gods & Mortals Shipping

From Diamond

Shipping This Week: February 18

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.

DEC030290 WONDER WOMAN GODS AND MORTALS TP $19.95

WONDER WOMAN JLA / AVENGERS

11 new Perez /Smith A/JLA #3 colorguides now up on EBay !
Posted by Tom Smith on Thursday, December 18 2003 at 23:34:20 GMT

Hi guys..

What to buy something with all the left over Christmas money ?

Here you go ,ending Christmas day ..

Click link to see more..

Happy Holidays !!
Tom Smith "A/JLA CAL!

Re: Tom Smith after JLA/Avengers??? An Answer
Posted by Tom Smith on Tuesday, December 16 2003 at 16:37:25 GMT

> 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 .

Enjoy..TS

WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS (Feb 2004) JLA/ AVENGERS #3 (Nov 2003)

The very same article and artwork appearing from Diamond's New DC TP Displays the Wonder (Woman) of Pérez (Brief Notes 12/1/2003) appears in Diamond's retailer's guide: DIAMOND DATELINE vol.14, #47 (3 Dec 2003).

The top two re-orders are: TEEN TITANS #1 FOURTH PRINTING and TEEN TITANS #5. It also looks like the top five orders for the month of September are:

1. BATMAN #621
2. JLA/AVENGERS #3
3. NEW X-MEN #149
4. BATMAN SUPERMAN WONDERWOMAN: TRINITY #3
5. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #501

Keep in mind these ranking will probably change when Diamond officially announce it on their monthly Top 300 orders.

Special thanks to Outpost 2000.

Pipeline Previews - February 2004
Friday December 5, 2003
written by Augie De Blieck Jr.

(excerpt)

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::

New DC TP Displays the Wonder (Woman) of Pérez
Brief Notes week of 12/1/2003

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

1051 × 1600 WWColl001.jpg (226 kb)

New Perez /Smith Wonder Woman image , did you guys see this ? Posted by Tom Smith on Friday, November 14 2003 at 19:29:21 GMT Hi all.. I just did this with GPz .It's for the first cover of DC 's Perez WW collection. I'll be coloring all 4 covers. Enjoy.. Tom Smith "A/JLA CAL!"

DC COLLECTS GROUNDBREAKING WONDER WOMAN ISSUES BY PÉREZ
11/13/2003 12:37 am by Eric J. Moreels

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.

Pre-order Wonder Woman online now from X-World Comics and save!

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.

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.

Here's an excerpt from 'Collected Editions - 10/15/03' from dccomics.com:

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.

Topic: Questions for Bob Greenberger
posted February 03, 2003 09:06 AM
posted by Bob Greenberger

(excerpt)

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.

Topic: Questions for Bob Greenberger
posted January 30, 2003 09:06 AM
posted by Bob Greenberger

(excerpt)

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.

Topic: Questions for Bob Greenberger
posted January 28, 2003 08:44 AM
posted by Bob Greenberger

(excerpt)

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.

Questions for Bob Greenberger
posted December 12, 2002 09:39 AM

(excerpt)

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

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

COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1515 SOLUS #1 ACTION COMICS #600

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.

COMICS INTERVIEW #104 WAR OF THE GODS #1

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.

[ Read more in COMICS INTERVIEW #104 ]

Baltimore Con
Monday, October 28 2002 at 7:14AM

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.

What's the matter with you people?! Haven't you heard?!
posted October 26, 2002 05:53 PM

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!

Lots More Questions / Lots More Answers
Monday, October 21
By Bob Rozakis

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 (Orson7@yahoo.com)

No plans for a WW IN THE (PICK YOUR DECADE) volume any time soon. The Perez volume is tentatively planned for next year.