Blood Trail

It all started in the summer of 1992 at the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. It was at that fateful show that I met Dina Simmons, an absolutely breathtaking young woman who just happened to be a great fan of my WONDER WOMAN series for DC comics. When this dark-haired beauty asked me to sign her comic books, I was awestruck by her. And I was not the only one. As Dina walked away from my table several fans and pros began taking photographs of her, much to this unassuming lady's total surprise. I knew then and there that she was exactly the woman I was looking for.

You see, around that time I was in the development stages for a creator owned project to be called GEORGE PEREZ'S GLADIATOR and I was trying to came up with an idea for a good Catwoman-like villainess for the series. During my run on WONDER WOMAN, I often used the names and likeness of several friends as the supporting players in the series and I thought the same trick might work with GLADIATOR. So, the following year I offered Ms. Simmons the chance to be the model for the villainess called Plague - and, boy, was Dina ever enthusiastic about the idea! In fact, when I came up with the idea of the character DiNA: having acid-like blood (ala Aliens), it was she who asked me the question that would forever change the course of the series: "What would happen if DiNA: menstruates?"
     On that day, GEORGE PEREZ'S GLADIATOR was no more (although, as those of you who've already read this issue's story know, the character has not been forgotten) and, after asking Dina if she minded becoming the lead character of my new series rather than a supporting player (I'll let you guess her answer), CRIMSON PLAGUE - the colorful adjective suggested by my wife Carol Flynn - was born. I also altered the character's given name to DiNA: Simmons (for reasons that will be explained next issue) and Dina has since adopted that spelling for all professional appearances.
     While DiNA: was not the only model I was using for the new series, it was the discovery of the young woman who would portray her chief adversary that permanently established the series' unique artistic gimmick.
     When Shannon Lower, who wasn't a comics reader at the time, accepted the offer to appear in CRIMSON PLAGUE and, like DiNA:, became enthused about learning about her character, looking forward to showing the comic to all her friends and family upon its publication, that's when it hit me: which every real person I used in the series there could be potentially a dozen or more kinfolk and acquaintances that would purchase a copy of the comic. What would happen, I wondered, if the entire cast of characters were modeled after real people ? beyond the financial and promotional advantages, it would be a great artistic challenge. In the past I've prided myself on drawing crowd scenes populated by individually distinguishable faces. What if each of those faces also had to be identifiable ? it would be an incredible amount of extra work. Hell, how could I resist ?

Well, to make a long story short - the cast of CRIMSON PLAGUE is now about 240 strong, with photo reference files bulging within two file cabinet drawers. I'm hoping they all have big families.
     Among those featured in this issue are several close personal friends, many fans whom I met at comics conventions, comics shop owners (hey, I'm no fool), a few more dance teachers, my former dentist, an airline stewardess, my lawn man, my niece, a firefighter, a locksmith, and even series colorist Thomas Bruce smith (one of the few characters who's name had to be changed, I'll let you figure out which character he is) - every one of them a shining star and the reason CRIMSON PLAGUE is such a unique and special series for me. It's like being part of an extended family - which everyone of them encouraging me trough the sometimes arduous and tiring creative process that goes into producing what amounts to an interactive comic book. I am grateful to them all.
     And I'm grateful to you, the read, for picking up this book. I appreciate the faith you've placed in my ability to entertain you. While the story of Crimson Plague may sometimes be dark, disturbing, and even controversial, I can only hope that it is never disappointed.
     I'd appreciate any feedback you'd like to offer about this book. Just send your missives and missiles to:

CRIMSON PLAGUE
Gorilla Comics
c/o George Perez
4823 Shoreline Circle
Sanford, FL 32771
or e-mail me at gperez@cfl.rr.com

Thanks again for catching the plague