LIEFELD ON JLA/AVENGERS AUCTION
05.01.2001

In this current edition of Newsarama Weekly, in a story regarding the upcoming auction of the 21 original JLA/Avengers pages created by George Pérez in 1982, Newsarama solicited sources at Marvel and DC for their comments on the possibility of the pages being reprinted in the upcoming new JLA/Avengers crossover, and what effect – if any – the sale of the original pages would have on that possibility.

Rob Liefeld, current owner of the pages, responded to that story with the following statement Monday afternoon.

"I think it`s a shame that Tom Brevoort has nothing better to do than toss eggs and mudsling at the esteemed and prestigious International Museum of Cartoon Art by diminishing the importance and extraordinary value of the original JLA/Avengers artwork," said the creator.

Liefeld’s statement comes in response to the Avengers editor`s reply to our inquiry as to whether there was interest at Marvel and/or DC in publishing the pages in the new crossover. "There`s no interest on our part in using those pages as part of the current project - George is a different artist...a better, more confident artist, than he was in 1982, so they simply wouldn`t fit," replied Brevoort. "We have talked about the possibility of including them as supplemental material in an eventual collection (similar to the Kingdom Come sketchbook that DC did for the slipcased edition), but that`s still way, way off in the future, so nothing`s been decided. And, in that eventuality, while it would be nice to have the original boards to shoot off of, George still has nice, sharp copies, and I expect DC does as well - so we wouldn`t absolutely need the boards in order to run the material."

"Also, it is my understanding from that I alone possess the only clean copies of this amazing artwork," continued Liefeld, in response to the assertion that good quality reproduction copies exist outside the original boards. "With the exception of a few pages printed in the fan press, the majority of these pages have never seen print. I have been deluged with requests over the past few weeks from several parties including representatives of Marvel, DC and Mr. Pérez seeking copies of the pages because, according to these parties, no one else has them. These pages are extremely rare, as are copies of them and at the conclusion of the auction, I will be sending off copies to George and his agent for them to use as they see fit.

"These pages were produced at the height of George Perez popularity and represent an artist of great enthusiasm working at the top of his craft. The era in which these pages were produced represents the most sought after period of George`s artwork by collectors, his Teen Titans era and Crisis on Infinite Earths. I won`t debate whether or not George can produce better work now than he did on these 21 pages, but the fans and collectors who have seen them have been blown away by the beautifully detailed and lavish pencils."

Concluded Liefeld, "One of the primary reasons I chose the Guernsey`s auction was that a significant portion of the proceeds are going towards preserving our past and securing the future of the Cartoon Museum."

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