George Perez and GAMES Titans Play
Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:55:50 PM
written by Bill Walko

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2004 (22-25 Jul 2004) TITANS: GAMES GN (Fall 2005)

I spotted George Perez at the DC Booth early on in the convention, but he wasn't listed as a guest anywhere. When I arrived at the con Sunday at around 10:45am, I picked up the daily newsletter. I immediately saw George was scheduled to do a signing and sketching session at the ACTOR booth at 10am. As quickly as I could weave through the crowds, I found my way to the booth.... to see someone already had a 'last in line' sign. I wanted to fall to my knees in comic book fashion and wail: "Nooo!" But I have too much dignity for that. Really.

Regardless, it was a good opportunity to talk to George about his upcoming projects... and the Titans Graphic Novel, GAMES. George said he has a 6-page Avengers sequence to do, in conjunction with the relaunch of that book. He also mentioned an upcoming project - still under wraps - where he would be inking Jose Garcia Lopez. "That will be an education of a lifetime", George noted.

So what's up with GAMES? George believes it should be hitting stands in the last quarter of 2005, just in time for its 15th anniversary. Sixty-some pages are pencilled and inked from those years ago. Some pages are pencilled but not inked. And there are 40-plus pages that need to be pencilled from scratch. Al Vey inked the original 60 pages, but a different inker will be used for the remainder; Al Vey's inking style has changed too much in the last 15 years.

I asked if the story itself would be changed at all with whatever continuity glitches that may have arisen. George mentioned that the story itself will be pretty much as-is. Even the World Trade Center sequence will remain, since it had already been completed. I asked about a particular plot point that drastically effects one of the Titans supporting characters [some of you will know what I speak of].... that will also remain in the story. "It was too important to the story to leave out," George said.

I also asked George if he had to change his artwork much to match his 'old' style. He said that his style hasn't changed as much as he thought in the last 15 years... so it wasn't much of a problem.

George also talked a bit about the new framing sequence, which will be in a 'contemporary' setting. "Will it be the Geoff Johns team?" I asked. George only said it would be 'contemporary'. Hmmm... The brand-new framing sequence will be 6 pages.