Why George Perez is the Coolest Cat in Comics
posted 10/5/03 4:32 AM

At last year's Baltimore Comic Con, I asked George on Saturday if he'd be able to do a sketch of my wife in her wedding dress on the following day. He was already booked up for Saturday, but he took the picture I'd brought anyway and WORKED ON IT IN HIS HOTEL ROOM THAT NIGHT.

This is the photograph I gave him:

TRELINA ANDERSON photograph by Russ Anderson

And this is what George came up with:

TRELINA ANDERSON (27 Oct 2003), art by George Pérez. Commissioned by Russ Anderson at the THE BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 2002

This was one of her Christmas gifts that year (she's a big fan of George's work on Wonder Woman) and you have NO idea how hard it was for me to keep my mouth shut about this sketch for three months. :) She loved it, George. Thanks again.

And that's why he's the coolest cat in comics.

(Vu: There are also a couple of other Pérez sketches on Russ Anderson's ALL ABOUT RUSS. I am hosting the images above because geocities does not allow direct image linking.) WONDER WOMAN (Oct 2001), art by George Pérez. Commissioned by Russ Anderson from the THE BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 2001 SCARLET WITCH (Jun 2002), art by George Pérez. Commissioned by Russ Anderson from the HEROES CONVENTION CHARLOTTE 2002

Ebay Item: 2114208693

Wonder Girl (5), from jean.valjean via Ebay

Ebay Item: 2114779585

Elektra

Ebay Item: 2114701404

Avengers artist jam

From serialfan, via Ebay: Just created at HeroesCon 2002 in Charlotte. Up for bid is an Avengers sketch featuring 7 great artists and 7 great charachters. The piece is drawn on an 11 X 14 Bristol 100pt page. It features: A George Perez (Avengers/JLA) pencil/ink full figure THOR, a George Tuska (70's Iron Man and Silver Age artist) pencil only Iron Man, an Art Adams (X-Men, Monkeyman & O'Brien and cover artist par excellance) pencil/ink Hulk head and shoulder, Kevin Nowlan (Batman/Dr. Strange) pencil only Beast head shot, Georges Jeanty (Bishop/Weapon X) pencil/ink Scarlet Witch full figure, Gene Gonzales (Showcase) pencil/ink Ant Man/Wasp, and Ron Garney (Captain America/Hulk) pencil/ink Captain America head and partial shield shot.

(Vu: I've noticed this trend where people at convention line up to get free, or paid, sketches, only to sell it a few days later on Ebay, hoping to make profit. Although, I don't agree with this practice, it does give some opportunities for those who can't attend the convention to get original art.)

Sunday, June 16

4.00 pm -- 2002 Charity Art Auction, to benefit the Saving Baby Jordan fund. For more information, click here.

>>>
2002 CHARITY ART AUCTION

In 1987, Heroes Convention offered the first of its Charity Art Auction, to benefit the now-late Sam Grainger. Sam suffered from diabetes and struggled with hospital bills in his last years without health insurance, and convention promoter Shelton Drum decided there was something he could do to help--along with the assistance of that year's attending professionals, raising over $4,000.

In 1995, at the suggestion of then Ash writer/penciller Joe Quesada, we brought the Art Auction back, this time to benefit the Charlotte Firefighters Burned Children Fund. Over the years, we have gotten one-day totals as high as $25,000 for the Burned Children Fund, owing not only to the donations of art by participating professionals, but also to the donation of signed books and time by luminaries like Quesada and Perez.

Recently, we have gradually moved the focus of the Art Auction towards more industry-specific issues: in 1997, we donated half of the proceeds to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. In 2001, we split the proceeds again, this time giving half to a fund benefiting Harlan Ellison's KICK Internet Piracy lawsuit versus AOL/Time Warner.

This year, we've decided to dedicate the entire auction's proceeds to the Saving Baby Jordan fund. Two year old Jordan Atherton is fighting Medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, and one exceptionally resistant to treatment. Jordan is the niece of fan-favorite comic artist John Romita, Jr; the entire Romita family has worked incredibly hard to help cover some of the expenses for Jordan's care and treatment, not covered by the family's insurance companies. The expenses will be staggering, to say the least. JR JR recently set a Guinness book world record for continuous sketching in Times Square, doing over 450 drawings and working for over 51 hours straight--if he can put that sort of effort in, we figure this year's Art Auction is the least we can do.

"We intend to have this comic art auction benefit someone in need within our comic community every year," says convention promoter Shelton Drum. "You don't have to wear a cape to be a hero."

All you have to do to help is purchase or bid on an item during this years Charity Art Auction. The now-legendary event offers one-of-a-kind collectibles donated by attending artists, as well as originals from creators unable to attend this year, but still willing to help out with a good cause. Many of the artists will be producing original drawings or painting on easels throughout the show, with the final products to be auctioned off Sunday, June 16, beginning at 3 pm. And with an auctioneer like George Perez, it's worth it to stop by even if you're short of funds, just for the entertainment value!

Shelton Drums

Proving himself to be the biggest fanboy at the show, convention promoter Shelton Drum shows off two pieces he picked up at the Art Auction. "But it's for a good cause!" he insisted, but we know the truth. Fanboy. (Drum is the owner of the art jam, which Pérez started off the jam, despite the fact that he could not attend the 2002 convention. See related: Heroes Art Jam Piece.)

First, my wife Carol I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes and sentiments regarding my father-in-law.
My wife's dad, Thomas J. Flynn, passed away sometime between 8 and 8:30 PM on June 1st, 2002. Dad died about a half-hour before we got there, but at least he's at peace. He was buried at the State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, NC on June 4th. Carol and I just returned from the funeral. Due to Dad's earlier-than-expected passing, and with encouragement from both my wife and mother-in-law, I will still be attending the Heroes Con in Charlotte this Father's Day weekend.
Mom said that Dad would have wanted it that way.

Take care all,
George Pérez

(From Vu: If you want to send your condolences, please email them to me and I will forward it to George. This is really a tragedy, considering that George's 48th birthday is on the 9th of June.)

Due to a family illness (my wife's father is in the final stages of cancer and has been given a very short time to live) I will likely not be attending the Heroes Con this year. While my father-in-law lives in Asheville, NC and I may be in the area during Father's Day weekend, it would be inappropriate for me to attend the show since my wife will need me for support during this time. If my father-in-law dies before Heroes Con I may be able to come to the show to handle the auction (barring funeral arrangements causing schedule conflicts), but my participation in the show would understandably be limited to that. I've already spoken with convention organizer and longtime friend Shelton Drum about this unfortunate turn of events and really regret not being able to attend this very special show. I hope everyone understands and I apologize for any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause.

Best,
George Pérez

HEROES CON TURN 20
written by uncredited
transcribed by Vu

(excerpt)

Charitable events
The Heroes Con Charity Art Auction offers one-of-a-kind collectibles donated by attending artists, as well as originals from folks not appearing at the show this year but still willing to help out with a good cause. Many of the artists at the show do on-site at the con. Art will be produced live on stage throughout the three-day show, with the auction of all pieces, as well as additional works donated by non-attending artists, to be held at 4pm Sunday, June 16. Perennial HeroesCon "family member" George Pérez will again be the auctioneer, continuing a tradition started in 1987. he volunteered that year to do the auction that benefited the now-late Sam Grainger. Grainger suffered from diabetes and struggled in his last years without health insurance. After his death, Heroes Con sought another worthy local beneficiary to receive the annual proceeds. In past years, the show has teamed up with Pérez and other regulars like [Joe] Quesada to donate money , time, and product to the Charlotte Firefighters Burned Children Fund - one of the art auction's past beneficiaries. This year's proceeds will be donated to the "Saving Baby Jordan" fund (www.savingbabyjordan.com). As reported in CBG #1487, 2-year-old Jordan Artherton, the niece of artist John Romita Jr., is fighting a rare form of brain cancer. The Romita family has worked to help cover some of the staggering expense for the child's care and treatment not covered by the family's insurance companies. Romita set a recent Guinness world record for continuous sketching in Time Square, doing more than 450 drawings and working for more than 51 hours straight. "We intend to have this comic-art auction benefit someone in need within our comics community every year," said Drum. "You don't have to wear a cape to be a hero."

Heroes Convention was established in 1982 by Shelton and Cynthia Drum, owners of the Charlotte-based comic shop Heroes Aren't Hard to Find.

[ Read more on COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1491 (14 Jun 2002) ]

I just wanted to clear up some info regarding my 2002 convention appearances. Due to my heavy workload on JLA/AVENGERS (I'm pencilling the second issue and am almost 1/3 through the inking of the first) I will be doing only four conventions this year. They are:
MegaCon (Orlando, FL) in February, Pittsburgh Comicon in April, Heroes Con (Charlotte, NC) in June and Baltimore Comicon in October. Unfortunately, I will not be attending either of the Wizard shows and will not be present in San Diego this year.
I'll keep you up to date of any changes.
Thanks for the great job you're doing with this site.

20th Anniversary
HEROES CONVENTION CHARLOTTE
June 14-16, 2002
Charlotte Convention Center

Already Confirmed:
Arthur Adams
Terry Moore
Kevin Nowlan
George Pérez
Charles Vess
Neil Vokes
plus
you & all of the regulars

www.heroesonline.com