Two legends of superhero comics died within a week: Neal Adams on April 28, George Perez on May 6.
But even if there were only thirteen years of difference (Adams was born in 1941, Perez 1954) they were designers from different eras: Adams was still part of the so-called Silver Age, the silver era of comics, while Perez was the first teacher of Bronze Age, the contemporary bronze age.
He comes to the fore in the late seventies at Marvel, with his effective and already highly detailed drawings, in series such as Fantastic Four and Avengers. But it is by moving from Marvel to the rival DC Comics of Batman and Superman, through contrasts with the then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter (also one of the greatest executives in the history of the publishing house), that Perez truly becomes a master, reaching full maturity. artistic.
And, precisely because of his ability to literally draw dozens and dozens of characters, he was chosen by DC for the maxiseries “Crisis on infinite lands” which came out, based on texts by Marv Wolfman, between 1985 and 1986 and revolutionized the universe of publishing house eliminating the many parallel universes that were present there and even important characters: the cover of Perez with Superman holding the corpse of his cousin Supergirl in his arms is epochal.
Due to the upheavals of the saga, the origins of all the main characters are changed and Perez for five years (between 1987 and 1992) dedicates himself to Wonder Woman, also as the author of the lyrics. The character with him is reborn, becoming part, with Superman and Batman, in the so-called Trinity of the main characters of DC Comics.
The Amazon Diana, aka Wonder Woman, is now an ambassador of feminist instances in the world of men: her very birth is particular, since her mother Ippolita generates her without needing a man (after all, on the Paradise Island of There are no Amazons), and the bond with Greek mythology is very strong (Diana adores the gods, even if they don’t deserve it).
Back, albeit briefly, at Marvel in the early 1990s, Perez has time to draw, on the texts of Jim Starlin, the first part of the miniseries <> (<>) with the triumph (foiled only in the finale) of the powerful alien Thanos on all superheroes. It is the saga that inspires the two Marvel blockbusters <› (2018) and <› (2019).
And in 1995 he designed another epochal saga, this time starring the Hulk: “Future Imperfect”, written by Peter David, probably the best screenwriter of the character.
The Hulk now possesses the intelligence of his human alter ego Bruce Banner and clashes with the Master, the evil self of a possible future who has killed all other superheroes and reigns over a devastated post-atomic conflict world.
The crowning glory of his career is the crossover between Marvel’s Avengers and DC’s Justice League, written by Kurt Busiek, which came out between 2003 and 20004 in which, in an authentic test of skill, he manages to draw with splendid effectiveness almost all the superheroes of the two publishing houses.
This is how famous screenwriter Chris Claremont, author of dozens and dozens of Marvel X-Men stories, recalled him on Facebook: “He had a contagious laugh and a wonderful spirit. His talent hypnotized you: you could not take your eyes off a table of him, it was incredible how many detailed cartoons he could put in it. He was an example not only as a professional, but also as a person ››.
Since last December he had declared that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and had faced with courage, and always with a smile, what he knew were the last months of his life.
Like Superman and the other DC heroes who face the end of their reality in “Crisis on infinite lands”. Or like the Hulk who, in a Mad Max scenario, fights with the powerful Master.
After drawing thousands of pages, albeit without superpowers, he had become a true superhero.