Comics artist George Perez’s 68th birthday will be on June 8, and DC plans to pay tribute to him with a special two-page spread that will appear in all their June comics. Dan Jurgens designed the layout for the artwork, which features the characters that Perez drew throughout his career, with the artist himself in the foreground.
Perez revealed last December that he has inoperable cancer (see “George Perez Announces He Has Pancreatic Cancer”).
DC’s newest crossover event, Dark Crisis, will also pay tribute to Perez. Every issue of Dark Crisis will have a cover that alludes to a previous DC crisis event, and the first issue will be a nod to Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Perez and Marv Wolfman.
The tribute spread will also be a variant cover for Dark Crisis #7, and The Hero Initiative will have a special version available for sale as a fund-raiser. The Hero Initiative is a nonprofit that supports comics creators in need; Perez was a founding member of the nonprofit’s Board of Directors, and they recently published a special edition of the JLA/Avengers crossover, which Perez drew, to honor him (see “Hero Initiative to Publish Limited Edition of ‘JLA/Avengers’”).
The characters and artists on the tribute spread are as follows:
- The Monitor & Anti-Monitor – Jim Lee & Scott Williams
- Trigon – Todd McFarlane
- The Spectre – Alex Ross
- Darkseid – Walter Simonson
- Firestorm & The Justice League Satellite – Scott Kolins
- Ares & Hippolyta – Phil Jimenez
- Cheetah & The Amazons – Colleen Doran
- Lady H.I.V.E. & H.I.V.E. Agents – Scott Koblish
- Vigilante – Dave Gibbons
- Cheshire – Joëlle Jones
- Brother Blood – Darryl Banks
- Blackfire – Mike McKone
- Gizmo & Mammoth – Klaus Janson
- Shimmer – Bruno Redondo
- Psimon – Mikel Janín
- Neutron & Jinx – Dan Mora
- The Legion of Super-Heroes – Francis Manapul
- The Justice Society of America – Jerry Ordway
- Power Girl & Huntress – Kevin Maguire
- The Justice League of America (and the background) – Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
- Superboy-Prime & Alexander Luthor – Ivan Reis
- Supergirl – Gary Frank
- Harbinger – Adam Hughes
- Pariah – Daniel Sampere
- Jericho & Kole – Nicola Scott
- The New Teen Titans, Deathstroke & George Pérez – José Luis García-López
Each issue that carries the spread will also include a key to the characters and artists.
“When I was asked to come up with a design and layout that would honor George Pérez and his many incredible contributions to DC Comics over the years, I was truly honored,” Jurgens said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “I have admired George’s work since I first saw it and have had the good fortune to work with him in different capacities, on a number of projects. More importantly, I’ve been able to see the way George treats fans and readers, always smiling, gregarious and approachable. It was a joy to watch this cover come together and I’m sure everyone who contributed feels the same way.”
Click Gallery for full spread and key!
Source: ICV2
