Top 10 George Perez comic-book runs
Happy birthday, George Perez! The well-regarded artist is one of my absolute favorites, and to celebrate his birthday, I’m counting down my top 10 favorite comic-book runs by him. If you need a huge crowd of superheroes, there’s no one better. And while many of Perez’s most notable comics feature cosmic threats and scores of heroes, he’s also succeeded at telling character-driven stories, such as in my No. 1 pick:
1. New Teen Titans #1-4, 6-34, 37-40; Annual #1-2; Vol. 2 #1-5; New Titans #50-55, 60.
With Marv Wolfman, “New Teen Titans” was DC’s buzz book of the 1980s. Updating the original teen sidekick team to a compelling group of heroes coming of age, “New Teen Titans” was the DC book to read for many years; Perez’s fantastic art and eye for character made each of the heroes and villains seem unique. Hope we’ll soon see this team again on the long-awaited “Games” graphic novel featuring the Titans.
2. Crisis on Infinite Earths 1-12
Also with Wolfman, this 12-issue series rebooted the DC Comics Universe, putting “pre-Crisis” and “post-Crisis” into the fan lexicon. Perez drew crowds and crowds of heroes and villains in the most cosmic of epics that also succeeded on a personal, character-driven level. The death of Supergirl in “Crisis” #7 remains touching even today, and the cover is among comics’ most-homaged.
3. The Avengers (vol. 3) #1-15, 18-25, 27-34
Perez’s run with writer Kurt Busiek kicked off the third volume of “Avengers” and brought back fan favorite characters like Wonder Man and the Vision.
In the first series, Perez drew issues 141-144, 147-151, 154, 155, 160-162, 167, 168, 170, 171, 194-196, 198-202 and Annuals 6 and 8.
4. Wonder Woman 1-24, annual 1
Showing Perez’s facility as a writer, as well, Perez’s run on Wonder Woman is among the best-ever for the amazing Amazon.
5. JLA/Avengers 1-4
Years and years (and years) in the making, Busiek and Perez brought together DC and Marvel’s premiere super-teams for this fantastic crossover.
6. Hulk: Future Imperfect 1-2
Perez drew this post-apocalyptic Hulk tale, written by Peter David.
7. Justice League of America 184–186, 192–197, 200
Perez’s JLA run included some classics, like the conclusion of the JLA/JSA/New Gods storyline.
8. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds 1-5
Three versions of the Legion team up against the Time Trapper. Written by Geoff Johns.
9. The Brave and the Bold 1-10
This was a fun, retro-style series with Mark Waid teaming up various DC heroes. The series continues today, though without Waid or Perez.
10. Infinity Gauntlet 1-3; 4 with Ron Lim
While Perez only drew part of this 6-issue miniseries, the cosmic epic featuring the mad god Thanos is a comic I’ve re-read often. Written by Jim Starlin.
- Matt Price
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[...] Creators | Matt Price marks the birthday of George Perez by counting down his Top 10 comic-book runs, from The New Teen Titans to The Infinity Gauntlet. [Nerdage] [...]
After many years, it was great to see JLA/Avengers. Last year, we got to see his work on the Legion of Three Worlds, one of the few big team books that he had not done work on(besides covers). And later this year, Titans: Games. Great list and what an incredible body of work!
Happy Birthday George!
While Infinity Gauntlet contains my favorite George Perez artwork, I’d hardly call 3 issues of a 6 issue limited series a “run”. I would have rather seen Perez’ earlier Avengers, Fantastic Four or Marvel Two-In-One work take this spot.
That’s a fair argument, Ozymandias. Ultimately, I personally prefer the Infinity Gauntlet stuff, so it made my list. But you could argue that the Fantastic Four stuff is more significant. I kind of cheated by at least including the list of earlier Avengers stuff, too. But I think we can all agree that Perez has a phenomenal body of work!
- Matt
[...] soon, but in the meantime, I’ll just recommend folks check out my post from last year, Top 10 George Perez Comic-Book Runs, and hope we soon have another great run to add to [...]
[...] does quite a few posts examining comic history as well as the present, including this piece on his Top 10 Favorite George Perez Comic Book [...]
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