Posted By Dan Greenfield on Feb 3, 2019 | 1 comment

Perez assembles an impressive resume…

—

Comics great George Perez announced his retirement in January (click here) and we’re celebrating his illustrious career across 13 days with the TOP 13 GEORGE PEREZ COUNTDOWN — ranking his best work going back to his professional beginnings in the 1970s. I’m personally most familiar with Perez’s DC output, so I’ve enlisted 13th Dimension contributor Anthony Durso to make the daily picks. (He also made that fancy banner.) Get your arguments ready, folks! — Dan 

—

Pick #5 was the Who’s Who covers. Next up on the countdown:

4. THE AVENGERS

Inked by Pablo Marcos

At the same time he started on Fantastic Four in 1975, Perez also began work on Marvel’s other big super-team title, The Avengers. Starting with Issue #141 (that one with the famous Gil Kane/John Romita cover featuring the Squadron Supreme found on Mead notebooks and binders), Perez was on and off the title until #202, plus 2 annuals. But it was Avengers #161 that I first discovered the artist. His cover featuring Ant-Man enlarging to punch out his teammates is one of my favorites from the Bronze Age. With that issue, Perez quickly became one of those artists I knew by style and name. His layouts and attention to detail made him stand out among his peers as far as I was concerned. Along with his contemporary, John Byrne, I deemed him a “Master of Rubble,” due to the number of rocks and stones he’d draw in any superhero skirmish. After 18 years, Perez returned to The Avengers, alongside writer Kurt Busiek in 1998, bringing the team back to their roots after the Heroes Reborn debacle. Perez’s art was always dynamic but it was nice to see how much he’d grown and refined his craft since his initial run on the book many years before. Perez stayed on the title until Issue #34. — Anthony Durso

2018 promo for Avengers: No Surrender, reprinting a ’90s poster. By Perez and Tom Smith.

—

NEXT: The #3 Pick…

Anthony Durso is the owner of Retropolis Tees and the custom toy-package website The Toyroom.

—

MORE

— The Complete TOP 13 GEORGE PEREZ COUNTDOWN.

— Comics Pros Pick Their Favorite GEORGE PEREZ Covers.