Unca Cheeks the Toy Wonder's Silver Age Comics Web Site!

For the first (and only) time in his life: Unca Cheeks is well and truly at a loss as how to introduce a given visitor to his web site.

What I mean to say, here, is...

... holy gosh! George frickin' PEREZ -- !

Anyone unaware of the particulars, re: this gentleman's four-color pedigree, probably hasn't picked up a comic book since -- oh, say -- 1970, or thereabouts.

THE AVENGERS (multiple tenures).THE FANTASTIC FOUR. THE NEW TEEN TITANS.SUPERMAN.WONDER WOMAN (as both writer and artist). THE UNCANNY X-MEN. Just to rattle off the first quick half-dozen to spring readily to mind.

Oh, yeah...

... and some half-forgotten little number by the name of THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, as well.

Unca Cheeks feels rather like the character of Gilbert and Sullivan's Poo-Bah, gesturing in mute, blinking awe somewhere in the general direction of an approaching Mikado.

Ladies and gentlemen...

... Elvis is in the building.

CHEEKS: You were the first penciler to work on THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA after a landmark 120+ issue tenure by the late, lamented Dick Dillin; an artist whose name had become virtually synonymous with that title.

Was there any feeling of intimidation on your part, taking on such a high-prestige assignment... or was it more a question of telling yourself: "... okay, George... think AVENGERS, man... think AVENGERS"...?

GEORGE PEREZ: I must admit that I wasn't all that intimidated by the notion of filling in for Mr. Dillin when he was still living. After all, the JLA, like AVENGERS, was a dream project for me. It was after Dick Dillin died that I felt most intimidated. Dick was a man of incredible dedication. His tenure on JLA was incredibly long and I knew in my heart that I could never come close to staying on that long. As merely a fill-in artist, the pressure would be less and I'd have enough time to get the characters as right as I could (most of the JLA characters had never been professionally drawn by me up to this point). Dick's untimely death meant that I not only inherited the title, but also the deadlines and inker (who, despite my respect for Frank McLaughlin, was just not right for my pencils). In hindsight, I wish I'd prepared myself better.

CHEEKS: One of the things I've noticed, upon re-examining your JLA work in preparation for this interview, is that your JLAers all seem to have (to me, at least) clever identifying or "signature" postures or attitudes. The Flash (even during "quiet" scenes) is constantly moving, or fidgeting; the Batman is habitually in shadow; Green Lantern always has a slightly "cosmic" look to him; and so on.

Was this a calculated effect, on your part; or am I simply reading too much into this...?

GEORGE: A bit of both I guess. I tried to keep in mind which artist(s) I most associated with certain characters and tried to incorporate certain of those artistic signatures in my interpretations. I patterned my Superman after Curt Swan's barrel chested, thick waisted strongman; Batman was inspired by Neal Adams; The Flash by Carmine Infantino; Green Lantern by Gil Kane, etc. After a while I started to rely on this formula less and less and let my style filter through more. I just needed it to get the casting of the characters clearer in my head. Batman being the loner was definitely deliberate. Flash's fidgeting was probably unintentional though.

CHEEKS: You later went on to wearing the hat of author (as well as penciler) on the post-CRISIS revamping of WONDER WOMAN. While working on JLA with scribe Gerry Conway, was the nature of your collaboration such that you added "plot points" or story elements; or was it (generally) a full script, "he writes; I pencil" sort of arrangement, at that point in your career...?

GEORGE: When I first took over JLA, Gerry Conway had already stockpiled a bunch of full scripts for Dick Dillin so I worked from them. Because of that I didn't get a chance to add my own touches to the story, so I concentrated on body language and facial expressions to suggest how the characters were actually uttering their lines. Like directing actors.

CHEEKS: This is a question I've always wanted to ask of a bona fide "super-team" artist.

While working on JUSTICE LEAGUE (In this instance): was there any character (or characters) you simply detested so blamed intensely, that you occasionally found yourself muttering -- while penciling them into a panel -- "... JEEEzus... what a freakin' lame-o. This dweeb has no more business hanging out with the likes of Superman or the Batman than I do"...?

GEORGE: Hmm. In the JLA, I guess I never cared for Red Tornado, only because he was too much like Marvel's Vision, but I never actively despised him. Also, while I'd always liked Aquaman, I found it difficult to incorporate him into the JLA's stories. Having so many adventures where there's an underwater menace seemed too contrived at times.

Oh, wait! I'd almost forgot about one character I truly detested. He appeared after I'd left the series, but even drawing him as part of my JLA postcard set mad me cringe. His name was Vibe!

CHEEKS: Let's try a question or three for George Perez, The Writer.

It's 1960, and you've just been handed the assignment to come up with a "try-out" issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD for a (potential) ongoing series -- working title: "The Justice League of America." (... and with you being so young, too...!)

You're given (comparative) free reign, insofar as team line-up goes: ANY seven DC characters of the day...

... but: only seven.

Query: do you pick the same original "five plus two" heroes (Aquaman; Flash; Green Lantern; J'onn J'onzz; Wonder Woman; plus -- occasionally -- Superman and Batman)? Or do you opt for one (or more) of the other character(s) within the DC Comics stable of said era (e.g.: Adam Strange; Captain Comet; Congorilla; Green Arrow; Robin; Supergirl; etc.), in place of one (or more), instead? And -- if so -- why?

GEORGE: If limited to seven, I don't think I'd have done it much differently, with the possible exception of replacing Aquaman (for the reasons I stated above) for someone like Zatanna (because a mystic can come in handy; not to mention, that an extra woman would give WW a sister-in-arms) or Hawkman (because he's a great visual.) While I adore Adam Strange, he always worked better in outer space. I would have also made sure that the Martian Manhunter's powers were as they were originally intended, so that he didn't come off as a weaker version of Superman.

CHEEKS: There is a minor (but vociferous) segment of comics fandom which holds to the position that teams such as the JLA work best with line-ups comprised chiefly (or entirely) of characters not "tied" or "beholden" to their own regular, ongoing series' ; that "characterization" for said protagonists can never be meaningfully advanced, in the same way that (ostensibly) it can be for characters appearing within the pages of the team's title, solely.

There is a larger faction within the comics readership, however -- particularly as regards the JLA (as well as Marvel's THE AVENGERS) -- which feels that said teams best live up to their baseline premises when comprised chiefly (or entirely) of the "Big Gun" characters of their respective companies; and that it is this (more than anything else) which differentiates JLA (or AVENGERS) from the likes of -- say, THE X-MEN, or THE TEEN TITANS.

Which of these views (if either) do you lean towards; and why?

GEORGE: I agree with the Big Guns theory. In fact, when I signed on to THE AVENGERS, it was with the proviso that Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Vision and Scarlet Witch, had to be part of the starting line-up. While I understand continuity concerns, the main premise of both JLA and AVENGERS is that they are the teaming of Earth's Mightiest and Greatest.

The Justice League of America: THE SILVER AGE (Page Three)
The Justice League of America: THE SILVER AGE (Page Four)

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