NOCC: George Perez & Jesus Merino Q&A
Company: Wizard World Product: New Orleans Comic Con 2012 Coverage
If the artists at New Orleans Comic Con were rock stars, the chance to talk to George Perez and Jesus Merino was the equivalent of talking to any two Beatles. The duo is currently working on the relaunched Superman comic, but over his 38-year career, Perez has been involved with some of the industry's biggest events, including the launch of the New Teen Titans (1980), Crisis on Infinite Earths (1984), and War of the Gods/ Infinity Gauntlet (1991). Before beginning his career in the US, Merino had a successful career in Spain, drawing for three popular Spanish comic books, before working on titles like Avengers Forever, Justice Society of America and Superman/ Batman. The two were first asked about their experiences with conventions like New Orleans Comic Con. Both said they loved coming to conventions. Merino loves the chance to talk comics with other people. He works from home, and neither his wife nor children read comics, so he sometimes feels cut off from talking about something he loves. Perez is always amazed at fan enthusiasm. Before coming to the panel, Perez said he had a massive line for his table, with some people waiting as long as an hour just to get him to sign something, get a quick sketch or say, "Hi." He can't believe people are willing to wait in line, even for the hour he was sitting in the panel. He said he's incredibly lucky to have such loyal fans.
The topic then switched to their work on Superman and the "New 52." Both said they wouldn't have made Superman's new costume so complex. Both said constantly drawing the lines were hard when they first began. Neither had input on the designs, so figuring out what the lines were and what the costume was made of was confusing. Perez knew it was some sort of armor, but was unsure of how certain body movements, such as his wrists, were possible in the armor. He also said working out the "bright spots" for the costume and constantly drawing all the seams was a challenge. Merino didn't know it was armor until a few issues in; before then he figured it was just fabric. He had many of the same issues as Perez, but was really thrown for a loop when it came to the boots and kneepads. He wasn't sure how they should look from certain angles, nor did he know how they worked as a functioning costume. Perez followed up by mentioning a group of cosplayers at a convention who couldn't figure out the seams and armor breaks when making their costumes. As far as the creative process goes, the two said they work well together. Perez draws while Merino goes back in to make changes or clean up layout issues. Merino says he rarely has to change Perez's stuff and trusts his work. Perez said working with writers has proven interesting since he works a little differently than most artists. He is constantly looking for ways to make the storytelling interesting, which means he usually has to go off-script or add things. He said certain writers, like Geoff Johns, have tried to "write" for Perez's style, but Perez can't work that way. He needs to read the script and figure things out for himself. He compared his process to the screenwriter/ director relationship. The screenwriter will write something, but the director will make changes as the story dictates.
Perez said he has had to make certain demands in writers. For example, every writer he works with will inevitably write in a moment where every character in the book flies out towards the reader. Although this is a flourish Perez has built a reputation on, he doesn't like doing it in every book just to do it. When asked about the influences of big corporations, like Warner and Disney, on the industry, Merino said the editors are going to many more meetings these days. Both said it was something that affects their jobs in every way, especially when it comes to working with licensing issues, but is a part of their job they need to adapt to. It's just the way the industry is - it's tough, but enjoyable. Merino also mentioned the industry is really interesting now since, in the past, the comic books influenced everything else, but now everything else is influencing what happens in the books. As for the future, Merino will stay on Superman through issue #7 alongside writer Keith Giffen and artist Dan Jurgens. Perez is exiting the book to join the newly announced World's Finest book starring Huntress and Power Girl.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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