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After working in the comic book industry for more than 30 years, the name George Pérez has become synonymous with popular titles, such Deathstroke The Terminator, The New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman. In an exclusive interview with MStars News, the iconic comic creator talks about teaming up with BOOM! Studios to bring readers a new sci-fi original adventure, George Pérez's Sirens.
In the six-part miniseries, an intergalactic force has enslaved planets across the vastness of outer space.The legendary team, known only as the Sirens, must reunite once more. But how can the team save the galaxy, when they don't even remember who they are?
MStars participated in a roundtable interview, speaking with the Sirens creator himself. Known for his distinctive artistic style in mainstream comics, the talented illustrator spoke about the how the inspiration behind his sci-fi premise came about, the challenges of drawing male versus female characters, and his reflections on previous popular characters.
MStars: How did the concept come about?
George Pérez: It was on the fly. When I was coming over to BOOM!, they asked if I had any ideas; so I was making it up as I went along. I really wanted to do a series, which was female centric. I tried to do basically a "George Pérez series" that had everything '"George Pérez" was known for. That included teen books, locales that I could come up with, and female characters, which brought up fond memories of Wonder Woman and the Titans.
Of course, I was inspired a bit by Doctor Who and all the time-travel stuff. I utilized that as well. I wanted to put everything in it. By doing time-travel, I was able to put many genres into one book. Westerns, feudal Japan, and anything that could challenge me as an artist. I wanted "George Pérez The Artist" cursing "George Pérez The Writer" as many times as possible. [Laughs]
How The Title Came About:
GP: It was originally going to be called She-Devils. I had done a fan zine when I started in the industry back in 1973. I wanted to do it as a nice callback. We changed it to Sirens because of my concerns with trademark issues with other characters, such as Red Sonja, She-Devil With A Sword. Rather than dealing with that, my wife actually came up with the title, Sirens. When she said it, I said, "That sounds good!"
Dealing With A Large Cast Of Characters:
GP: I always have to progress the story. That's particularly a challenge when you have a large cast. I've juggled with large casts before. One of the things I enjoy doing that type of book is the interaction with the characters. I work alone in the studio. It keeps my social skills going when I have actually have to keep characters talking to each other.
What readers should expect from the six-part issue:
GP: The reason I only focused on four Sirens in the first issue is because I only had 22 pages. [Laughs] I will be delving into the back-stories of the others along the way. Issue #2 has two more of the Sirens spotlighted. I show what they were like in the past. And then in the third issue, the final two are also spotlighted. If I spent the entire issue just dealing with the back-stories, we'd have no story progression. [Laughs]
MStars then chimed in with a second question during the next round of the roundtable segment.
MStars: With the story centered on female leads, tell me about the challenges of drawing characters based on gender.
GP: In this case, all the women are actually based on real women. I'm using real models and some of them are not professional models. Some are just everyday women. I take great pride in having two women described as beautiful, statuesque, and super heroic. But also, there are women who are older, heavier, thinner, younger, and of ethnic origins. I wanted to have a nice variety. I wanted to show beauty, intelligence, and strength as well as good and evil. I had no boundaries as far as appearances are concerned. I take pride in having a diverse cast of women. When I did Wonder Women, I tried to do the same thing. I think having a varied cast makes a more interesting storyteller.
His Collaboration With BOOM! Studios:
GP: The industry has changed so much. While I've had a great time with Marvel and DC Comics, things started to change. A lot of the story content was being dictated by other people beyond the creative group. I felt that a lot of the characters I grew up with were becoming strangers to me. I didn't feel like I was creating comics, I was manufacturing them.
I needed some kind of creative stimulus. Thankfully a friend of mine approached me and told me about BOOM!. They were trying to get someone of known repute to work on something with them. I was tempted, but I heard that story before. After out first meeting, after seeing how much creative freedom they wanted me to have, I was sold!
The Longevity Of Slade Wilson, Who Appeared In The CW's Arrow:
GP: My goal is to produce a good story. I never would have imagined 30 something years that Deathstroke would be a popular character. I never expected his mask to be iconic. That wasn't how it started. Marv [Wolfman] came up with the idea about the character, I designed it, and we tried to tell a good story. I'm hoping Sirens will be fan-favorites. My responsibility is to produce the best comic I can with interesting characters. And if the fans like it, they will determine if the characters will become fan-favorites.
MStars: What other projects are you working on now?
GP: I'm very lucky in my career. I turned down more work than I can accept. I'm thankful I'm the pretty girl at the dance! [Laughs] But I want to dedicate my time to Sirens right now. At my age, I can only do so much. Right now, I'm able to draw comics for the sheer love of drawing it. I earn substantial income from royalties, which is why I will never badmouth my time at Marvel and DC. I'm earning a very good living from my past work. I can put focus on Sirens, which is the only thing I want to do and need to do.
George Pérez's Sirens hits stores on September 17. Readers, are you excited to read this new sci-fi comic?
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