Back in 1997, George Perez attended a comic show close to my hometown. I couldn’t get to the show until almost close, but I really wanted to meet him – he was responsible for some of my favorite comics when I was growing up! When I got to his table, his sketch list was full, but he graciously signed my sketchbook and chatted with me as he finished up his sketches. The con ended, but he still had one more sketch to complete. The facilities people had to kick everyone out to clean, so he went outside to a nearby park bench to finish. I timidly followed him and asked if I could just watch him finish drawing. Not only was he ok with it, he invited me to sit on the bench and continue chatting. All of a sudden, I find myself hanging out and chatting 1-on-1 with one of the biggest, generational artists in the history of comics! He was doing a sketch of Scarlett Witch and I have a distinct memory of watching him draw all the curls in her hair. I kept thinking, “Please keep drawing more curls – I don’t want this to end” haha! It’s one of my favorite memories in all of my years of comic fandom because of just how unexpectedly kind he was to me, some random fan. But it clearly showed how much he cared for all his fans.

Thank you very much for everything, Mr. Perez.