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CU Boulder alumnus Patrick Hamilton discusses his new book on influential comic book artist George P茅rez during Hispanic Heritage Month

When alumnus听 was growing up, he, like many kids, found comfort in comic books. 鈥淚鈥檓 an almost lifelong comics fan, and specifically a fan of 鈥楢vengers鈥�,鈥� Hamilton says.

As Hamilton continued enjoying comics and learning more about the people behind them, he eventually came across the name George P茅rez. It鈥檚 a name you may not immediately recognize, and that鈥檚 a key point Hamilton makes in his new book, , which hit shelves earlier this year. 听

鈥淭he main argument of the book [is] that P茅rez had a larger impact on comics than he鈥檚 generally been given credit for,鈥� says Hamilton, an English professor at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania who earned his PhD in English at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2006.

But in the comic book world, the name George P茅rez and his work turn heads鈥攏ot just for his impact on the art, style and story structure of comics, but because he was one of the first Hispanic artists to become a major name in the industry and helped pave the way for greater diversity in the field.

P茅rez, who worked both as an artist and writer starting in the 1970s, played a significant role in blockbuster series such as 听补苍诲听听蹿辞谤听. In the 1980s, he created ,听which became a top-selling series for publisher . And he developed DC Comic's landmark limited series听,听followed by relaunching听.

Hamilton says P茅rez is also 鈥減retty synonymous鈥� with large event titles, most prominently DC Comic鈥檚 revamp in 2011 and Marvel鈥檚 .

鈥淎nd he developed a reputation for a dynamic and hyper-detailed style, particularly in terms of the number of characters and details he鈥檇 put into a page, that was highly regarded and ultimately influential in the 鈥� 1970s and 1980s and beyond.鈥�

Hamilton says he sees his book as attempting to expand P茅rez鈥檚 legacy.

鈥淒espite his acclaim and prominence, he hasn鈥檛 really been seen as an artist that contributed to the style and genre of comics in ways artists before him 鈥� are seen,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 argue in the book that P茅rez made contributions to the style of comics, not only in the layout of the page and what effects that could achieve, but especially in his way of building what we would call the story world around the characters, where he embraced the possibilities for the fantastic within comics.鈥�

Paving the way

The book also speaks to P茅rez鈥檚 interest in representations of race, disability and gender, the latter of which Hamilton says P茅rez consciously strove to improve in his art over his career.

Hamilton adds that he believes a lot of other Black, Indigenous and artists of color working today likely see P茅rez as 鈥渁n influence and as carving out a space鈥� for them within the industry.

鈥淚 think you can look at the significant number of Hispanic and Latinx creators working in comics today鈥攎any of them as artists鈥攁nd see them as following, in some cases quite consciously, in P茅rez鈥檚 footsteps.鈥�

He adds that P茅rez did much to help define the look and feel of modern superhero comics in the 1970s and 1980s, as did another Latino artist, Jos茅 Luis Garc铆a-L贸pez.

鈥淕arcia-Lopez, who, among other things, created the official reference artwork for DC Comics that is still much in use today. So, you have two Latino creators working in the late 20th century, when the comic book industry was even more predominantly white than it is today, and shaping the look of it.鈥澨�

Hamilton says one of the more interesting findings about P茅rez that meshes with how P茅rez has been overlooked is a kind of 鈥渋nvisibility or transparency鈥� in his art.

鈥淚t [his art] is never meant to overshadow and 鈥� is always in service to the story or narrative. What surprised me is how much this was a conscious choice on P茅rez鈥檚 part, that he never wanted his art to draw attention to itself in a way that was detrimental to the overall storytelling. It鈥檚 kind of ironic, and 鈥� surprising, because P茅rez does have one of the most recognizable styles in comics, but his goal as an artist was always to do what鈥檚 best for the realization of the story first.鈥�

at age 67. You can see examples of his and his .

Top image: A group scene of DC Comics characters drawn by听George P茅rez (Photo: )

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