The great comic artist George Perez said goodbye

04/12/2022

He's going to die. His followers are giving him love. On social media.

George Perez is one of the greatest, best, and most popular comic book artists of the last 50 years. He has worked for major comic book publishers in the US, shaped series, and reimagined and developed characters that are now part of pop culture canon: the Avengers with Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and many others, or the New Teen Titans with Robin (from Batman), Starfire, Wonder Woman, Batman himself, and many, many more. He has won many important industry awards, is loved by fans and critics alike, and, judging by posts in blogs, articles, and interviews, enjoys an excellent reputation among his colleagues as an artist, colleague, and human being.

George Perez announces his impending death on Facebook

On December 7, 2021, George Perez wrote on his Facebook account to his fans, friends, colleagues, and followers that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease is very advanced, and he has no chance of recovery. He has six months to a year left to live. He bids farewell to everyone and says that he will unfortunately no longer be able to attend fan conventions. He thanks them for their support and wishes them all the best in their lives. The response to this news is incredible.

The reactions of his friends, fans, and followers are incredible.

Immediately after publication, a large number of reactions with likes, hearts, hugs, and signs of grief and sympathy poured in. Many of his fans, including myself, his friends, companions, and colleagues write to him and his family in the comments. They express their sympathy, write how much they value and love him, how deeply his work touches them, and how much they would like to show, write, and say all this to him. They share all kinds of personal testimonials with him: pictures of shared memories, such as which meeting, which magazine, which panel, which drawing made them laugh, rejoice, or cry. Or how his work has inspired, guided, and led them overall. The messages are passed on to George via the family who maintains the account. And it is very clear that they also touch him deeply.

The reactions on Facebook give George Kraft

With the support of his family, who make it possible for him to attend one last convention, George meets fans and has his photo taken with them. The warmth, love, and affection they show him are clearly evident in all the pictures.

The fans' love for their hero

They all want to show him their affection one last time, how much he, his work, and his achievements mean to them, and how much they love him for it. And it seems to give him a lot of strength. This once powerful man, now thin and frail, beams in all the pictures and looks happy. It is heartbreaking to see these pictures, read the comments, and feel the sympathy expressed in everything, even though you can see how difficult it is for him physically, how much effort it takes, but also how it gives him new energy. Almost like one of his superheroes.

His former publishers honor him

DC and Marvel are jointly re-releasing a crossover comic book that George Perez once drew in his honor: the heroes from both publishers meet, fight, and then make up. Jim Lee, publisher and chief creative officer of DC Comics, posted pictures of a meeting with Perez and his close colleagues Marv Wolfmann, the author, and Mike Carlin, the editor, in January.

This is another way to use social media: differently

Social media are not just content sequences strategically planned and executed by marketers. They are content with actions and reactions that can lead to something new and unexpected. These are dialogue processes that you can initiate but cannot predict exactly, just like in “real” conversations. They enable spontaneous connections, close relationships over long distances, and even genuine emotional expressions between people who meet here or through other channels and stay in touch. And that is beautiful and comforting.