After nearly 50 years, it's tough for me to remember these events exactly, but I first recall meeting George Perez at Jim Glenn's home in Brooklyn in 1975 (maybe '76). Jim and I had just published the second issue of our fanzine, Factors Unknown, and up until then, it had consisted only of stuff Jim and I had done, including our creations the Hazardman and the Symbiote. I don't remember where Jim encountered George (and his friend Tom Sciacca) but they were there to show us some pages to publish in the the next issue.
George's work was already at a near-professional level (and far better than anything Jim or I had done) and we readily accepted it. George even did a piece for the back cover, centrally featuring my Hazardman character (and he's never looked better). Shortly after that, Sal Quartuccio joined us in co-published Hot Shots #1, featuring a book-length story written and drawn by George, starring the She-Devils, a team of female agents. I had the honor of doing all the tone work on the art (right on the actual boards as it were).
That got George noticed by pro artist Rich Buckler, who hired him as an assistant--and that got George noticed by the editors at Marvel. His career took off rapidly, with assignments to marquee titles like Fantastic Four and Avengers. He never looked back after that.
I am very proud to have had a small part in introducing this talent to the world...and I am extremely sad now at his passing.
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