 As we promised, we're going to be doing a series of Cosplayer Spotlights and were going to give a fun interview to those Cosplayers whom we are fans of. This week we're spotlighting the lovely Ami Sonia!
Truthful Comics- So Sonia, let's start by asking you how long have you been Cosplaying?.
Ami Sonia- Actually I just started cosplaying this year... I've never done it before so I'm still a big newbie! Lol
TC- Cosplay or Crossplay? Or both?
Ami Sonia- Cosplay. Crossplay takes an immense amount of talent and ingenuity and I dont think I would do many male characters much justice.
Truthful Comics- Why do you Cosplay?
Ami Sonia- I cosplay for three reasons: its fun and it provides a great way to meet awesome new people who have the same interests and likes as I do, the feeling of seeing how much of a positive impact you make with kids and seeing them light up is just overwhelming, but mostly because everytime I look at my six year old son's face as he watches other kids run to me and are excited about the character I'm playing, all I see is pride. It's awesome knowing that your kid is proud of you... sappy I know. lol
 Truthful Comics- Is Cosplay a hobby you consider yourself doing for a long time?
Ami Sonia- Honestly, the more involved I get with cosplaying, the more excitement and ideas consume me. Yeah, I know its something I'm going to be enjoying for a long time to come.
Truthful Comics- Homemade Cosplay or bought/comissioned cosplay?
Ami Sonia- So far, bought cosplay. Eventually I would like to commission my own ideas to life but I lack skill at constructing anything so I doubt I will ever make one handmade... but then again, one should never say never!
Truthful Comics- Do you have a current Cosplay fav?
Ami Sonia- My most expensive, favorite and attention getting cosplay has to be Wonder Woman... its the only one I've done! lol
Truthful Comics- What is a cosplay pet peeve of yours?
Ami Sonia- I'm too new at this to have a pet peeve... I'm just still star struck and excited about the whole lot of it.
 Truthful Comics- What Cosplay has gotten more attention from your fans?
Ami Sonia- I was asked to go to a toy and comic con in Orlando, FL earlier in the year and couldn't believe how many people were excited and eager to get a photo with me (Wonder Woman).
Truthful Comics- Photoshopped or un-photoshopped images?
Ami Sonia- So far un-Photoshopped... I'm praying to have the ability to work with people who are talented and creative with the whole Photoshop thing!
Truthful Comics- How do you pay for your cosplays?
Ami Sonia- Out of pocket. Im a single mom and often life has a way of sucking you back to reality, but little by little I save what I need to fund the costumes.
Truthful Comics- When do you do Cosplays? At conventions only?
Ami Sonia- So far only a mini con and at my favorite comic book store ( colissium of comics sanford, fl) for free comic book day.
Truthful Comics- What got you into Cosplaying?
Ami Sonia- My son Justice. He showed an interest in comic book heroes and it kind of developed from there.
TC- Well, thank you for your time and continued success in all your endeavors. We definitely look forward to your next Cosplays and who knows, maybe you'll be Cosplaying as one of Truthful Comics' characters in the near future!
Best;
-M
 Why does Image matter?
By: Brian Harris
When I ask why does image matter? There are many ways to take it. But I am probably thinking of none of the ways you're thinking about. Being a high school English teacher I am always dealing with image, either the image I am portraying to my students, the image the students are portraying to one another, the image my class has when they are out and even as far and more importantly the image the author is portraying to us through their words with the literature we are reading.
 But again, none of these are the image I am speaking of...and I am more than an English Teacher. I am also an avid reader of comics and at one time owned my own Comic Store. The Image I am writing about is the publisher that may register only with the true comic fan. Although, if I bring up The Walking Dead many in the general population have heard about it, seen the show or anything associated with the show. They do not know who the publisher is. When talking to the non comic fan they know of Marvel and DC and the bigger than life heroes, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, The Avengers and X-Men that are associated with those labels. But the general population do not know which character belongs to which publisher.
 It's important to know what Image is to understand why they are important. So what is Image? According to their website, "Image is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by seven of Marvel Comics' best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become the third largest comics publisher in the United States." While owning my comic store I had a chance to meet and befriend one of the aforementioned artists that left Marvel to make Image. These artists were making characters and money for Marvel and felt like they had no control. Characters they fully created were being controlled by Marvel. I was told of the story of Jim Lee creating Gambit and then losing all rights to him because Lee created Gambit under the Marvel umbrella and through the title of Uncanny X-Men.
 These artists left Marvel because they wanted control of what they created. They wanted Creator Owned comics. What does "creator-owned" mean? "Creator-owned" means exactly that—the trademark and copyright of the work in question is wholly owned by its original creator. The majority of the comics and graphic novels published by Image are creator-owned. While Image as a company does have some say in the promotion and distribution of the titles it publishes, it is done with non-creative interference to protect the company and maintain responsibility for their public image.
Image allows the creator to create and control. They allow creators a way to get out there to the public and in the general comic store. without Image, many of comics current best story lines would not see the light if day. We would not have The Walking Dead and the cultural phenomenal that has bred with it. It is important that creators have options out there that allow them to keep the rights to all they create and be paid for it. I know in my own writing I'd want my characters to do what I want through what I create and not be taken away from me which could be done with the other publishers.
 Don't get me wrong...I read more then Image. I read good, well written comics. Doesn't matter the publisher. I also know it's still the dream of any writer or artist to work on tales of their favorite superhero. I would love to have a crack at writing stories for Detective Comics and Batman, but I also want a place to go with my own creations are allowed to be and create through my own mind; DC and Marvel are not that option...and this is why Image Comics is important.
 Also, don't forget about donating to the Helping Callie Initiative. Let's help a great cosplayer and a wonderful young woman in a time of need! If you'd like to help Callie, please visit: http://www.gofundme.com/savingcallie?pc=flwdgt Donate to this noble cause , Callie needs our help NOW!!!Truthfully;-M
 Hello, it's been a while! This is Alvaro “Lance Danger” Cortes Jr, here with some more comic book memories. X-Men, what can be said about them? On of the biggest franchises in comic book history. And one of my favorites. At least through a certain period of time,anyway.
Once I started buying more comics other than Archie as I grew, I was a big DC Comics zombie, mostly in the Batfamily group of books. Then I started branching out to other titles. This is where I ran into X-Men. At the time,I wasn't all that familiar with them. I would always see the covers on the stores and occasionally play their video games, but never rally got into their books. Until seventh grade where my best friends Alfred and Heimdall started showing me their copies and around the time Marvel released some trading cards based on X-Men all drawn by Jim Lee.
 I became a fan of Lee's art fast, and then got curious when I saw an issue drawn by Whilce Portacio. After that, I decided to buy my very first issue of Uncanny X-Men, part 1 of the storyline X-Cutioner's Song. By this time most of the popular artists on X-Men defected to form Image in Malibu Comics.I got this issue, and immediately became very......confused. This was before the Death of Superman and Batman: Knightfall, so, the concept of a storyline sprawling over into other titles besides the main title was an entirely new concept for me. During this crossover I discovered two artists that would become very influential for me, Jae Lee and Greg Capullo (more on him some other time...).
I got a little frustrated so I decided to quit reading them for a while. Then I was introduced into another artist that would become influential, John Romita Jr, who did the artwork on Uncanny X-Men 300. Afterward I would buy it every now and then, until my definitive Uncanny X-Men creative came on board: Scott Lobdell, Joe Madureira, Tim Townsed, and the coloring studio Liquid! Colors.
 This is the time I feel Uncanny X-Mn was just...fun! And in a way it found a new identity in it's overall look, just like years ago when Jim Lee and Mark Silvestri was on the books, you had Joe Mad on Uncanny, the Kubert bros on X-men and Wolverine, with Carlos Pacheco eventually taking over X-Men. Jeff Matsuda, fresh off his run on Extreme Studios with Rob Liefeld began doing the art for X-Factor, and eventuallyu became a character designer/storyboard artist for animated series such as The Batman and Jackie Chan Adventures. The grim and gritty style had changed to a more dynamic, high energy manga/animestyle, brought forth by Joe Madureira who became quite possibly the most influential artist of the late 90s/early 2000s.
Uncanny X-Men #325 was my first Joe Madureira issue. And it was great! I thought the anime/manga style fit X-Men perfectly, and the energy was flowing and crisp in every page. It was just exciting to see and to read.
 On of the biggest storylines that occurred was the Age Of Apocalypse where the X-Men where hurled into an alternate universe for a few months. It was one of the most popular of their crossovers though I never really got into it, and the fact that many of the stores I usd to buy comics in were slowly starting to stop carrying them didn't help.
 So of course, the big storyline after that was when Onslaught came aboard and was revealed to b Professor X. What I remember most about that story, is how Onslaught basically became a kind of Dragonball Z type of villain! Leveling up into different stages and all. It of course all led into the Avengers and Fantastic 4 also trying to stop Onslaught, which led into the Heroes Reborn story where the Avengers and Fantastic 4 fell into an alternate dimension with the X-Men being seen as an even bigger threat than before.
Then what later came was the story where one of Gambit's big secrets was finally revealed on what would be Joe Madureira's final run on Uncanny X-Men. After Madureira left, Scott Lobdell left as well. As we know Madureira would go on to revolutionize comics once more with fantastic yet so frustrating Battle Chasers. And as they left, so did I. I grew increasingly tired of all the constant crossovers and having to buy series I didn't really like to finish a story. It was an odd time for the X-Men franchise at the time until Grant Morrison came onboard. I have not read any of his run, though I might pick up a trade sometime. It's just to me, X-Men stopped being fun, and when Lobdell/Madurerira left, I felt it was the right time to close that chapter for myself as well.
Ever since I have not bought current X-Men comics, though I have bought back issues of the older material. And what I've heard from the current stories it just doesn't look like a fun read anymore. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong. About the cartoon series I will say I enjoyed tremendously, as well as X-Men 2 and 3 of the live action movies. I actually thought the first was the weakest of the 3 (yeah, I just went there!), and I have yet to see X-Men: First Class.
All in all, for me X-men was a weird and trippy ride, showing all that's great and all that's bad in mainstream comics. But one thing is for sure, it sure was an entertaining trip, none the less, and at the end of the day, that's what really matters. Thank you for reading and have a good one.
Alvaro “Lance Danger” Cortes Jr
 As we promised, we're going to be doing a series of Cosplayer Spotlights and were going to give a fun interview to those Cosplayers whom we are fans of. This week we're spotlighting one of the cutest Cosplayers in the world, the lovely Bianca Bella Cosplay!
Truthful Comics- So Bianca, let's start by asking you how long have you been Cosplaying?
Bianca Bella Cosplay- Come October, only a year. But I am a long time cosplaying fan!
TC- Cosplay or Crossplay? Or both?
BB- Both! Our imaginations have no limitations. Why should cosplay?
TC- Why do you Cosplay?
BB- As a kid, I spent a lot of time dreaming of being in faraway places and dressing up to make it seem that much more real to me. You want to bring life to the characters and ideas in your head. I feel that same kind of innocence in cosplaying. I put on a cosplay and I feel like I am travelling miles without really going anywhere. And when someone else has that same reaction towards my cosplays--I mean that they see it and really believe that I might be that character--that is really special to me. A bonus part of cosplaying is that everyone is so friendly, be it in person, online and what have you. It's the attitude I hope for in the real world. I feel all cosplayers are in it for the same reasons--to bring life to our big-kid imaginations.
 TC- Is Cosplay a hobby you consider yourself doing for a long time?
BB- For sure. It's like nothing else in the world.
TC- Homemade Cosplay or bought/comissioned cosplay?
BB- It's definitely an impressive thing to make every each and individual part of a "difficult" cosplay from scratch, but hey, the way I see it, bought/commissioned are home made in their own way. But there is definitely more heart and pride in home made cosplays--even if you made most of it by yourself.
TC- Do you have a current Cosplay fav?
BB- I'm a long time fan of Pikmin Link. I also love Akuriko, Harley's Joker and, if it counts, The Zelda Project.
TC- What is your most expensive cosplay?
BB- When I think about it, I'd say the Great Fairy.
 TC- What is your favorite Cosplay?
BB- Easily the Great Fairy. She's such a wild, outlandish character. There is so much I can do with her.
TC- What Cosplay has gotten more attention from your fans?
BB- I'm not sure if I have a fan base, but judging by people's reactions both in person and online, my Great Fairy cosplay has definitely taken the cake. One of my goals is to cosplay as "minor" characters I love that not many other people have done themselves. I always get excited when I find a cosplay I've never seen before. I can tell a lot of Zelda fans that I met at Melbourne Supanova got that feeling with my Great Fairy cosplay, which was so cool to me.
 TC- What is a cosplay pet peeve of yours?
BB- A few things bug me, but nothing I could call a pet peeve. I guess authenticity is my main thing. But it can be a hard thing to achieve and there is no room in the cosplay world for harsh judgement! Besides, "play" is a big part of cosplaying. It's meant to be fun. Some of us just take it up a notch to get a picture perfect cosplay.
TC- What was your first convention? What was the reaction?
BB- I've been to a lot of conventions in my streets before, but my first time cosplaying was last year. It was very casual, but I wasn't expecting many people to recognize my Fado cosplay. Fado is one of the more distinctive Kokiri in Ocarina Of Time, but I knew only very hardcore Zelda fans would pick up on it. Sadly, only one person knew I was one of the Kokiri. Others just referred to me as "elf girl" or, once, "femme Link". But it was still fun for a first cosplay!
 TC- Photoshopped or un-photoshopped images?
BB- As a photoshopper myself, of course I will say both. Photoshopping can bring that extra bit of something to a cosplay image. For example, if there aren't any locations close enough to what you need, you can gather bits and pieces until you can recreate that location perfectly. You can also add effects and filters that can really bring life to an otherwise great cosplay image.
TC- How do you pay for your cosplays?
BB- Out of my own pocket. It is tough, but worth it!
TC- When do you do Cosplays? At conventions only?
BB- Right now, just at conventions. But I want to do more. I don't plan on limiting my cosplay adventures to conventions only!
 TC- What got you into Cosplaying?
BB- It was a few years ago. I was sitting around googling costumes and found all these amazing images. It was clear to me that these costumes were worked so hard on. They weren't just for one Halloween night or a costume party--this was recreation. I stumbled on what it was called--Cosplay--and it went from there. It took me a few years of looking around the internet and going to conventions to feel confident enough to take on a cosplay of my own. Now it's more than a hobby to me. It's like another lifestyle.
TC- Well, thank you for your time and continued success in all your endeavors. We definitely look forward to your next Cosplays and who knows, maybe you'll be Cosplaying as one of Truthful Comics' characters in the near future!
Best;
-M
 For the past two months me and two of my internet buddies have been doing a podcast delving into the world of comic books, movies, video games and everything else pertaining our geek culture. I've decided to announce it here on the blog now because I wanted to make sure we were going to stick with it and also, see if it would even work and so far; it has! We still got a lot to learn in the world of podcasting but we'll have fun getting there and hopefully you'll join us along for the ride. I'd like to introduce the Truthful Comics Podcast crew to everyone and the reasoning why we decided to do this.
 First off we have the man with the most podcasting knowledge, the mastermind if you will, Aaron Hoover (a.k.a. Uncool Aaron). This is the man responsible for the recording and editing the podcast as well as being the master of ceremony if you will. But that's not all he does, Aaron is the co-host of another podcast called confessions of a Movie Snob and he recently launched the Nerdvana Network, a website dedicated to all things geek that also serves as homebase to his podcast as well as his blog. If you like movies, comic books and everything else geek, you should check it out: http://nerdvananetwork.com/
 Then there's our young ward, Nolan's Batman #1 fan and Truthful Comics Podcast's boy wonder himself: Cory A. Gaitan! This dude has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Nolan Batman Universe as well as anything related to the Dark Knight. This self proclaimed DC fanboy is also writing his own comic book as well, so pretty soon we'll all be reading his work alongside our regular comic books. Cory is also an avid gamer and DC Comics connoisseur, so if you're thinking about picking up any DC book or maybe jumping into the New 52, it might do you a lot of good to listen to this young man.
 And last but not least is me, Manuel A. Carmona. As you might or might not know, I'm the co-founder of Truthful Comics as well as President of a non-profit organization called Comics For Christmas ( http://www.truthfulcomics.com/comics-for-christmas.html) and I'm also a comic book artist (Captain Action, Phazer, Project: New Wave). I'm a huge Star Wars fan as well as a longtime comic book fan. I read comic books on many genres and companies from Marvel to DC to Image to Dynamite and I'm a self proclaimed crusader of Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales), The Mighty Thor and Stephanie Brown (Batgirl) LOL!
Listen to the Truthful Comics Podcast HERE: http://www.truthfulcomics.com/podcast.htmlI hope you join us on this crazy ride and enjoy our podcasting shenanigans. If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them on our comments section, we'd really appreciate it! -M
 Today was one of those days when I just wanted to take my family out for a long drive without a specific destination and just wing it. Fill up the gas tank, lower the door windows, open the sun roof, turn the volume and just enjoy the ride; so that's what we did! We drove for a while and my wife spotted a dance studio (she's a professional dancer) and asked me if we could stop real quick, to which I replied: "Sure". Of course, I immediately spotted a book store right next to the dance studio and I told her I wanted to check it out afterwards. The books store was independently owned and it looked inviting.
 There were tow male clerks who immediately acknowledge me and my family and were very courteous, something that employees from every field are missing more and more these days! I looked around for a few minutes and they asked me if I needed help, but before I could ask them, I noticed that one of the clerks had a pile of at least 50 comics in front of him! All I could say was "Yes you do!" He looked at me funny and I said "Comics, do you guys carry comic books?" And he said "Yes we do!" He showed me three aisles full of comics ranging from Batman to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to The Mighty Thor to Wildcats! It was a beautiful thing!!!
 As soon as I turned that corner where the clerk told me to, I was suddenly in front of what can only be described as a comic book hidden treasure! Even more so when it's located in Virginia Beach, so to me it felt like I was a pirate, and I discovered an abandoned treasure chest full of comic book gold! I'm talking about hundreds, if not thousands of comic books, and at great prices too! It's too bad that I had just went to my local comic shop and spent a pretty penny there, because I only had so much extra cash to spare. But rest assure, I'll be stopping by this book store on a more regular basis and I'll be getting a bunch of those comics they had in their store.
 So, next time you're in Virginia Beach and get the mood to buy some comic books, visit AFK Books, Music and Movies.
They're located at:
4801 Shore Drive, Suite D
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
(757) 962-1996.
 OK, so I saw Iron Man 3 in the theaters and I was itching to give you all my two cents about them the film but, I was giving you all some time to see it for yourselves. If the box office numbers are any indication, you've probably seen it by now so I don't think I'll be spoiling anything that you either haven't seen or haven't read on the internet already, so please; bear with me. :)
Due to the fact that I got the movie spoiled by some very annoying Facebook "friends", I went into the movie with a bit of negative feelings towards a few things regarding the treatment of classic characters; but I still gave it a chance. And guess what? I absolutely enjoyed this film! I actually enjoyed it way more than I thought I was going to for many reasons, and the few things that annoyed me weren't even that annoying after all. So, shall we begin?
 When we first see Tony Stark, he's having panic attacks, he's distant, doesn't sleep, he's hiding behind his work and his relationship with "Pepper" Potts is "rocky" to say the least. He's obviously still shaken up by the events that transpired in New York where he found himself looking for answers and for the first time, he had none! If there's one thing that Tony Stark can rely on is his genius and the ability to find all the answers, but the moment when he met a god of thunder, aliens and parallel worlds, he came to the abrupt realization that he was, as he himself puts it: "a man in a tin can".
 Enter: The Mandarin. For comic fans across the globe, The Mandarin is Iron Man's arch nemesis. Created by Stan Lee and designed by Don Heck, The Mandarin first appeared in Tales of Suspense #50 (February 1964), battling Iron Man of course! The character is described as being born in China before the Communist Revolution, to a wealthy Chinese father and an English aristocratic mother, both of whom died when he was very young. He is portrayed as a megalomaniac, attempting to conquer the world on several occasions, yet also possessing a strong sense of honor. The Mandarin is also a genius scientist and a superhumanly skilled martial artist. However, his primary source of power are ten power rings that he adapted from the alien technology of a crashed space ship. Each ring has a different power and is worn on a specific finger. But... as Hollywood often does, they completely changed the character to the point of him not even being "real", but just a ruse created by the true villain of the story. As you can tell, I'm a bit upset about this but I decided to just enjoy the movie for what it was and roll with the punches but I can totally understand why so many Iron Man fans are up in arms throughout the internet because of this plot twist. I feel your pain my brothers and sisters!
 Now, some of the best moments for me came by way of "Pepper" Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and it went from fun to shock to amazement. She was vulnerable, funny and a badass at the same time and they did it in such a way that it takes you by surprise in such a great way! The fact that she puts on an Iron Man suit and saves Tony, she gets "killed" right in front of Tony and she comes back thanks in part to the villain, and she completely kicks ass; it was a blast to see on screen. Of course, Paltrow is always easy on the eyes, but to have her in a more action oriented role is perfect for the character, especially if you're a comic book fan like me, and have seen her become a part of the Iron man Corps and wear her own Iron Man suit, it was great to see in this movie a little bit of that. It also gives them the opportunity to potentially use her in a more demanding and active role n future installments of the series, which I hope they do.
 One of the cool things about this movie was the introduction of Iron Patriot into the fray. For those of you who don't read comics, the Iron Patriot armor is first worn by Norman Osborn during the Dark Reign storyline. Norman Osborn first dons the Iron Patriot armor when he establishes the Dark Avengers. The armor serves as an amalgam between Captain America and Iron Man. The Iron Patriot armor utilized a version of Iron Man's armor painted in the colors of the American flag. The armor featured superhuman strength, enhanced durability, flight, magnetic impact blasts, heat seeking missiles, miniaturized lasers, flamethrowers, and a communications system housed in his helmet which allowed him to interface with any U.S.-controlled satellite or computer network. While the original Iron Man armor utilized repulsor technology, Osborn's design does not. Stark destroyed all but one repulsor, and stated that "Oz is too stupid" to make his own repulsor-based weapons system. The star shaped Uni Beam projector on his chest because of its shape, also has a less powerful output than that of the original Iron Man model.
Now, in the movie, the Iron Patriot armor is an upgrade of the War Machine armor worn by James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Rhodes is asked by the President to take on the Iron Patriot identity to be used as the US government's "American hero" symbol in response to the events that occurred in The Avengers. The armor is briefly stolen by Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) and used by Eric Savin to abduct the President, but Rhodes is able to recover the armor at the conclusion of the film and is the only Iron Man armor that still remains active. I personally enjoy seeing the character of "Rhodey" in action, be it as War Machine, Iron Patriot or as the soldier. He's one of the few people that Tony Stark can truly count on and he's also a badass; he proved it in this movie.
 Now to the real villain of the story, Aldrich Killiam. Dr. Aldrich Killiam was a brilliant scientist working alongside Dr. Maya Hansen. Together they developed Extremis, an attempt to create a new super soldier. Extremis was a techno-organic virus that rewrites the body's genetic code, regenerates organs and/or limbs, gives superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reflexes and the ability to project electricity and breathe fire. In the movie we see all of these features except the electricity part, but Killiam, in part because of Tony's egocentric tendencies, becomes obsessed with power and the desire of recognition. So, in a way, Tony Stark created his greatest foe.
He's also charming, elusive, conniving and just an evil genius the likes of which Tony Stark hadn't met before. Before all the genetic tinkering, Dr. Killiam was a genius, but after Extremis, he was also a physically superior to Tony Stark and for the first time, Tony was outmatched. It was truly a great battle at the end, and we could see just how superior Killiam was to Tony, how clever Tony had to be to even stand a chance against his most imposing threat ever and how lucky he is that the has loyal friends whom he can count on.
 All in all, I really enjoyed this film from beginning to end and like I said, even the parts that annoyed me didn't annoy me to the point of me not liking the film. If you haven't seen Iron Man 3 I got two things to say to you 1. Why haven't you? and 2. Give it a shot and I guarantee you it'll be money well spent.
I give it a rating of 8.5/10
-M
 The other night I was reminded why I love the internet so much! I've been a comic book fan since the early 90's and I've loved every minute of it. Of course I always follow artists since I'm an artist myself, and there have been a few that have always stayed at the top of my list in terms of the greats in my book. Jack Kirby is the first to pop in my head because of his importance to the comic book medium itself, but one of the most influential artists in the history of comics has to be the one I'm talking about today; Mr. George Perez!
His style is one of the most recognizable in the comics industry and I'd describe it as very "busy", because Mr. Perez has the gift of being able to put 10-15 characters in a page/panel and, not only make it work; but make it look amazing! Now, in the back of my mind I've always thought that Mr. Perez was from Puerto Rico not only because of his last name (Perez) but also for the fact that it'd be amazing if he was from the place I was born in. For those of you who don't know, Perez is a very Puertorican last name, it's almost like Smith or Johnson to the United States, so I had very hopes that this was the case. So, after all the years I've thought about this, only recently was I bold enough to apprach Mr. George Perez with my inquiry. Here's how the conversation went down...
Me- Mr. Perez, I'm a longtime fan of yours and I'm also a omic book artist. I'm currently working on my own book and I have a small indy label called Truthful Comics. But that's not why Im writing you, the reason for my email is to find something out that's been in my head for quite a while. My question is this, are you of Puertorican descent? I ask because I'm Puertorican and Perez is a very Puertorican last name. I could be wrong. Thank you for your time sir.
George Pérez- Manuel: Yes, I am Puerto Rican. Even though I was born and raised in New York City, my parents are both from Caguas.
Me- Oh man that's awesome!!! I lived all my life in Utuado, Puerto Rico and moved to Virginia 5 years ago. I hope I can meet you in person someday and hopefully I can get some original art from you (although Im pretty sure I cant afford it jeje) for my boy and tell him: "this was drawn by one of the greats, and turns out he's Puertorican like you!" Thanks for replying sir.  In case you don't know who George Perez is, here's a list of the books he's worked on throughout the years: DC- 52 #25 (Nightwing backup story) (2006)
- Action Comics (one page) #544; (full pencils): #643–45; (layouts only): #647–52, Annual #2 (1989–90)
- All-Star Squadron Annual #3 (among other artists) (1984)
- Batman #400 (among other artists) (1986)
- The Brave and the Bold, vol. 2, #1–10 (2007–08)
- Crisis on Infinite Earths #1–12 (1985–86)
- DC Comics Presents (New Teen Titans preview story) #26; (Superman and Omac) #61 (1980–83)
- DC Universe #0 (among other artists) (2008)
- DC Universe: Legacies #5–6 (2010)
- Flash (Firestorm backup stories) #289–93 (1980–81)
- Heroes Against Hunger (among other artists) (1986)
- Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, miniseries, #1–5 (2008–09)
- History of the DC Universe #1–2 (1987)
- Infinite Crisis, miniseries, #3–4, 6–7 (among other artists; 2006)
- Justice League of America, #184–86, 192–97, 200 (1980–82)
- Justice League of America, vol. 4, #0 (among other artists; 2006)
- Justice Society of America, vol. 2, #82 (2006)
- Justice Society of America, vol. 3, #50 (among other artists) (2011)
- New Teen Titans, (title then changes to Tales of the Teen Titans) #1–4, 6–34, 37–50; Annual #1–3 (1980–85)
- New Teen Titans, vol. 2 (then New Titans) #1–5 (1984–85); #50–57, 60 (1988–89)
- New Teen Titans: The Drug Awareness (1983)
- New Teen Titans: Games, graphic novel (2011)
- Secret Origins (Robin) #50 (1990)
- Secret Seven, miniseries, #1 (2011)
- Supergirl, vol. 6, #8 (2012)
- Superman, vol. 3 #1–6 (2011–12) (writer, layout breakdowns, and cover artist)
- Tales of the New Teen Titans, miniseries, #1–4 (1982)
- The Titans #25 (5-pages, among other artists) (2001)
- Teen Titans, vol. 2, #50 (among other artists) (2007)
- T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4 (with Cafu) (2011)
- Wonder Woman, #600 (among other artists) (2010)
- Wonder Woman, vol. 2, #1–24, Annual #1 (among other artists) (1987–88)
- War of the Gods, miniseries, #1–4 (1991)
- Worlds' Finest, #1–4 (with Kevin Maguire), #8 (with Cafú) (2012-13)
- World's Finest Comics (Teen Titans) #300 (1984)
 Image- Crimson Plague #1–2 (2000)
- Witchblade #92 (2-pages, among other artists) (2005)
Marvel- Astonishing Tales (Deathlok #25 (1974) 2-pages humor strip, Pérez' first published work for Marvel[47])
- Avengers #141–44, 147–51, 154, 155, 160–62, 167, 168, 170, 171, 194–96, 198–202; Annual #6, 8 (1975–80)
- Avengers (vol. 3) #1–15, 18–25, 27–34 (1998–2000)
- Bizarre Adventures (Iceman) #27 (1981)
- Creatures on the Loose (Man-Wolf) #33–37 (1975)
- Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (Sons of the Tiger) #6–14, 16–17, 19–21, 30 (1974–76)
- Fantastic Four #164–67, 170–72, 176–78, 184–88, 191–92, Annual #14–15 (1975–80)
- Incredible Hulk #435 (with Bruce Jensen) (1995)
- Hulk: Future Imperfect, miniseries, #1–2 (1992–93)
- Infinity Gauntlet, 6-issue miniseries, #1–3 (full pencils); #4 (with Ron Lim) (1991)
- Inhumans #1–4, 8 (1975–76)
- Logan's Run #1–5 (1977)
- Luke Cage, Power Man #27 (1975)
- Marvel Comics Super Special #4 (1978)
- Marvel Fanfare (Black Widow) #10–13 (1983–84)
- Marvel Premiere (Man-Wolf) #45–46 (1978–79)
- Marvel Preview #20 (1980)
- Marvel Two-in-One #56–58, 60, 64–65 (1979–80)
- Monsters Unleashed (Gullivar Jones) #8 (1974)
- Sachs and Violens, miniseries, #1–4 (1994)
- Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #111–123 (1995-96) (writer)
- Thunderbolts Annual 1997 (3-pages, among other artists) (1997)
- Ultraforce/Avengers (1995)
- Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #2–3 (1975)
- What If (Nova) #15 (1977) — Pérez’ first collaboration with Marv Wolfman
- X-Men Annual #3 (1979)
DC and Marvel together- JLA/Avengers, miniseries, #1–4 (2003)
 I wanted to share this with all my friends because I was so excited, I felt I was about to explode! Now, I can tell my son "You see these comic books, how amazing they look, well they were drawn by one of the greats. And guess what? He's a Boricua just like you and me. He made it, he became a legend, and if he did... so can you".
Truthfully;
-M
 Two days ago, on a beautiful sunny day we were brutally reminded of how savage and insane humans can be sometimes; and how heroic as well. On April 15, 2013, during the Boston Marathon some unscrupulous individuals perpetrated a hideous act of terrorism against innocent people that caused 176 casualties, including three deaths and 17 critical injuries. Is during tragic events like this that we as people rally together and lift ourselves from the wreckage, and we could see that in the images that have surfaced throughout the internet and TV, people running towards the explosions rather than away from them, caring for others, helpful strangers, selfless citizens; real life heroes!
 For now, let's to worry about the animals that perpetrated this hideous acts for they will be brought to justice soon enough, but rather on the victims that survived this terrorist attack and the families of those affected by the bombing. Contact authorities and see what you can do to help. As for me and my wife, we'll be flying on Thursday and Friday respectively and we'll be doing anything we can to help; I strongly suggest we all do our part. This is a chance to be heroes, seize the moment and help those in need.
 To the ones responsible for this crimeI'll only say this, we'll find you and you'll pay for this atrocity you've committed. There's now doubt in our minds that you'll pay for these crimes, there's no worry on my mind that you'll escape somehow because the American people won't let you escape. Wherever you hide, wherever you go, you'll be found and you'll be brought to justice. YOU WILL PAY!!!
P.S. Prayers go out to the victims, the victims families and the city of Boston from the Truthful Comics Family.
May God Bless Boston and God Bless the United States of America.
-Manuel
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