Cool News
John Buscema Turns The Page... and Father Geek adds his thoughts...
HARRY here, I share the same birthday with John Buscema. At the age of 9 my father handed me HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY... the MARVEL way was to a large degree Buscema's way... He illustrated that book. I traced every single line he drew in that book and it looked terrible. I tried over and over and over and over again. I wasn't alone. It seems everyone I know traced some Buscema work at some time in their childhood. I remember the first time I went to Robert Rodriguez's house he showed me a SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN that he had traced every line of John's stunning work. Over a year ago he sent me that drawing. Robert loves that work... he learned to draw to a large part due to Buscema's work in that Magazine. Then he got that video camera.
When Jack Kirby passed away I thought, well I've still got John out there... now... whew... This one hurts bad folks. John Buscema's work on SPIDER-MAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, CONAN and THOR was primal for me. Hell the man drew my favorite cover of all time with SILVER SURFER #4...
Just look at the ferocity in Thor's face and the determination in the Surfer's... Just, folks I can't tell you how many times I read my copy of Surfer 4. It was just one of those covers... a cover that literally felt like a freeze frame of a brilliant imagination. I know he played out that scene. Moved the frame back and forth in his head until he narrowed it down to the moment... that specific moment and god.... can't you just see the moments before and the moments after the one above. Can't you hear the screams, the sound of the hammer twirling... God... It's just beautiful composition... My absolute favorite super-hero cover. Just perfect. I love that!
I met Buscema a number of times in my life at various conventions. He never hesitated to do a sketch, to cease smiling and always dazzled with stories. Buscema lit my imagination from the youngest of ages... He brought the world of Conan and Thor to life in my mind. His battles, the fierce raging expressions on the faces of the combatants... the way he cluttered these massive battles with unique figures of all sizes and shapes yet always managed to make it make sense and look compelling... I mean, I'd pour over those scenes looking for the little things... an inexplicable fly buzzing away from it all... the flower still untrampled. Buscema cared about these scenes... Made me care about these scenes.
He is and will always be one of the greatest comic artists of all time. I drank out his illustrated cups, played with MEGO dolls that he illustrated the box art for, I had posters he drew on my wall, comics memorized he made.... Stickers... oh lord the stickers. I covered furniture, my bedroom door, the window sill, the bed frame, my television. Much of it was his work... some was Romita and some was Kirby, but when I was a kid reading, Buscema was the man drawing at the time I was getting the new issues. And he had me coming for multiple titles every single week of the year.
Yesterday was a really great day for me till I heard this news. I had received the first review of my book, one from Kirkus Reviews and the really gave it a positive buzz. I was happy as hell. Calling folks up, sending out emails with quotes from the damn thing. All jazzed up, its the first time that something I did was being reviewed by an industry standard and it was a damn good review... and then John Buscema died and my day went to hell. The only thing that cheered me up was leafing through old issues here at home. So many today know only the current hotshots bopping around, I find a lot of it overdrawn and ill-composed. Buscema had it nailed perfect. Capturing perfect moments and stances. You can see his figures and poses all through Alex Ross' work. You can see it in so many of the modern guys, but damn if I don't just love John's more and more. Well, an artist can't draw forever I suppose...
Hello Harry,
I know your a comic book fan..so..I just wanted you to know that we have been asked by the family of John Buscema to announce the sad news that John passed away on Thursday, January 10.
Those people living in the New York City area can find information about the funeral services by visiting the Official John Buscema Website at...
CLICK HERE
And anybody who would like to send their condolences to the Buscema family or share their thoughts & feelings about Big John & his artwork can do so by writing to...
JohnBuscema2002@Yahoo.Com
Thank-you,
Owen Some thoughts from Father Geek...
This hits me pretty hard! As many of you long term readers know I (Jay Knowles aka Father Geek) was in the comics secondary sale business fulltime, bigtime, for many years (1968-1998). The family traveled coast to coast buying, selling, and trading comics and comic art, and even a few ol' movie posters and animation cels.
The point is that the "1st" comic title Father Geek took home to keep (as in NEVER sell) was a pristine mint run of SILVER SURFER 1-18, plus FANTASTIC FOUR's #48, 49, and 50. I loved John's work on that very important title. As a matter of fact I just bought Harry a NM copy of Surfer #1 for Christmas 2001, an absolutely great issue by John.
Yeah, he (John) started me collecting comic runs, later I packed away a complete run of ALL Jim Steranko's work, then Barry Smith's CONAN, and Wrightson's SWAMPTHING. Then the floodgates opened and I put together mint runs of all the superhero issues of TALES OF SUSPENSE, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, STRANGE TALES, and TALES TO ASTONISH. Next was a run of the 1st 23 issues of MAD and various bondage cover Golden-age Fiction House and Fox titles. Then EC's...But no matter how much of the expensive stuff I exposed myself to, I always went back to John, he had a purity of product that was unmatched...
Then I was really hooked, a depraved comicbook junkie, searching desperately for my next fix, and waiting right on time every week, clocking at the corner drug store was John Buscema. Colorful, flashy, teeming with the promise of strange adventures and forbidden pleasures, John pulled me ever deeper into the seedy dark, closeted world of comic collecting. I tried to quit several times, going cold turkey for a couple of weeks at a time, but I'd see one of John's covers on a stand (spinrack) and it would whisper in my ear; "Pick me up kid!" "Come on, just one more time can't hurt you."
John was an insidious comicbook pusher, once he got his claws in you, got your attention, you were doomed! I had to sell my dupes and hook unsuspecting college and High School kids to support my own growing, out-of-control habit. We now have over 75 long comic boxes stuffed very tight with Golden-age, Atom-age, and Silver-age comic books in the Geek Headquarter's archives...
Annnnnnnnnd its all JOHN BUSCEMA's fault! GOD BLESS HIM!!!
Father Geek out... I've got to shoot-up some old friends.
Here's the Offical Marvel Comics Press Release on John's Passing...
John Buscema, 1927-2002,
Revered Comic Book Artist for Marvel and DC Comics
January 11, 2002, New York, NY -- Legendary comic book artist John Buscema
of Port Jefferson, NY, passed away January 10, after a battle with stomach
cancer. Buscema was instrumental in the early visual styling of Marvel
Comics and worked for both Marvel and DC Comics. During his time at Marvel,
Buscema's illustrations graced the pages of virtually every title, including
Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and Conan.
Born December 11, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY, Buscema attended the High School of
Music and Art and Pratt Institute, where he studied life drawing and design.
Ultimately, Buscema's studies landed him a job at Marvel Comics, then Timely
Comics, in 1948. After a stint in advertising, Buscema returned to Marvel
Comics in 1966, at the specific request of then Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee.
Buscema became one of the artistic pillars of the young Marvel, tutoring
countless young artists, as well as co-writing with Lee How to Draw Comics
the Marvel Way. Many of today's top comic book artists cite Buscema as one
of their chief influences.
Lee commented on the death of his longtime collaborator, "John Buscema was
far more than one of our finest comic book artists. If Michaelangelo had
elected to draw storyboards with pencil and pen, his style would have been
close to that of Big John's. But, even more than a superb illustrator, John
also was a brilliant visual storyteller. Thinking back on all of the strips
that we had done together, I had only to give him the briefest kernel of a
plot and he would flesh it out with his magnificent illustrations so
brilliantly that the stories almost seemed to write themselves. Happily, the
legacy of artwork that my dear friend, the creative giant that was John
Buscema, leaves behind, will bring wonder and enjoyment to generations of
readers to come."
Joe Quesada, current Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, said, "I remember how
captivated I was as a young comics reader by the power of John Buscema's
artwork. Even at a young age I knew I was looking at something created by an
artist whose skill level was so much better than that of his contemporaries.
I had the pleasure about three years ago of meeting Mr. Buscema in the
Marvel offices, and he was as powerful a presence in person as his work was
on the printed page. We will all miss him."
After thirty years at Marvel, Buscema began working for for DC Comics,
drawing Batman in the anthology title Batman: Black & White. His most
recent published work was, touchingly, with Lee, in Just Imagine Stan Lee
with John Buscema Creating Superman.
Mike Carlin, Executive Editor at DC Comics, said, "It goes without saying
what a privilege it was for DC to have tapped the legendary team of John
Buscema and Stan Lee to reimagine Superman just one year ago... and a
singular thrill to edit anything John worked on. Sadly, as it's proved to
be their final collaboration, it's even more important a personal pleasure
to have been a small part of it."
At the time of his death, Buscema actively was working on projects for
several publishers.
Buscema is survived by his wife, Dolores, son, John Jr., his daughter,
Dianne, and four grandchildren. The family has announced that a viewing
will be held on Sunday, January 13 from 2pm to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm at The
Bryant Funeral Home, 411 Old Town Road, East Setauket, NY, 11733,
631-413-0082. The funeral will be held Monday morning, January14.
Bill Rosemann,
Marketing Communications Manager,
Marvel Comics
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This is one of the ones I was dreading. For many years, John Buscema was my favorite artist. No one, NO ONE, could match his combination of action, drama, detail, variety, and scope. Farewell, O Gentle Giant, and thank you for decades of incredible storytelling....
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About 10 years ago, I met John at a Massachusetts comic con, and he drew a beautiful "spider-sense" Peter Parker for me. He was a gracious and genuine man. Thank you, John... that drawing has been my favorite piece in my apartment since then, and even more from now on.
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This affects me deeply. I never knew that I (and harry) shared a birthday with Buscema. I did know that he was the best, he had a style that was in there with Kirby, Heck, Infantino, Swan, Moldoff, and many other "classic" comic artists. His CONAN work is what sticks in my brain the most. This is a sad day. Goodbye John, you were a true Master.
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I was just thinking about John a few weeks back, lamenting the fact that I hadn't seen any work from him in recent years. He really was a giant in the field and given the styles of so many of todays' Image-influenced artists I find I've been missing him more and more. The man wasn't just a great illustrator,he was a great storyteller.
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One of my all time favorite books ever to come out of Marvel was the Squadron Supreme Mini. John Buscema worked on an issue or two, and Mark Gruenwald wrote it. And now they're both dead. I am officially depressed.
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Not many people can become a legend in their own time, he did. He was a great visnoary and his artistic style will be copyed by others for many years to come.
Rest in Peace John -
Along with the Romitas and Byrne, he was definitely one of my favorite artists back when I was a kid and still collected comic books. In high school, when just for fun, my friends and I started creating our own characters and drawing our own comics, it was their styles that we emulated the most. And though I did grow up to be a freelance artist who no longer draws his own comic books, I still look back on those days fondly. Thank god, I still have all of those comics I collected and can go back and admire his artwork anytime I feel like it. This is a real loss to the industry, his family, friends, fans, and the world in general. My condolences.
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I really seriously started collecting comics in the early 1990's during the whole flashy artists (Jim Lee, Todd "Evil Bastard" McFarlane, Rob "Yuk" Liefeld) I only have less than 20 comics featuring John B's work. And I loved it. Great detail and the characters he drew had emotion on their faces. He was a great artist and maybe someday we'll get another like him. At least we still have his brother "Our Pal" Sal....who sadly isn't getting a lot of work. I wish those "young punks" at Marvel would appreciate the great ones we still have writers and artist a like...I can only hope.
And Rasha? That was really immature and heartless. You have no right to make fun of someone's death or turn it into a joke. That was just...it was just wrong all right? Just wrong. Please show some respect all right? And I doubt with that kind of attitude, that kind of belief...you'll ever get to heaven. Sorry I ranted, but Rasha was just so disrespectful. -
Jan 11, 2002 11:03:09 AM CST
john was a great,great influence on my work. So sad by his passi
by madmike
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I got the how to draw the marvel way when I was 9 as well. I'm something of an artist now myself (however not as successful as John duh.) and back then all I wanted was to draw as well as he did in that book. I had no idea he was sick or in poor health or anything of the sort. Just recently Just imagine stan lee creating superman came out and John penciled it. Beautiful stuff. There's really something to be said when your work with stands the test of time and then manages ti still be poinent in a new generation. Great artist. Fuckin fantastic.
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without these two men, there would be no "House of Ideas" Marvel. No way . Now this is sad, sad news.
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Couldn't see this one coming. Older I get, more I find his work fascinating...as a kid, I took him for granted and was always more partial to "flashier" artists. Just last year I looked back at old comic books and realized how much the work of John Buscema (Gil Kane was another one) has influenced my imagination. I long for the days when every panel was not a splash page. This guy was more than that...a master of Sequential art.
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I FINALLY met Buscema this past year at the San Diego Comic Con and pretty much videotaped every panel he was on as he's a really, really funny guy (especially when he gave his oft-quoted humorous quotes about how ludicrous he thought some superheroes were). This is truly sad news. Of all the artists that ever lived, humorously enough, I probably saw more of John Buscema's work than all of the others combined.
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John Buscema was truly one of the greatest artists ever, forget comic books, his Conan stuff is without peer and his weakest work was better than the majority of comic artists working today.
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I met the man, hell, going on almost 30 years ago at a Marvel Con at the Commodore Hotel. Chatted with him about getting into the business, and he sketched out a THOR and HUMAN TORCH on the backs of some flyers. Really nice and real guy, told me that, wanting to be a writer of comics, my best bet was to pair up with an artist and put out some fan comics.Got the pictures framed in my house, always a great conversation starter. John's style really put the ART in artist. RIP
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I'm "old school" Marvel, if there is such a thing. In my teens I bought, and still have, books like Spiderman 129, Incredible Hulk 181, X-Men 95-120, the Giant Size X-Men (introducing the "new" team)-this list is endless. I mention them not because I'm some wack collector, but but because I was an avid comic devourer and bought every Marvel book I could get my hands on.
In "those days" you didn't buy a book based upon collectability-you bought it for story, art, drama! You bought it for Lee and Kirby, for Ditka, for Steranko, John Romita, Gene Colan, Gil Kane, Ross Andru, Len Wein, Herb Trimpe, George Tuska, Dave Cochran, George Perez, Rich Buckler, Steve Englehardt, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Bill Mantlo-the list is endless-but I wouldn't, for a moment, forget Sal Buscema or his brother, John. I just have to say what a great tragedy John's passing is.
John's artwork was REMARKABLE in its fluidity - he somehow always managed to convey smooth, graceful characters with power. His characters DID imbue power; his art never fell into that ridiculous physical over-exaggeration brought on by nimrods like Leifeld and McFarlane. Sure, he drew for comic books, but he understood though we MUST suspend disbelief, we're not idiots. His work never insulted us, never told us "hey! Thor's head is smaller than a pea!" His work was defined by the characters' facial emotions, by their smooth elegance, by their power. The Leifelds and McFarlane's of this world couldn't hold his inkwell, let alone his pen.
His magnificant interpretations of Conan, Thor, The Silver Surfer, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers-truly, this list is endless-helped turn "funny books" into works of art. Even when he just "filled in," his work was breathtaking, and I always hoped (in the late 70s) he'd have more time to devote to multiple books.
His art didn't skimp. It didn't matter who the inker was, or the colorist was - John's creativity exploded out of each and every frame. His style was so vivid and unique!
I'm a grown man, near 40 - but I can honestly say John's work - his creativity, his lines, speaking to a 3-dimensional world from a 2-dimensional medium - have touched me my entire lifetime. Talking about his work with Marvel makes me realize that JOHN was the "true marvel," creating page after beautiful page and opening up my imagination to places it'd never been.
John - God bless you, and mostly - thank you for making comic art beautiful, powerful, striking, remarkable - but most of all for making it ABLE to reach into my heart - much like The Vision - and touch me.
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When John Buscema started out, he, like so many other aspiring comic artists of the day, was little more than a talented Kirby imitator. Unlike those others, though, he grew into his own vision of what comic art should be. Trepidation rippled through comic fandom when Barry Smith and Conan parted ways. Would the new guy measure up? John Buscema was the new guy and he cast his own light into the shadow of Smith, transforming and renewing the book, achieving a power, grace and lyricism that made R.E. Howard's world John Buscema's world. His work had an ease of characterization and a fluidity of gesture. John Buscema knew how to draw within the form, imbuing his people, objects and spaces with a satisfying three-dimensionality. To me, John Buscema was one of those persons whom you meet badly - a first impression bad enough to make you wary of a second one - but grow over time to cherish. I'm sad at this news. I became a comic fan at the end of the Reed Crandall era and grew to love the medium with Murphy Anderson and the DC Silver Age titles - I was a little kid, then - but came to appreciate it with the wave of early Marvel. Anthology titles like "Tales To Marvel At" paved the way for Stan Lee's reimagining of the superhero universe into which John Buscema stepped. My coming-of-age generation of comic creaters are beginning to meet their fates and it is sad-making. John and Sal Buscema were mainstays for me. Now John is gone. John is gone.
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There's not much to say, except sincerest condolences to the Buscema family. The comics world has lost a giant today. John will be missed. RIP, fella.
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Jan 11, 2002 12:17:33 PM CST
A truly great artists who filled EVERY page with an energy and v
by superhero
His art was an inspiration to me. It really is a sad day for comics. The kids today could learn a thing or two from this man's storytelling ability...
God (or whaterver's out there)Bless him. -
Oh man...Big John is gone. I feel like shit. Though I never met the man, I also grew up with his work (I'm 32 now...I've been collecting comics for over 20 years now...God, I'm old). I adored his Conan, Avengers, Hulk (the definitive Hulk artist in my humble opinion) and pretty much whatever else his God-like pen touched...I totally agree, without King Kirby and John, there would not be any so-called *House of Ideas*!! Rest easy in Valhalla, John.....the Gods are smiling.
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til we lose another good one, if you guys know who I'm talking about. He's old.
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I grew up on John's work on The Incredible Hulk. It's his version I think of when I think Hulk. Damn this sucks!!!
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Jan 11, 2002 12:44:15 PM CST
How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way got me through those rainy day
by billbrasky
He was a great talent and teacher. He will be greatly missed.
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I just found out that one-of-a-kind composer Juan Garcia Esquivel died this last week. His music was all over film and television during the last 40 years, but no mention of his passing on this site. Very sad. On the subject of John Buscema, seeing those covers made me very nostalgic for something I can't quite name. Perhaps just my childhood, but possibly also an idea of adventure that no longer exists. R.I.P Juan and John
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I feel blessed to have been a comics fan when I was. I'm 18, and by the time I stopped collecting (3 years ago), I was buying more comics from the 60s than the 90s. A good back issue was only about ten-fifteen bucks, and I got to discover why EXACTLY everyone revered John Buscema. The man was a master craftsman who knew exactly what to do with each panel. How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way taught me more about comics than I ever thought there was to know. I had drawn cmics for about five years when I picked it up, and it awed me. I feel sorry for comics fans twenty years down the line. Who will they have to look up to? Todd MacFarlane? Aside from the Kuberts and John Romita Jr., no one working regularly today can even come remotely close to the pure substance that can be found in John Buscema's pages. And to name those three is a stretch. With the true giants of comics getting old, I am truly afraid that the proud tradition John and Jack began will become forgotten. At least I'll always have my back issues. Thanks, John, for all you did to preserve the old ways of drawing. The comics world is sorely lacking for your presence.
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Man, this one makes me pause and think. I remember being a small town kid, drawing endless Spider-Men on the back of my Aunt
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My favorite comic artist of all time is dead. At least I got to meet the guy before he passed on, and tell him how much his work meant to me -- THE GROUCH! Heheh. He influenced my love for comic books more than anyone. While I'm sad, his legacy will live on, and at least he doesn't have to struggle with cancer anymore.
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I remember having "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" as a kid. Didn't care for Stan Lee's rather arrogant text, but I studied the art. Fantastic artist. This guy knew how to draw. His people didn't always look like misproportioned freaks or Japanese cartoon characters. He knew how to draw a story and not just 22 splash pages in a row. Thank God George Perez is still around to show folks how it's done. sk
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During the Masters of Evil storyline in Avengers when they'd put Herc into a coma and trashed the mansion. Cap is going through the reminents of his locker, holding a torn picture of his mother. And he's crying. I remember looking at that page as a kid and thinking, "Holy cow! ('cause I didn't talk like a sailor back then) Captain America is crying!" It could've been cheezy as all get out, but Buscema's pencils gave him such weight and dignity. And that's how I will always remember John Buscema.
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When we think classic Marvel, we should do well, as Harry pointed out to remember John Bucema. With his work on the Avengers and Silver Surfer, he was a rare tallent. Although he was "before my time"--one defined by "hot" artists of the moment--in so far capturing the stance of a heroic pose, few come close. As the old Silver Age comic artists begin to leave us (Kirby being another having a special place in my heart.) I think there should be some efforts made into seeing their original works perserved. Harry, could you let us know if there's a gallery or some fund to which we the fans, could contibute? I think it's the least we could do, aside from heremeticly sealing our Bucema back issues away. Let us know. Thanks.
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Jan 11, 2002 2:11:18 PM CST
Buscema's SILVER SURFER #1, His AVENGERS and CAPTAIN AMERICA
by buzz maverik
The list is endless and it is all great. I am sorry for comics and for his family. I think of his equally talented brother Sal (for my money the best CAPTAIN AMERICA artist aside from Kirby -- the Sal Buscema/Steve Englehart CAP issues are the ones I consider definitive). You know, I just finished reading Michael Chabon's Pulitzer prize winning novel THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, which is now my favorite novel of all time. Read it. You'll appreciate talent like John Buscema even more.
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I was a bit too young to see this man in his heyday...that's why I thank the comic gods for trade paperbacks. Mr. Buscema, you were indeed one of the greats and you shall be missed.
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This is the first I've heard of the loss of Juan Esquivel. The world is now a lot less cool without him. I have as many of his CDs as I have been able to get ahold of. Breaking character for a second (which is never going to happen again) Esquivel's music was very influential on me when I was creating the character of Buzz Maverik for a series of crime novels that are never going to happen now. The mood, the playful sangfroid. I'd play 'em hour after hour. Genius, man.
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I first saw John Buscema's work in Les Daniel's Marvel coffee table book. This was about 8 years ago, when I was new to comics. Even now, all these years later (not a lot, compared to some of you out there), I still remember the experience of seeing Mr. Buscema's Silver Surfer and the Vision for the first time. Even then, I knew that his were the definitive representations of such characters; I would forever compare every other artists' renderings to his. Like many of you, I learned to draw from How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, which was the only book that interested me in my elementary school art class. John's scenes of grief were crushing, while his renderings of triumph made your soul soar. I'm deeply saddened that another of the old bullpen is gone. I pray Mr. Buscema is at peace.
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I don't know what you're talking about dude. I don't think Buscema drew more than a few Spodey fill-ins.
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nice work, i am not a comic fan but that looks nice!!
be cool!
Sebastian, webmaster
THE QUENTIN TARANTINO ARCHIVES
www.tarantino.info -
John Buscema is one of the greatest artists of all time and he will be missed.His Conan was King.
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His "Savage Sword of Conan" (the black and white ones) were truly works of art. I remember thinking that I had never seen anything like them. This is sad news.
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im going home tomorrow to help dad at the farm. i think while im there im gonna go through my old comic book collection. learning of steve's death really makes me sad.
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Heyyyyyyyy Old Man!! Look at that art! Look at that art!! Just brillant. Everything realistic yet full of style. You had it and shared the talent. Thanks guy and thanks for the memories. Peace..
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It was Big John's work on Conan that I used to rush to the drug store comic book rack to buy. I began reading comics just after Barry Smith stopped drawing the book and Buscema's Conan was my first Conan. The thing I liked about it was just how well studied it was. Here was an artist who had obviously taken life drawing classes and was comfortable with the human figure. Also, the emotion he put on his characters' faces was beautiful. They way he would show fear by not only opening their mouths and arching their eyebrows, he would draw their irises smaller, and the eyebrows would...I don't know...Twist up in a great way that conveyed real "fear-for-your-immortal-soul" terror. His Conan was different from Barry Smith's. To me they seemed to inhabit two different worlds. Barry could draw the jewelled towers, the guilded helms, and ornate swords due to his Pre-Raphaelite influences. John however gave us the heat and dust of the Hyborian Age. His castles were made of huge, heavy, sandy blocks and when somebody hit the ground in an action sequence, you could almost hear the slap. His women were also beautiful. Where Barry Smith drew his women aloof, removed, almost goddess-like, John drew earthy, dark-haired beauties that looked equally at home dancing on a tabletop in some dangerous tavern or reclining on velvet cushions in a palace. Goodbye John, and thank you for the great adventures.
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Sits in a corner and cries ...
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The first dramatic (as in not funny) comic I ever read, two decades ago, was Buscema's John Carter. It made the hair stand on end on my six-year-old's head; I'd never seen anything like it. He was a truly great artist. I've considered having posters made out of of some of his Silver Surfer panels. Well, I've stopped considering. They'll be on my wall tomorrow. Darn it, salty discharge is leaking from my eyes.
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By Crom, I hope you are walking among the gods up there!
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I picked up "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way" when I was 13 from the Queens Public Library. 12 years later it's still sitting on my book shelf(late fees? We don' need no stinkin'late fees!). Like many, I tried picking it up and learning but failed miserably. At least Buschema went out swingin'. That "Just Imagine" Superman he did with Stan The Man was one of my favorite books last year. The Marvel Age really is over. Rest in Peace, True Believer.
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Ah well--it had to happen some time. He did alot of cool art in his day. That weeping Vision pic was classic...oh those were the days.
I have How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, it helped me draw and sculpt. -
John Buscema was a God among men. He was the consummate comic book artist. Sure, Kirby was stylistic and all, but Buscema made them real, and gave them life. His pages were like a movie...they were animated in a way that very few artists can do to this day. Reading a Buscema-drawn title was like watching the characters come alive before your eyes. It's a tough medium, and yet he made it seem so real, and so palpable. I can't think of another penciller that even comes close. His spirit will continue. I hope that someday, an artist will come along and study his method and use it. God, I miss him already.
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...I didn't know or care about them until then, and it was hard to imagine someone evoking emotion out of a rock-skinned Thing in the FF issues, but he did it effortlessly.
I will now have to go back through my Avengers' issues and care about them all over again. -
Comics were my first love; when there was nothing else right with the world, there were the comics: Jack Kirby's THOR and FANTASTIC FOUR, and Steve Ditko's SPIDER-MAN and BEWARE THE CREEPER, and BATMAN and DEADMAN and THE SPECTRE by Neal Adams, and Curt Swan's SUPERMAN and WORLD'S FINEST, and Gene Colan's IRON MAN and SUB-MARINER and DRACULA and DAREDEVIL, and Joe Kubert's ENEMY ACE and SGT. ROCK and FIREHAIR and Russ Heath's SGT. ROCK and Gil Kane's GREEN LANTERN and John Buscema's SILVER SURFER and THOR and CONAN and SUB-MARINER and AVENGERS and I was in the fourth grade, I think, when I sat down in class one day and copied the cover of SILVER SURFER #4 because it was, to a kid whose only friends were the characters created by the writers and artists of comics, a thing of great beauty; something to aspire to. My father would one day throw away all of my comics- a childhood's worth, the loves of a young lifetime- not once, but TWICE, and I found myself for many years thereafter unable to grow too attached to "funny books." Although I'd literally learned to read through comics, following along as my mother read them to me, I couldn't bring myself to "get too attached" to them again. The risk was too great. I no longer dreamt of going to New York and becoming a comic book artist. I saw artwork here and there that I admired, but I chose to admire it "from afar," with the distance of the casual observer (as opposed to the rose-tinted gaze of the True Lover). And then I walked into a comic shop one day and happened across an issue of my all-time favorite comic, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's classic, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY featuring THE MIGHTY THOR... and a spark-gap was leaped; a flame rekindled. After all those years, it was still there- supressed, denied- but still there, still pulsing- my love of comics. I've eased back into the habit, because some lessons must be learned and relearned, over and over, and it is indeed sad to have to mark the passing of a Kirby or a Swan or a Buscema... but their legacy remains. Some things last Forever...
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When I first came to the United States I wanted to do one thing - draw comics like John Buscema. Classic training and style, powerful themes and incredible storytelling ability - these are the things I admired in John Buscema. I never got to draw comics, but the skills and insights I have learned over the years from his interviews and body of work will always be invaluable to me in my current career - visual effets and animation.
January 10th was my 32nd birthday and now I don't think I'll have another one without remembering and thanking John Buscema.
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He knew what to leave out.
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I loved the guy. Heroes lived when he drew them. Today, I can't say the same, but I can always open one of his works, and let them live again. Thank you, John. I hope you're smiling down on us now, laughing that Stan Lee outlived you, and that we're talking about the stupid comic book characters you loved and hated. But we loved you, John. And we still do.
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...but you'd never know it because he drew them with the same skill and conviction with which he drew the stuff he loved best (Conan, namely). A total, consummate pro. It's a little sad to think that the guy is so beloved for working in a genre he wasn't especially enthused for, but like many of the old pros, it was also just a job to him. More than a few posts here have lamented the fact that there are very few craftsman left in the industry so talented and prolific as Buscema. I happen to think the industry is very much at a creative peak these days, but I can't deny that the general level of craft has been steadily dropping since the 80's, maybe even the 70's. The likes of Kirby, Kane, and Buscema are gone, and greats like Gene Colan, Neal Adams and Steranko aren't actively involved in the industry anymore. It's honestly pretty hard to find a modern work-for-hire artist who'll stick around on a title for more than a year. Creator-owned titles, of course, give us artists devoted to their own creations for years on end, but I'll really miss talents like Buscema, who, for lack of a better phrase, really "spread themselves around." Buscema brought his distinctive style to so many titles, and much as I love stylists like Jeff Smith or even Frank Miller, that's something they'll never really do. My own Buscema collection isn't that large, but it covers his entire collaboration with Roger Stern on AVENGERS, a number of cool 70's AVENGERS reprints through a title I believe was called MARVEL SUPER ACTION, a dozen or so kick-ass issues of CONAN, and the ubiquitous HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY. You know what my favorite part of that book was? The comparison pages Buscema drew that showed a very bland storytelling style on one page, and then the same concepts done "Marvel style" on the next page -- all imaginative angles, dramatic close-ups, and channeled energy. Great stuff! By the way, while a link was provided to Buscema's website to provide information about funeral services, they perhaps forgot to mention that the site also has tons of Buscema *art*. Check it out: http://www.total.net/~iggyowen/home.htm If you're familiar with his work, relive the greatness. If not, go see what you missed ;) I also found a site selling some original Buscema art, and it's got some pretty slick stuff, mostly CONAN pages: http://www.anthonysnyder.com/art/buscema.html So long, ya talented ol' codger. You made us all jealous.
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Marvel's been pretty on-the-ball lately with great reprint collections, from Simonson's THOR to Miller's DAREDEVIL to Barry Windsor-Smith's CONAN. With the LORD OF THE RINGS movie doing so much to boost enthusiasm for the fantasy genre, I think this'd be a great time for them to reprint some of *Buscema's* CONAN stuff. I don't have many issues of the comic or magazine, but I regret not buying them as a kid because what little material I have holds up great. The stories are surprisingly brutal, and Conan himself is portrayed in all his mercenary glory without any apologies for his occasional, ah...moral lapses. In short, it's fantasy with teeth, and of course, the art is elaborate and beautiful. I think Marvel would do well with such a collection. Oh, and just for fun, here's a link to a scan of one of the cooler CONAN pages I've come across as I've been poking around for online John Buscema galleries: http://www.anthonysnyder.com/art/jbssoc93_21.gif Check out the last panel in particular. If there's a Heaven, I hope Buscema's enjoying it Conan-style!
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He was John's brother, and he passed away a few years ago, if I recall. Sal was also the one who penciled about a zillion issues of the Hulk, not John. What a loss! We keep losing guys who actually know how to draw and all we are left with are the flash-in-the-pan Liefeld wannabes. Bye John... we'll miss you.
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