This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Badbilltucker (talk | contribs) at 01:10, 13 June 2006 (Added details of comic strip & reference). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:10, 13 June 2006 by Badbilltucker (talk | contribs) (Added details of comic strip & reference)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
John Buscema (December 11, 1927–January 10, 2002) was an American comic book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics in its 1960s and 1970s heyday. His brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist.
Buscema was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. He was originally attracted to comics by Hal Foster's strip Prince Valiant, and his lush, detailed style bears comparison with Foster's.
Buscema's first hit was his run on The Avengers (beginning in 1966, with writer Roy Thomas), and after that pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title (notable exceptions being Iron Man and X-Men, although he worked on some X-Men spinoff titles). In particular, he stepped into the breach when Jack Kirby left the company in 1970, helping it weather the loss much better than it may have otherwise.
Among the best-known work of Buscema are stints on The Avengers (both in the 1960s and a long 1980s run); Fantastic Four (with Thomas and writer Gerry Conway); Thor (with Conway); Silver Surfer (with Stan Lee); and a lengthy run on Conan the Barbarian (with Thomas). This last he often named as his favourite, as ironically enough he disliked superhero stories. That may explain why his only work on a syndicated comic strip was on the strip of the same name in 1977 and 1978. In 1988 he, along with writer Chris Claremont, debuted the first regular Wolverine series.
Buscema semi-retired in 1996, although he continued to do the occasional pencilling job; one of the last was his DC Comics debut, a Batman story. His death was due to cancer.
Awards
He received much recognition for his work in comics, including the Shazam Award for Best Penciller (Dramatic Division) in 1974. He was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2002.
References
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0970007701.
| Preceded byJohn Romita, Sr. | Fantastic Four artist 1971–1973 |
Succeeded byRich Buckler |
| Preceded byJohn Byrne | Fantastic Four artist 1986–1987 |
Succeeded byKeith Pollard |