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| He was inducted into the ] in 2002. | He was inducted into the ] in 2002. | ||
| ==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| ===Early life and career |
===Early life and career=== | ||
| ], ]</ref>]] | ] | ||
| Born in Brooklyn, New York, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying comic strips such as ].<ref name="quart">Quartuccio, |
Born in Brooklyn, New York, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying comic strips such as ].<ref name="quart">Quartuccio, Sal, and Keenan, Bob, ''The Art of John Buscema'' (New York, Sal Q Productions, 1978)</ref> In his teens he developed an interest in both ] comic books and such classic ] comic strips as ]'s '']'' and '']'', ]'s '']'', and ]'s '']''.<ref>Spurlock, David J., and John Buscema, ''The Art of John Buscema'' (New Jersey: Vanguard Productions, 2001) pp.60-61. Hardcover ISBN 1-887591-18-4, signed-numbered hardcover ISBN 1-887591-17-6, ] ISBN 1-887591-19-2</ref> | ||
| He also showed an interest in commercial illustrators of the period, such as ], ], ] and ], <ref>Spurlock |
He also showed an interest in commercial illustrators of the period, such as ], ], ], ], ] and ], <ref>Spurlock, ], p.27</ref> | ||
| and in the fine arts, |
and in the fine arts, the Italian Renaissance artists in particular.<ref name="steranko">], "John Buscema and the Renaissance of Comic Art" in Spurlock, Ibid., p.7</ref> | ||
| Buscema graduated from ]'s ]. He also took night lessons at ] well as life-drawing classes at the ].<ref>Irving, |
Buscema graduated from ]'s ]. He also took night lessons at ] well as life-drawing classes at the ].<ref>Irving, Christoper, "The Life of Legendary 'Big' John Buscema", '']'' #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 5-B.</ref> While training as a boxer, he began painting portraits of boxers and sold some cartoons to the ''Hobo News''.<ref name="quart" /> Seeking work as a commercial illustrator while doing various odd jobs, Buscema found himself instead entering the comic-book field in 1948, landing a staff job under ] and ] ] at ], the first forerunner of ]. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was famously called, included such fellow staffers as established veterans ], ], ], ], and ] and<!--, hired two weeks earlier,--> fledgling ].<ref name="steranko-a">Steranko, Ibid., p.5</ref> | ||
| His first recorded credit is the seven-page story "Crime: Kidnapping! - Victim: Abraham Lincoln!" in Timely's ''Crime Fighters'' #4 (Nov. 1948).<ref>], and John Buscema, ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #21 (June 2002) pp.16-17V </ref> He also contributed to the "real-life" dramatic series ''True Adventures'' and ''Man Comics'' (the premiere issue of which sported Buscema's first comic-book cover), ''Cowboy Romances'', ''Two-Gun Western'' (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character the ]), '']'', and '']''. Until the bullpen was dissolved a year-and-a-half later, as comic books in general and superhero comics in particular continued their post-war fade in popularity, Buscema<!--, the youngest member of the bullpen,--> ] and ] in a variety of genres, including ] and ].<ref name="steranko-a" /> | |||
| While training as a boxer, he began painting portraits of boxers and sold some cartoons to the ''Hobo News''.<ref name="quart" /> | |||
| ] | |||
| Seeking work as a commercial illustrator while doing various odd jobs, Buscema found himself instead entering the comic-book field in 1948, landing a staff job under ] and ] ] at ], the first forerunner of ]. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was famously called, included such fellow staffers as ], ], ],<ref>Steranko. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.5.</ref> and, hired roughly two months earlier, ]. <ref>Peel, J. (Sept.-Oct. 1984). John Buscema. Comics Feature, 31, p. 12.</ref> | |||
| ===1950s=== | |||
| Until the bullpen was dissolved a year-and-a-half later, as comic books in general and superhero comics in particular continued their post-war fade in popularity, Buscema, the youngest member of the "bullpen", ] and ] in a variety of genres, including ], ] and ].<ref> Steranko. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.5. </ref> His first recorded credit is the seven-page story "Crime: Kidnapping!- Victim: Abraham Lincoln!" in the Timely crime title ''Crime Fighters #4 (Nov. 1948)''. <ref>Evanier, M.,& Buscema, J. (June 2002). John Buscema: The San Diego 2001 interview. Alter Ego, v.3, 15, 16v-17v. </ref> Among the other titles to which he contributed were the "real-life" dramatic series ''True Adventures'' and ''Man Comics'' (the premiere issue of which sported Buscema's first comic-book cover), ''Cowboy Romances'', ''Two-Gun Western'' (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character the ]), '']'', and '']''. An early highlight is his work on the Tex Morgan western title (#'s 4-7). | |||
| ]'' a.k.a. '']'' #1006 (July 1959). Art by Buscema.]] | |||
| Buscema served in the ] in 1951 before receiving an honorable discharge due to ]. <ref name="quart">Quartuccio, Sal, and Keenan, Bob, ''The Art of John Buscema'' (New York, Sal Q Productions, 1978), Preface</ref> He continued to freelance for Timely, by now known as ], as well as for the publishers ], ], Our Publications/Orbit, ], ], and ]. | |||
| Buscema's mid-1950s work also includes ]' '']Comics'' #74-91 (Feb. 1954 - July 1955) and subsequent ''Roy Rogers and Trigger'' #92-97 & #104-108 (Aug. 1955 - Jan. 1956 & Aug.-Dec. 1956); and the ] series ''Ramar of the Jungle''and ''Nature Boy'' — the latter, Buscema's first ] work, created by himself and ] co-creator ]. | |||
| === 1950s === | |||
| ] | |||
| In the early 1950s Buscema (with a brief stint in the army in 1951, with a honorable discharge due to ulcer, after which he married in 1953)<ref name="quart">Quartuccio. ''Art of Buscema'', Intro. </ref> continued to work freelance for Timely (by now renamed ] as well as branching out to other publishers(Ace, Hillman, Orbit, Quality, St. John, Ziff-Davis), continuing in the crime, romance, western vein. Highlights of the period can be found especially with Our Publications/Orbit on such titles as Love Diary (#31-39, including all covers), Love Journal (#14-22 with most covers), Wanted Comics (#47-53 including most covers) and the Westerner (#28-29, 31, 33-37, 40), featuring Nuggets Nugent, Wild Bill Pecos and Lobo the Wolf Boy.<ref> Steranko. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', 5-6.</ref> | |||
| Buscema next produced a series of ] ], and ] film adaptations for Dell's '']'' series, including ''The Sharkfighters'' (#762, Jan. 1957), '']'' (#910, June 1958), '']'' (#944, Sept. 1958), which Buscema calls "one of the best books I ever did",<ref>Peel, John, "John Buscema" in ''Comics Feature'' #31 (Sept.-Oct. 1984), p. 13.</ref> and '']'' (#1139, Nov. 1960). | |||
| His mid-1950s work for other companies also includes ]' ''Nature Boy'' — created by himself and ] co-creator ], marking Buscema's first ] work — and ''Ramar of the Jungle''. | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema's Atlas work drops off as the comic industry shrinks after the early 1950s. He manages to continue working in comics for the better part of the decade, landing steady work mainly with Western/Dell. Of note for this period is his work on ] Comics (starting in 1954 with a long run of stories, #74-97 and 104-108). | |||
| He drew at least one issue of the ], film, and ] character ] for Dell in 1957, as well as one- to eight-page biographies of every ] through ] for that company's ] ''Life Stories of American Presidents''. | |||
| Buscema next produced a series of western, war, and sword and sandal film and television series adaptations for the Four Color title: | |||
| *684 Mar 1956 ( , 34 pgs) | |||
| *762 Jan 1957 (The Sharkfighters, 34 pages), | |||
| *775 Mar 1957 (, 34 pages), | |||
| *794 Apr 1957 (, 35 pages), | |||
| *910 Jun 1958 (, 34 pages), | |||
| *927 (Luke Short’s Top Gun, 35 pages), | |||
| *944 Sep 1958 (, 33 pages), | |||
| *1006 Jul 1959 (, 34 pages), | |||
| *1077 (, 34 pages), | |||
| *1130 (, 35 pages), | |||
| *1139 Nov 1960 (, 10 pages plus 22 pages pencils, Mike Peppe inks). | |||
| ]'' a.k.a. '']'' #1006 (July 1959). Art by Buscema.]] | |||
| According to Buscema :'...I did a bunch of their movie books-...that was a lot of fun. I worked from stills on those, except for ''The Vikings''....I think one of the best books I ever did was ''Sinbad the Sailor''.'<ref>Peel. John Buscema, p. 13.</ref> | |||
| During a late 1950s downturn in the comics industry, Buscema drew occasional ], ], and ] stories for Atlas Comics' '']'', '']'', and '']'', and ]'s ''Adventures into the Unknown'', and '']'' before leaving comics to do freelance commercial art.<ref>Steranko, James, Ibid., p. 6</ref> | |||
| Moreover, he drew at least one issue of the ], film, and ] character ] for Dell in 1957, as well as one- to eight-page bios of every ] through ] for that company's ] ''Life Stories of American Presidents''. His work on Indian Chief #30-33 is notable late 50's work. <ref>Evanier. San Diego 2001, p.7V. </ref> | |||
| ===1960s=== | |||
| As the late-1950s industry downturn continued, Buscema hung on with occasional ], ], and ] stories for Atlas ('']'', '']'', '']'') and ] (''Adventures into the Unknown'', ''Forbidden Worlds''.) before seeking work in other fields. He began a freelance position for the major ] ] studio, the Chaite Agency, which employed top commercial artists such as ] and Frank McCarthy.<ref> Steranko. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.6.</ref> | |||
| ]'' #41 (June 1967), Buscema's first issue of a signature series. Cover art by Buscema and ] ].]] | |||
| Buscema spent approximately eight years in the commercial-art field, freelancing for the Chaite Agency<ref>This advertising agency, not to be confused with New York City's similarly named ] Agency or ], was responsible for, among other things, the ] for the ] movie '']'', per </ref> and Triad studios, doing a variety of assignments: layouts, storyboards, illustrations, paperback book covers, etc. in a variety of medium. Buscema called this time "quite a learning period for me in my own development of techniques".<ref>Spurlock, Ibid., p. 35</ref> | |||
| He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller for ], debuting over ] layouts on the "]" story in '']'' #150 (Nov. 1966), followed by three "]" stories in '']'' #85-87 (Nov. 1966 - Jan. 1967). He then settled in as regular penciller of the '']'', which would become one of his signature series, with #41 (June 1967). ''Avengers'' #49-50, featuring Hercules and inked by Buscema, are two of his "best-looking of that period".<ref>], ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #21 (June 2002) p.5</ref> | |||
| === 1960s=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema spent around eight years in the commercial art field associated with the Chaite and Triad studios, doing a variety of assignments: layouts, storyboards, illustrations, paperback book covers, etc. in a variety of medium. According to Buscema: '...it was quite a learning period for me in my own development of techniques.'<ref> Spurlock. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.34</ref> | |||
| In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema "synthesized the essence of Kirby's supercharged action figures, harrowing perspectives, monolithic structures, mega-force explosions, and mythological planetscapes into a formula that he instantly integrated into his own superbly crafted vision. The process brought Buscema's art to life in a way that it had never been before. Anatomically balanced figures of Herculean proportions stalked, stormed, sprawled, and savaged their way across Marvel's universe like none had previously".<ref>Steranko, Ibid., pp. 6-7</ref> | |||
| He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller for ](he accepted an offer from Stan Lee which allowed him to cut down on his extensive commuting time)"<ref>Woolcombe, A.(Aug. 2002). Talking with Big John. Comic Book Artist, 21, p. 26-B.</ref> | |||
| , debuting over ] layouts on the "]" story in '']'' #150 (Nov. 1966), followed by three "]" stories in '']'' #85-87 (Nov. 1966 - Jan. 1967). He then settled in as regular penciller of the '']'', which would become one his signature series, with #41 (June 1967). ''Avengers'' #49-50, featuring Hercules and inked by Buscema, are two of his 'best-looking of that period.'<ref>Thomas, R. (June 2002). "Big John" & "Roy the Boy". Alter Ego, v.3, 15, p.5r</ref> | |||
| Buscema would pencil an average of two comics a month in collaboration with such inkers as ], ], ], ], his younger brother ], ], and, occasionally, Marvel ] and sometime inker-] ]. | |||
| In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema was influenced by Jack Kirby. According to Jim Steranko: '...the artist synthesized the essence of Kirby' supercharged action figures, harrowing perspectives, monolithic structures, mega-force explosions, and mythological planetscapes into a formula that he instantly integrated into his own superbly-crafted vision. The process brought Buscema's art to life in a way that it had never been before. Anatomically-balanced figures of Herculean proportions stalked, stormed, sprawled, and savaged their way across Marvel's universe like none had previously.' <ref> Steranko. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', 6-7.</ref> | |||
| Among Buscema's works during this period fans and historians call the ] are ''The Avengers'' #41-#62 (June 1967 - March 1969), which includes the introduction of the modern-day ] in #57 (Oct. 1968), and ''The Avengers Annual'' #2 (Sept. 1968); the first eight issues of ''The Sub-Mariner'' (May-Dec. 1968); '']'' #72-73, 76-81, 84-85 (ranging from June 1969 - June 1970), providing layouts finished by either ] or ], and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts; and a new title, '']''. That philosophical series about a ]-like alien roaming the world trying to understand both the divinity and the savagery of humanity was a personal favorite of Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee,<ref>]. ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' (Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue) ISBN 0-7851-0551-4</ref> who scripted. Buscema penciled 17 of its 18 issues — the first seven as a 25¢ "giant-size" title at a time when comics typically cost 12¢. Former Marvel editor-in-chief ] said Buscema considered ''Silver Surfer'' #4 (July 1969), featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor, "as the highpoint of his Marvel work".<ref name="highpoint">Thomas, Ibid., p.34B caption</ref> | |||
| Buscema would pencil an average of two comics a month in collaboration with such inkers as ], ], ], ], his younger brother ], ], and, occasinally, Marvel ] and sometime inker-] ]. | |||
| ]. One of Buscema's most famous covers.<ref>Thomas, R. & Buscema, S. (June 2002). Alter Ego, v.3, 15, p.31v</ref>]] | |||
| Among Buscema's works during this period fans and historians call the ] are ''The Avengers'' #41-#62 (June 1967 - March 1969), which includes the introduction of the modern-day ] in #57 (Oct. 1968), and ''The Avengers Annual'' #2 (Sept. 1968); the first eight issues of '']'' (May-Dec. 1968); '']'' #72-73, 76-81, 84-85 (ranging from June 1969 - June 1970), providing layouts finished by either ] or ], and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts; and a new title, '']''. That philosophical series about a ]-like alien roaming the world trying to understand both the divinity and the savagery of humanity was a personal favorite of Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee,<ref>Lee, Stan. ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' (Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue) ISBN 0-7851-0551-4</ref> who scripted. Buscema penciled 17 of its 18 issues — the first seven as a 25¢ "giant-size" title at a time when comics typically cost 12¢. Silver Surfer #4, featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor is regarded as one his finest achievements. <ref>Defalco, T., & Buscema, S. (August 2002). Memories of Brother John. Comic Book Artist, 21, p.34-B</ref> | |||
| Toward |
Toward the end of the decade, Buscema drew some fill-in issues of superhero series and also returned to familiar 1950s genres with a spate of mystery and romance stories (for ''Chamber of Darkness'', ''Tower of Shadows'', ''My Love'', ''Our Love''). He then returned to his signature series ''The Avengers'' for 11 issues inked by ]. | ||
| === |
===1970s=== | ||
| ] | ]. One of Buscema's most famous covers.<ref>Thomas, Ibid., p.31v</ref>]] | ||
| With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both Kirby's titles: ''Fantastic Four'' (penciling issues #107-141, following ]) and '']'' (#182-259). He was inked by ] on the former, and variously by Sinnott, Verpoorten, ], ], and others on the latter. | |||
| Buscema began penciling '']'' with #25 (April 1973) following ]'s celebrated run, and debuted as the Conan artist of the black-and-white comics-] omnibus ''Savage Sword of Conan'' with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title (the former through 190, the latter through 101, then again from #190-210), giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. He additionally drew the ''Conan'' Sunday and daily ] ] ] upon its premiere in 1978, and even contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 '']'' movie.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} | |||
| With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both Kirby's titles: ''Fantastic Four'' (penciling issues #107-141, following ]) and '']'' (#182-259). He was inked by ] on the former, and variously by Sinnott, Verpoorten, ], ], and others on the latter. Ironically, Buscema claimed to have a nearly complete disinterest for superheroes, although this never showed in his work.<ref>Defalco. Memories, p.35-B</ref> | |||
| Buscema began penciling '']'' with #25 (April 1973)with writer ] following ]'s celebrated run, and debuted as the Conan artist of the black-and-white comics-]''Savage Sword of Conan'' with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title (the former through 190, the latter through 101, then again from #190-210), giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. ]/Chan was his main inker on ''Conan the Barbarian'' in the 1970s, (except for a hiatus between #’s 44-69 which were inked by Tony DeZuniga, Dick Giordano, Tom Palmer, Steve Gan and others). Highlights of the Buscema/Thomas run include the double-sized issues #'s 100<ref>Thomas, R.,(February 1998). Roy's Ramblings. Conan Saga, 95, 61-62.</ref> and 115<ref>Thomas, R. (April 1995). Roy's Ramblings. Conan Saga, V.1, 97, 34-35.</ref>. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] was his regular inker on ''Savage Sword of Conan'' until #24 and they produced some highly regarded stories. Of note are "Iron Shadows in the Moon" (#4), "The Slithering Shadow" (#20). "The Tower of the Elephant" (#24,)<ref>Schumer, A.(Aug. 2002), , Remembering Buscema. Comic Book Artist, 21, p. 23-B.</ref> Tony DeZuniga became Buscema' regular inker with #26 producing Conan literary adaptations until his departure with #58 (with Thomas leaving with #60,<ref>Thomas. Big John, p.11r.</ref> | |||
| He additionally drew the ''Conan'' Sunday and daily ] ] ] upon its premiere in 1978,<ref>Thomas. Big John, p.14r.</ref> and even contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 Conan movie,<ref>Thomas. Big John, p.15r.</ref> as well as painting four covers for the Conan magazines. | |||
| In the mid-1970s, Buscema began opting to pencil primarily layouts (pencilled pages without the shading and rendering) as opposed to finished pencils.) <ref>Thomas. Big John, p.11r. </ref> For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month. | |||
| He launched the feature "]" in '']'' in 1970), and the comics '']'' (1976) and '']'' (1977). In additional to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles including '']'', '']'' (Marvel UK), '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. He also drew a story for the ] ] '']''. | |||
| In the mid-1970s, Buscema began opting to pencil primarily layouts (pencilled pages without the shading and rendering) as opposed to finished pencils. For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month. He launched the feature "]" in '']'' in 1970), and the comics '']'' (1976) and '']'' (1977). In additional to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles including '']'', '']'' (Marvel UK), '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. He also drew a story for the ] ] '']''. | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema contributed as well to Marvel's black-and-white comics magazines, including the features "]" in '']'' #1 (May 1971) and "]" in ''Rampaging Hulk'' #1 (Jan. 1977), and '' ]'' #1 & 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan,. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut from ] (''Dracula Lives!'', ''Monsters Unleashed'', '']'') to ] (''Crazy'', ''Pizzaz''). | Buscema contributed as well to Marvel's black-and-white comics magazines, including the features "]" in '']'' #1 (May 1971) and "]" in ''Rampaging Hulk'' #1 (Jan. 1977), and '' ]'' #1 & 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan,. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut from ] (''Dracula Lives!'', ''Monsters Unleashed'', '']'') to ] (''Crazy'', ''Pizzaz''). | ||
| Buscema left ''Thor'' for a time to launch the Marvel version of ''Tarzan'' in 1977. Other licensed projects include a 72-page '']'' movie adaptation in an oversized "Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking. He drew ''Star Trek'' as well as ''Holo Man'' (both for Power Records), and some ''Star Wars'' covers for the UK magazine. He also contributed some superhero drawings for ''Pro'', the ] official magazine (1970), and pencilled some chapters of the first issue of ''Marvel Comics Super Special Magazine'' featuring the rock group ] (1977). | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema collaborated with Stan Lee on the book ''How to Draw comics the Marvel Way'' (], 1978), a primer on comic-book art and storytelling. The same year saw the publication of ''The Art of John Buscema'' (S. Quartuccio, 1978), a retrospective that included an interview, previously unpublished sketches and drawings, and a cover that was also sold as a poster. | |||
| Buscema left the ''Thor'' title (although will return for issues #272-285, inks by Palmer and Stone) to launch the Marvel version of the ] popular fiction character ] in 1977. Having already done 13 issues of the Jungle-oriented ''Kazar'' (in ''Astonishing Tales'' and ''Savage Tales''), he pencilled and inked in the first three issues (along with several covers) although he switches to only layouts for the rest of his 18-issue stint with several changes in inkers. Of note is his ''Tarzan Annual'' #1 with Steve Gan inks. <ref>Thomas. Big John, p.16r.</ref> | |||
| Buscema capped off the decade penciling writer ]'s three-issue ] epic-fantasy tale "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in the magazine ''A Marvel Super Special'' #11-13 (June-Oct. 1979). ] released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.<ref></ref> | |||
| Other licensed projects include a 72-page '']'' movie adaptation in an oversized "Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking. Apparently Buscema, having something of a photographic memory, was able to draw the entire book without reference except for character photos, based on his recollection of a viewing 25 years prior. However, Roy Thomas reported that Buscema was originally working on an adaptation of the ] book based on the original illustrations. When Marvel decided to collaborate on the project with DC, the project became an adaptation of the MGM movie. <ref>Thomas. Big John, p.14r.</ref> | |||
| ===1980s=== | |||
| He drew ] as well as ''Holo Man'' (both for Power Records), and some ] covers for the UK magazine. He also contributed some superhero drawings for ''Pro'', the ] official magazine (1970), and pencilled some chapters of the first issue of ''Marvel Comics Super Special Magazine'' featuring the rock group ] (1977). | |||
| Buscema abandoned regular superhero work in order to spearhead art duties on all three Conan titles. The popularity of the character spurred the release of a Conan movie in 1982; Buscema provided pencils and inks for a 48-page movie adaptation. | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema collaborated with Stan Lee on the book ''How to Draw comics the Marvel Way'' (], 1978), a primer on comic-book art and storytelling, which was based on the comic art classes Buscema had given a few years prior,and has remained in print for over 25 years,<ref>Spurlock. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', 19-20.</ref> in its 33rd printing as of 2007. The same year saw the publication of ''The Art of John Buscema'' (S. Quartuccio, 1978), a retrospective that included an interview, previously unpublished sketches and drawings, and a cover that was also sold as a poster. Buscema's passion for drawing was such that he continued to draw and sketch in his spare time (often on the back of comic book art pages) and these images form a considerable body of work in their own right. <ref>Defalco. Memories, p.35-B.</ref> | |||
| Buscema capped off the decade penciling writer ]'s three-issue ] epic-fantasy tale "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in the magazine ''A Marvel Super Special'' #11-13 (June-Oct. 1979). ] released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.<ref> | |||
| > Retrieved on ], ].</ref> | |||
| === 1980s === | |||
| ] | |||
| The Thomas, Buscema, Chan team launched a third Conan title, the double-sized bi-monthly ''King Conan'' in 1980 as Buscema abandoned regular superhero work in order to spearhead art duties on all three Conan titles and he draws a 6-plate Conan portfolio released by Sal Q. Productions in 1980. The popularity of the character spurred the release of the film in 1982; Buscema provided pencils and inks for a 48-page movie adaptation. | |||
| He continued to tackle other high-profile projects such as the second ''Superman and Spider-Man'' team-up (1981), a Silver Surfer story for '']'' #1 (1980), a ] story (''Marvel Preview'' #22, 1980), an adaptation of the 1981 movie '']'', and the ] biography of ''Francis, Brother of the Universe'' (1980). | He continued to tackle other high-profile projects such as the second ''Superman and Spider-Man'' team-up (1981), a Silver Surfer story for '']'' #1 (1980), a ] story (''Marvel Preview'' #22, 1980), an adaptation of the 1981 movie '']'', and the ] biography of ''Francis, Brother of the Universe'' (1980). | ||
| Buscema became increasingly disenchanted with the writing on the various Conan series{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. He left ''King Conan'' in 1982 after nine issues, although he remained with Marvel's Robert E. Howard franchise with a revival of the '']'' series for 10 issues, and left ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' in 1984 with #101 with a series of stories that he plotted himself. After pencilling the ''Conan the Destroyer'' movie adaptation in 1984 and the ''Conan of the Isles'' graphic novel in 1987, he left ''Conan the Barbarian'' with #190 in 1987, ending a 14-year association with the character. | |||
| Buscema continued on ''Savage Sword of Conan'' after Thomas and Dezuniga's departures (Ernie Chan, Rudy Nebres, Nestor Redondo took on the inking chores, as did Buscema himself in issues #61, 70, 73) and introduced a character of his own creation, Bront, in a 5-part tale in issues #65-66, 79-81, which he plotted, pencilled, and inked. He continued with the Conan the Barbarian comic book series which had gone through a number of changes in writers and inkers (Bob Camp being the most prolific inker before the return of Ernie Chan as regular inker). Buscema plotted five issues (#'s 155-159) as he had strong plotting and storytelling skills as evidenced in his preference for the 'Marvel method' of storytelling (i.e. working from a brief plot rather than a full script). <ref> Stan Lee declared: 'As a writer I found him a delight to work with. I had only to give him the barest bones of a plot and he'd flesh it out magnificently. He didn't even want a written synopsis most of the time. We'd discuss the story over the phone for a few minutes and days later he'd deliver a terrific strip that looked as though we had spent weeks going over every last detail!' in Schumer. Remembering Buscema, p. 23-B.</ref> He began contributing pencilled and inked covers in the last few years of his tenure on the title. | |||
| Buscema became increasingly disenchanted with the writing on the various Conan series. <ref>Peel. John Buscema, p. 18.</ref> He left ''King Conan'' in 1982 after nine issues, although he remained with Marvel's Robert E. Howard franchise with a revival of the '']'' series for 10 issues, and left ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' in 1984 with #101 with a series of stories that he plotted himself. After pencilling the ''Conan the Destroyer'' movie adaptation in 1984 and the ''Conan of the Isles'' graphic novel in 1987, he left ''Conan the Barbarian'' with #190 in 1987, ending a 14-year association with the character. | |||
| ] | |||
| After nearly five years away from superheroes, except for the first two issues of the four-issue, X-Men related miniseries ''Magik'' (Dec. 1983 - March 1984), Buscema returned to familiar ground as regular penciller on ''The Avengers'' from #255-300 (May 1985 - Feb. 1989). He was also regular penciller on ''Fantastic Four'' for its 300th issue, during a 15-issue stint from #296-309 (Nov. 1986 - Dec. 1987). Additionally, he also fit in the three-issue film adaptation '']'' (Nov. 1986 - Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseries '']'' (April-July 1987), a character he created with Stan Lee in ''The Silver Surfer''. Moreover, he continued his inking efforts, producing the ''Thor Annual'' (#15, 1985), a 10-page western in ''Savage Tales'' magazine (#10,1986), and a plate for the ''WFCBA Portfolio'' (Éditions Déesse, 1983), for example. | |||
| Buscema reteamed with Lee on the Silver Surfer himself with the 1988 graphic novel ''Silver Surfer: Judgment Day'', self-inked and done entirely as full-page panels. He helped launch ] solo series in 1988 with the anthology ''Marvel Comics Presents'' #1-10 (inked by Klaus Janson) and #38-47 (inking himself), and ''Wolverine'', which marked a return for Buscema to doing finished pencils for a short period. | |||
| ===Later career === | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| After nearly five years away from superheroes, except for the first two issues of the X-Men-related, four-issue miniseries ''Magik'' (Dec. 1983 - March 1984), Buscema returned to familiar ground as regular penciller on ''The Avengers'' from #255-300 (May 1985 - Feb. 1989). He was also regular penciller on ''Fantastic Four'' for its 300th issue, during a 15-issue stint from #296-309 (Nov. 1986 - Dec. 1987). Additionally, he also fit in the three-issue film adaptation '']'' (Nov. 1986 - Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseries '']'' (April-July 1987), a character he created with Stan Lee in ''The Silver Surfer''. | |||
| Buscema reteamed with Lee on the Silver Surfer himself with the 1988 <!--hardcover : no, it was released as both hardcover and trade paperback, per http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=16851--> graphic novel ''Silver Surfer: Judgment Day'', self-inked and done entirely as full-page panels. He helped launch ] solo series in 1988 with the anthology ''Marvel Comics Presents'' #1-10 (inked by Klaus Janson) and #38-47 (inking himself), and ''Wolverine'', which marked a return for Buscema to doing finished pencils regularly. | |||
| Buscema began his sixth decade in the field by joining Roy Thomas for a return to ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' with #191 (Nov. 1991) for a 20-issue run. ''Conan the Rogue'', a ] plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored by Buscema over a period of several years in his spare time appeared that same year. <ref>Thomas. Big John, 16-17. </ref> He departed the ''Wolverine'' title, but not before both penciling and inking the graphic novel ''Wolverine: Bloody Choices'' (Nov. 1993). | |||
| ===Later career=== | |||
| Buscema returned to the ] genre with the ''The Punisher: War Zone'' #23-30 (Jan.-Aug. 1994, self-inking #26-29); ] an artist he particularly admired, follow him on that title. <ref>Peel. John Buscema, p.66.</ref> Buscema also pencilled and inked that title's 1993 ], a ] Punisher ] tale, the 1994 graphic novel ''A Man Named Frank'', and was the penciller for '']'' (1994) team-up. No longer attached to a regular series after his Punisher run, he penciled and inked a ''The Avengers Annual'' #23 (1994) and five more black-and-white Conan adventures, serving as that Marvel franchise's final artist on ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' with #235 (July 1995) and on the short-lived spin-off ''Conan the Savage'' with #10 (May 1996).<ref>Thomas. Big John, p.17r.</ref> | |||
| Buscema began his sixth decade in the field by joining Roy Thomas for a return to ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' with #191 (Nov. 1991) for a 20-issue run. ''Conan the Rogue'', a ] plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored by Buscema over a period of several years in his spare time appeared that same year.<ref>Thomas, Ibid., pp.16-17</ref> He departed the ''Wolverine'' title, but not before both penciling and inking the graphic novel ''Wolverine: Bloody Choices'' (Nov. 1993). | |||
| ].]] | |||
| Buscema returned to ] with ''The Punisher: War Zone'' #23-30 (Jan.-Aug. 1994, self-inking #26-29). Buscema also pencilled and inked that title's 1993 ] and the 1994 graphic novel ''A Man Named Frank'', a ] Punisher ] tale. He also pencilled the Punisher portions of 1994's '']'' team-up. No longer attached to a regular series after his Punisher run, he penciled and inked ''The Avengers Annual'' #23 (1994) and five more black-and-white Conan adventures, serving as that Marvel franchise's final artist on ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' with #235 (July 1995) and on the short-lived spin-off ''Conan the Savage'' with #10 (May 1996).<!--the cited databases list his raw credits; they don't need separate footnotes unless there's something controversial or disputed about them--> He also provided fill-in pencil jobs on the ''Cosmic Powers Unlimited'' miniseries, ''Doom 2099'', ''Fantastic Four 2099'', ''Thor'', ''Fantastic Four'', ''Silver Surfer'' and a ''Silver Surfer/Rune'' special. | |||
| Buscema semi-retired in 1996 ,at age 68. He did pencils and inks on a black-and-white short story for ''Shadows and Light'' (1998) and made a final return to Conan with the ''Death Covered in Gold'' three-issue miniseries (1999). He penciled and inked ''The Amazing Spider-Man 1999 Annual'' (June 1999), penciled five of the six-issue ''] the Devourer'' miniseries, and a fill-in ''Thor''. | |||
| He later provided a few fill-in pencil jobs (the ''Cosmic Powers Unlimited'' miniseries, ''Doom 2099'', ''Fantastic Four 2099'', ''Thor'', ''Fantastic Four'', ''Silver Surfer'' and a ''Silver Surfer/Rune'' special). | |||
| ] | |||
| Bill Sienkiewicz, a regular Buscema inker during this period, considers Buscema's pencils at this stage of his career as {{cquote|...the sturdiest foundation an inker or an embellisher could possibly hope to build on, and their beauty was not in their attention to fastidiously rendered minutiae, but instead were marvels of deceptive simplicity. Each page an example of grace, elegance and power.}} <ref>Sienkiewicz, B.(August, 2002), Remembering Buscema. Comic Book Artist,21, p. 22-B.</ref> | |||
| In 1996, he formally retired at age 68. 1997 was the first year in 30 years where new Buscema material did not appear on the stands - it would also be the last year in Buscema's lifetime, as Buscema continued to receive assignment offers; his retirement thus becoming a "semi-retirement".<ref>Spurlock. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.95.</ref> | |||
| Buscema worked with ] for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a black-and-white ] short story (''Batman: Gotham Knights'' #7, 2000). He reunited with Stan Lee on the 2001 one-shot ''Just Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman''. He also kept active doing private commissions and cover re-creations as well as teaching art classes with abstract expressionist and figurative painter, Jack Beal{{Fact|date=June 2007}}, and helped produce ''The John Buscema Sketchbook'' (Vanguard Production, 2001). | |||
| He did pencils and inks on a black-and-white short story for ''Shadows and Light'' (1998) and made a final return to Conan with the ''Death Covered in Gold'' three-issue miniseries (1999). He penciled and inked ''Spider-Man Annual'', penciled five of the six-issue ''] the Devourer'' miniseries (inked by ], and a fill-in ''Thor'' issue (inked by ]). | |||
| ] | |||
| Buscema worked with ] for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a black-and-white ] short story (''Batman: Gotham Knights'' #7, 2000). He later reunited with Stan Lee on the ''Just Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman'' (2001) project. He also kept active doing private commissions and cover re-creations as well as teaching art classes with abstract expressionist and figurative painter, Jack Beal. <ref> Spurlock. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.20.</ref> and helped produce the John Buscema Sketchbook (Vanguard 2001) for whose promotion he attended the 2001 San Diego Comic Art Convention where he was received with great appreciation by fans and colleagues.<ref>Irving. Life of Buscema. p.11-B.</ref> The book gives a good overview of Buscema's wide-ranging passion for art: | |||
| He finished the pencils on 2004's ''Superman: Blood of my Ancestors'', begun by ], who had since died, and had just signed on for a five-issue miniseries with Roy Thomas, ''JLA: Barbarians''. Shortly after finishing the first issue, Buscema, diagnosed with ] a few months earlier, died at the age of 74.<ref>''Alter Ego'', Ibid., p.20R</ref> An 11x17-inch ] print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted in ] by ] for the publisher ], was Buscema's last professional work. | |||
| {{cquote|I love all the painters…Vermeer, Velasquez, Goya, Rubens, Rembrandt…I’ve got over a thousand art books!}} <ref>Spurlock. ''Buscema Sketchbook'', p.111.</ref> | |||
| He finished the pencils on a Superman project started by ], who had since died, ''Superman: Blood of my Ancestors'' (inks by ], 2003) and had just signed on for a five-issue miniseries with Roy Thomas, ''JLA: Barbarians''. Shortly after finishing the first issue, Buscema, diagnosed with ] a few months earlier, passed away at the age of 74.<ref>Thomas. Big John, p.20r.</ref> An 11x17-inch ] print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted in ] by ] for the publisher Dynamic Forces, was Buscema's last professional work. | |||
| ==Quotes== | ==Quotes== | ||
| ] cover art by Buscema.]] | |||
| ''']:''' "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 was also a brilliant visual storyteller. Thinking back on all the strips 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 beautifully that the stories 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.".<ref> Lee, S., et al. (June 2002). Tributes - A few more words about John Buscema. Alter Ego, v.3, 15, 42v-43v. </ref> | |||
| ''']:''' "One thing I lived about Big John is the fact that I didn't have to spend time writing synopses for him.... He'd always growl over the phone, 'Don't bother sending me any outlines, Stan. I hate to waste time reading them. Just tell what you've got in mind over the phone. I'll remember it.' So I'd tell him the story I wanted, and I have a hunch he didn't even write any notes while I spoke — because I spoke too fast — but it didn't matter. He remembered every last detail and the stories always came out perfect — at least as far as I was concerned".<ref>Irving, Christopher, "The Life of Legendary 'Big' John Buscema", ''Comic Book Artist'' #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 6B</ref> | |||
| Inker ''']''' on Buscema's pencil layouts: "he sturdiest foundation an inker or an embellisher could possbily hope to build on, and their beauty was not in their attention to fastidiously rendered minutiae, but instead were marvels of deceptive simplicity. Each page an example of grace, elegance and power".<ref>], , "Remembering Buscema: Over 25 of the Master's Peers Reminisce about John and his Art", ''Comic Book Artist'' #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 22B.</ref> | |||
| ==Awards== | ==Awards== | ||
| Line 153: | Line 104: | ||
| ==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
| The documentary ''Frank Frazetta, Painting with Fire'' (2003)<ref>{{imdb title|id=0363621|title=Frazetta: Painting with Fire}} |
The documentary ''], Painting with Fire'' (2003)<ref>{{imdb title|id=0363621|title=Frazetta: Painting with Fire}}</ref> is posthumously dedicated to Buscema. | ||
| ==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
| Line 163: | Line 114: | ||
| * | * | ||
| *'']'' vol. 3, #21 (Aug. 2002): "Remembering John Buscema: A CBA Tribute", pp. 3B-39B | *'']'' vol. 3, #21 (Aug. 2002): "Remembering John Buscema: A CBA Tribute", pp. 3B-39B | ||
| * | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | |||
Revision as of 13:44, 3 January 2008
| John Buscema | |
|---|---|
 Buscema in 1975 Marvel publicity photo | |
| Nationality |  |
| Area(s) | Penciler; Inker |
| Notable works | Conan the Barbarian The Avengers The Silver Surfer |
Expression error: Unexpected < operator
John Buscema, né Giovanni Natale Buscema (December 11, 1927–January 10, 2002), was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic-book artist.
Buscema is best known for his run on the series The Avengers and The Silver Surfer, and for over 200 stories featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. In addition, he pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including runs on such flagships as Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man. Buscema, along with John Romita Sr., stepped into the breach when industry legend Jack Kirby, one of the architects of Marvel Comics, left the company from 1970-1975.
He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002.
Biography
Early life and career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying comic strips such as Popeye. In his teens he developed an interest in both superhero comic books and such classic adventure comic strips as Hal Foster's Tarzan and Prince Valiant, Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, and Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates. He also showed an interest in commercial illustrators of the period, such as N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, Colby Whitmore, Al Dorne and Robert Fawcett, and in the fine arts, the Italian Renaissance artists in particular.
Buscema graduated from Manhattan's High School of Music and Art. He also took night lessons at Pratt Institute well as life-drawing classes at the Brooklyn Museum. While training as a boxer, he began painting portraits of boxers and sold some cartoons to the Hobo News. Seeking work as a commercial illustrator while doing various odd jobs, Buscema found himself instead entering the comic-book field in 1948, landing a staff job under editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee at Timely Comics, the first forerunner of Marvel Comics. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was famously called, included such fellow staffers as established veterans Syd Shores, Carl Burgos, Mike Sekowsky, George Klein, and Marty Nodell and fledgling Gene Colan.
His first recorded credit is the seven-page story "Crime: Kidnapping! - Victim: Abraham Lincoln!" in Timely's Crime Fighters #4 (Nov. 1948). He also contributed to the "real-life" dramatic series True Adventures and Man Comics (the premiere issue of which sported Buscema's first comic-book cover), Cowboy Romances, Two-Gun Western (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character the Apache Kid), Lorna the Jungle Queen, and Strange Tales. Until the bullpen was dissolved a year-and-a-half later, as comic books in general and superhero comics in particular continued their post-war fade in popularity, Buscema penciled and inked in a variety of genres, including crime fiction and romance fiction.
1950s
Buscema served in the U.S. Army in 1951 before receiving an honorable discharge due to ulcer. He continued to freelance for Timely, by now known as Atlas Comics, as well as for the publishers Ace Comics, Hillman Periodicals, Our Publications/Orbit, Quality Comics, St. John Publications, and Ziff-Davis.
Buscema's mid-1950s work also includes Dell Comics' Roy RogersComics #74-91 (Feb. 1954 - July 1955) and subsequent Roy Rogers and Trigger #92-97 & #104-108 (Aug. 1955 - Jan. 1956 & Aug.-Dec. 1956); and the Charlton Comics series Ramar of the Jungleand Nature Boy — the latter, Buscema's first superhero work, created by himself and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.
Buscema next produced a series of Western war, and sword and sandal film adaptations for Dell's Four Color series, including The Sharkfighters (#762, Jan. 1957), The Vikings (#910, June 1958), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (#944, Sept. 1958), which Buscema calls "one of the best books I ever did", and Spartacus (#1139, Nov. 1960).
He drew at least one issue of the radio, film, and TV character The Cisco Kid for Dell in 1957, as well as one- to eight-page biographies of every U.S. president through Dwight Eisenhower for that company's one-shot Life Stories of American Presidents.
During a late 1950s downturn in the comics industry, Buscema drew occasional mystery, fantasy, and science-fiction stories for Atlas Comics' Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, and Strange Worlds, and American Comics Group's Adventures into the Unknown, and Forbidden Worlds before leaving comics to do freelance commercial art.
1960s
Buscema spent approximately eight years in the commercial-art field, freelancing for the Chaite Agency and Triad studios, doing a variety of assignments: layouts, storyboards, illustrations, paperback book covers, etc. in a variety of medium. Buscema called this time "quite a learning period for me in my own development of techniques".
He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller for Marvel Comics, debuting over Jack Kirby layouts on the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." story in Strange Tales #150 (Nov. 1966), followed by three "The Incredible Hullk" stories in Tales to Astonish #85-87 (Nov. 1966 - Jan. 1967). He then settled in as regular penciller of the The Avengers, which would become one of his signature series, with #41 (June 1967). Avengers #49-50, featuring Hercules and inked by Buscema, are two of his "best-looking of that period".
In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema "synthesized the essence of Kirby's supercharged action figures, harrowing perspectives, monolithic structures, mega-force explosions, and mythological planetscapes into a formula that he instantly integrated into his own superbly crafted vision. The process brought Buscema's art to life in a way that it had never been before. Anatomically balanced figures of Herculean proportions stalked, stormed, sprawled, and savaged their way across Marvel's universe like none had previously".
Buscema would pencil an average of two comics a month in collaboration with such inkers as George Klein, Frank Giacoia, Dan Adkins, Joe Sinnott, his younger brother Sal Buscema, Tom Palmer, and, occasionally, Marvel production manager and sometime inker-cartoonist John Verpoorten.
Among Buscema's works during this period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books are The Avengers #41-#62 (June 1967 - March 1969), which includes the introduction of the modern-day Vision in #57 (Oct. 1968), and The Avengers Annual #2 (Sept. 1968); the first eight issues of The Sub-Mariner (May-Dec. 1968); The Amazing Spider-Man #72-73, 76-81, 84-85 (ranging from June 1969 - June 1970), providing layouts finished by either John Romita or Jim Mooney, and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts; and a new title, The Silver Surfer. That philosophical series about a Christ-like alien roaming the world trying to understand both the divinity and the savagery of humanity was a personal favorite of Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, who scripted. Buscema penciled 17 of its 18 issues — the first seven as a 25¢ "giant-size" title at a time when comics typically cost 12¢. Former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas said Buscema considered Silver Surfer #4 (July 1969), featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor, "as the highpoint of his Marvel work".
Toward the end of the decade, Buscema drew some fill-in issues of superhero series and also returned to familiar 1950s genres with a spate of mystery and romance stories (for Chamber of Darkness, Tower of Shadows, My Love, Our Love). He then returned to his signature series The Avengers for 11 issues inked by Tom Palmer.
1970s
With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both Kirby's titles: Fantastic Four (penciling issues #107-141, following John Romita Sr.) and The Mighty Thor (#182-259). He was inked by Joe Sinnott on the former, and variously by Sinnott, Verpoorten, Vince Colletta, Tony DeZuniga, and others on the latter.
Buscema began penciling Conan the Barbarian with #25 (April 1973) following Barry Smith's celebrated run, and debuted as the Conan artist of the black-and-white comics-magazine omnibus Savage Sword of Conan with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title (the former through 190, the latter through 101, then again from #190-210), giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. He additionally drew the Conan Sunday and daily syndicated newspaper comic strip upon its premiere in 1978, and even contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie.
In the mid-1970s, Buscema began opting to pencil primarily layouts (pencilled pages without the shading and rendering) as opposed to finished pencils. For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month. He launched the feature "Black Widow" in Amazing Adventures in 1970), and the comics Nova (1976) and Ms. Marvel (1977). In additional to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles including Captain America, Captain Britain (Marvel UK), Daredevil, The Frankenstein Monster, Howard the Duck, Master of Kung Fu, Red Sonja and Warlock. He also drew a story for the science-fiction anthology Worlds Unknown.
Buscema contributed as well to Marvel's black-and-white comics magazines, including the features "Ka-Zar" in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971) and "Bloodstone" in Rampaging Hulk #1 (Jan. 1977), and Doc Savage #1 & 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan,. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut from horror (Dracula Lives!, Monsters Unleashed, Tales of the Zombie) to humor (Crazy, Pizzaz).
Buscema left Thor for a time to launch the Marvel version of Tarzan in 1977. Other licensed projects include a 72-page The Wizard of Oz movie adaptation in an oversized "Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking. He drew Star Trek as well as Holo Man (both for Power Records), and some Star Wars covers for the UK magazine. He also contributed some superhero drawings for Pro, the NFL official magazine (1970), and pencilled some chapters of the first issue of Marvel Comics Super Special Magazine featuring the rock group Kiss (1977).
Buscema collaborated with Stan Lee on the book How to Draw comics the Marvel Way (Simon & Schuster, 1978), a primer on comic-book art and storytelling. The same year saw the publication of The Art of John Buscema (S. Quartuccio, 1978), a retrospective that included an interview, previously unpublished sketches and drawings, and a cover that was also sold as a poster.
Buscema capped off the decade penciling writer Doug Moench's three-issue Weirdworld epic-fantasy tale "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in the magazine A Marvel Super Special #11-13 (June-Oct. 1979). Pacific Comics released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.
1980s
Buscema abandoned regular superhero work in order to spearhead art duties on all three Conan titles. The popularity of the character spurred the release of a Conan movie in 1982; Buscema provided pencils and inks for a 48-page movie adaptation.
He continued to tackle other high-profile projects such as the second Superman and Spider-Man team-up (1981), a Silver Surfer story for Epic Illustrated #1 (1980), a King Arthur story (Marvel Preview #22, 1980), an adaptation of the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the St. Francis of Assisi biography of Francis, Brother of the Universe (1980).
Buscema became increasingly disenchanted with the writing on the various Conan series. He left King Conan in 1982 after nine issues, although he remained with Marvel's Robert E. Howard franchise with a revival of the Kull series for 10 issues, and left The Savage Sword of Conan in 1984 with #101 with a series of stories that he plotted himself. After pencilling the Conan the Destroyer movie adaptation in 1984 and the Conan of the Isles graphic novel in 1987, he left Conan the Barbarian with #190 in 1987, ending a 14-year association with the character.
After nearly five years away from superheroes, except for the first two issues of the X-Men-related, four-issue miniseries Magik (Dec. 1983 - March 1984), Buscema returned to familiar ground as regular penciller on The Avengers from #255-300 (May 1985 - Feb. 1989). He was also regular penciller on Fantastic Four for its 300th issue, during a 15-issue stint from #296-309 (Nov. 1986 - Dec. 1987). Additionally, he also fit in the three-issue film adaptation Labyrinth (Nov. 1986 - Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseries Mephisto (April-July 1987), a character he created with Stan Lee in The Silver Surfer.
Buscema reteamed with Lee on the Silver Surfer himself with the 1988 graphic novel Silver Surfer: Judgment Day, self-inked and done entirely as full-page panels. He helped launch Wolverine solo series in 1988 with the anthology Marvel Comics Presents #1-10 (inked by Klaus Janson) and #38-47 (inking himself), and Wolverine, which marked a return for Buscema to doing finished pencils regularly.
Later career
Buscema began his sixth decade in the field by joining Roy Thomas for a return to The Savage Sword of Conan with #191 (Nov. 1991) for a 20-issue run. Conan the Rogue, a graphic novel plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored by Buscema over a period of several years in his spare time appeared that same year. He departed the Wolverine title, but not before both penciling and inking the graphic novel Wolverine: Bloody Choices (Nov. 1993).
Buscema returned to crime fiction with The Punisher: War Zone #23-30 (Jan.-Aug. 1994, self-inking #26-29). Buscema also pencilled and inked that title's 1993 summer annual and the 1994 graphic novel A Man Named Frank, a parallel-universe Punisher Western tale. He also pencilled the Punisher portions of 1994's The Punisher Meets Archie team-up. No longer attached to a regular series after his Punisher run, he penciled and inked The Avengers Annual #23 (1994) and five more black-and-white Conan adventures, serving as that Marvel franchise's final artist on The Savage Sword of Conan with #235 (July 1995) and on the short-lived spin-off Conan the Savage with #10 (May 1996). He also provided fill-in pencil jobs on the Cosmic Powers Unlimited miniseries, Doom 2099, Fantastic Four 2099, Thor, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and a Silver Surfer/Rune special.
Buscema semi-retired in 1996 ,at age 68. He did pencils and inks on a black-and-white short story for Shadows and Light (1998) and made a final return to Conan with the Death Covered in Gold three-issue miniseries (1999). He penciled and inked The Amazing Spider-Man 1999 Annual (June 1999), penciled five of the six-issue Galactus the Devourer miniseries, and a fill-in Thor.
Buscema worked with DC Comics for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a black-and-white Batman short story (Batman: Gotham Knights #7, 2000). He reunited with Stan Lee on the 2001 one-shot Just Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman. He also kept active doing private commissions and cover re-creations as well as teaching art classes with abstract expressionist and figurative painter, Jack Beal, and helped produce The John Buscema Sketchbook (Vanguard Production, 2001).
He finished the pencils on 2004's Superman: Blood of my Ancestors, begun by Gil Kane, who had since died, and had just signed on for a five-issue miniseries with Roy Thomas, JLA: Barbarians. Shortly after finishing the first issue, Buscema, diagnosed with stomach cancer a few months earlier, died at the age of 74. An 11x17-inch lithograph print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted in watercolor by Alex Ross for the publisher Dynamic Forces, was Buscema's last professional work.
Quotes
Stan Lee: "One thing I lived about Big John is the fact that I didn't have to spend time writing synopses for him.... He'd always growl over the phone, 'Don't bother sending me any outlines, Stan. I hate to waste time reading them. Just tell what you've got in mind over the phone. I'll remember it.' So I'd tell him the story I wanted, and I have a hunch he didn't even write any notes while I spoke — because I spoke too fast — but it didn't matter. He remembered every last detail and the stories always came out perfect — at least as far as I was concerned".
Inker Bill Sienkiewicz on Buscema's pencil layouts: "he sturdiest foundation an inker or an embellisher could possbily hope to build on, and their beauty was not in their attention to fastidiously rendered minutiae, but instead were marvels of deceptive simplicity. Each page an example of grace, elegance and power".
Awards
Buscema received much recognition for his work in comics, including the 1968 Alley Award for Best Full-Length Story, for Marvel Comics' The Silver Surfer #1: "Origin of the Silver Surfer", by Stan Lee & John Buscema (tied with DC Comics' The Brave and the Bold #79: "Track of the Hook", by Bob Haney & Neal Adams), and the 1974 Shazam Award for Best Penciller (Dramatic Division).
Legacy
The documentary Frank Frazetta, Painting with Fire (2003) is posthumously dedicated to Buscema.
Footnotes
- ^ Quartuccio, Sal, and Keenan, Bob, The Art of John Buscema (New York, Sal Q Productions, 1978) Cite error: The named reference "quart" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Spurlock, David J., and John Buscema, The Art of John Buscema (New Jersey: Vanguard Productions, 2001) pp.60-61. Hardcover ISBN 1-887591-18-4, signed-numbered hardcover ISBN 1-887591-17-6, trade paperback ISBN 1-887591-19-2
- Spurlock, Ibid., p.27
- Steranko, James, "John Buscema and the Renaissance of Comic Art" in Spurlock, Ibid., p.7
- Irving, Christoper, "The Life of Legendary 'Big' John Buscema", Comic Book Artist #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 5-B.
- ^ Steranko, Ibid., p.5
- Evanier, Mark, and John Buscema, Alter Ego vol. 3, #21 (June 2002) pp.16-17V
- Peel, John, "John Buscema" in Comics Feature #31 (Sept.-Oct. 1984), p. 13.
- Steranko, James, Ibid., p. 6
- This advertising agency, not to be confused with New York City's similarly named Lawrence G. Chait Agency or Chiat\Day, was responsible for, among other things, the one-sheet for the James Bond movie Thunderball, per British Film Institute: Exhibitions & Events: "Poster Galore"
- Spurlock, Ibid., p. 35
- Thomas, Roy, Alter Ego vol. 3, #21 (June 2002) p.5
- Steranko, Ibid., pp. 6-7
- Lee, Stan. Origins of Marvel Comics (Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue) ISBN 0-7851-0551-4
- Thomas, Ibid., p.34B caption
- Thomas, Ibid., p.31v
- "The John Buscema Checklist", by Michel Maillot
- Thomas, Ibid., pp.16-17
- Alter Ego, Ibid., p.20R
- Irving, Christopher, "The Life of Legendary 'Big' John Buscema", Comic Book Artist #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 6B
- Sienkiewicz, Bill, , "Remembering Buscema: Over 25 of the Master's Peers Reminisce about John and his Art", Comic Book Artist #21 (Aug. 2002), p. 22B.
- Frazetta: Painting with Fire at IMDb
References
- The Official John Buscema Website
- The Comic Strip Project
- The Grand Comics Database
- Alter Ego vol. 3, #21 (Aug. 2002): "Remembering John Buscema: A CBA Tribute", pp. 3B-39B
External links
| Preceded byJohn Romita, Sr. | Fantastic Four artist 1971–1973 |
Succeeded byRich Buckler |
| Preceded byJohn Byrne | Fantastic Four artist 1986–1987 |
Succeeded byKeith Pollard |