Buscema, John

It had to be John Buscema, that was obvious, but why? Well, because of… because of… well, everything!

Although he had been working in comics since the late 1940s, in the late 1960s and ‘70s, John Buscema drew everything. When Jack Kirby jumped ship to DC, Buscema was Marvel’s visual identity throughout that decade; the “How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” book consisted of a step-by-step guide of how to draw pages like John Buscema.

This might have led to accusations of sterility inside the self-styled “House of Ideas” if Buscema hadn't been so damned good!
While he wasn't the creative dynamo that Kirby was (and let’s face it, who was?) he was equally prolific, taking over a number of landmark Kirby characters and (arguably) making his the definitive versions.

His stint on The Avengers from 1967 – ‘76 remains the high water mark on the title, illustrating many landmark stories, often written by Roy Thomas. In fact, it’s probably not too far from the truth to say that Thomas & Buscema were to ‘70s Marvel what Lee & Kirby had been to the ‘60s.

Buscema's style was not as in-your-face dynamic/explosive as Kirby’s (again, who was?), his figures had a more languid, flowing presence. He was often well-served by inkers (most notably Tom Palmer and Ernie Chan), but the high water mark of his drawing abilities must surely be his work on Conan The Barbarian.
Roy Thomas (again) had adapted Robert E. Howard’s barbarian stories with the early issues illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith to much critical acclaim, so when Buscema took over the art chores on the title he was replacing a fan-favourite artist of no little renown.
Buscema produced artwork for nearly 200 issues of Conan The Barbarian and another 15 years worth of work on the black & white Savage Sword of Conan magazine, ably inked (usually) by the incredible Alfredo Alcala.

As can be seen from the above, the man could draw! Conan was a real labour of love for Buscema, and it showed in every panel. Remember what I said about the definitive version of some characters? When the Schwarzenegger movies were made in the 80s, it was no accident that the producers chose this version on which to base their attempts.
To me, John Buscema remains synonymous with Marvel to much the same extent as Stan or Jack. To a young boy growing up reading his comics in the 1960s and ‘70s, John Buscema was everything.


John Buscema – Selected bibliography

Marvel ComicsAvengers #41-44, 46-47, 49-62, 74-77, 79-85, 94, 97, 105, 121, 124-125, 152-153 (1967–76)
Conan the Barbarian #25-36, 38-39, 41-56, 58-63, 65-68, 70-78, 84-86, 88-91, 93-126, 136, 140-144, 146-153, 155-159, 161-163, 165-179, 181-185, 187-190; Annual #2, 4, 5, 7 (1973–87)
Savage Sword of Conan #1-5, 7, 10-13, 15-24, 26-28, 30-36, 38-43, 45, 47-58, 60-67, 70-74, 76-81, 87-88, 90-93, 95-96, 98-101 (1974–84)
Silver Surfer #1-17 (1968–70)
Sub-Mariner #1-8 (1968-69)