John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Security Death Index for Buscema, John N.,
Social Security Number
In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to ...
108-20-9641. was an American
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
and one of the mainstays of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major
pop-culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** Co ...
. His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist.
Buscema is best known for his run on the series ''
The Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'' and ''The Silver Surfer'', and for over 200 stories featuring the
sword-and-sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tal ...
hero Conan the Barbarian. In addition, he pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including long runs on two of the company's top magazines, ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York City, from Sicilian parents who emigrated from Pozzallo,
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to:
Places Croatia
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st c ...
s such as '' Popeye''. In his teens, he developed an interest in both
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
Burne Hogarth
Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artists.
Early life
...
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...
commercial illustration
Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of pr ...
High School of Music and Art
The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the H ...
. He took night lessons at
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
. 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
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify th ...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was called, included such fellow staffers as established veterans Syd Shores,
Carl Burgos
Carl Burgos (; born Max Finkelstein ; April 18, 1916 – March 1, 1984) Note: Gives only month and year of death. was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in ''Marvel Comics'' #1 (Oct. 193 ...
Marty Nodell
Martin Nodell (November 15, 1915 – December 9, 2006) was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon.
Biography Earl ...
. Fellow newcomer Gene Colan, hired roughly two months earlier,Steranko, Jim, in Spurlock, p. 5 recalled that "... John never seemed very happy in comics ... there always seemed to be something else he really wanted to do."
His first recorded credit is penciling the four-page story "Till Crime Do You Part" in Timely's ''Lawbreakers Always Lose'' #3 (Aug. 1948). He contributed to the "real-life" dramatic series ''True Adventures'' and ''Man Comics'' (the premiere issue of which sported one of Buscema's earliest recorded comic book covers), as well as to ''Cowboy Romances'', ''Two-Gun Western'' (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character the
Apache Kid
Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl ( 1860 – in or after 1894), better known as the Apache Kid, was born in Aravaipa Canyon (25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Carlos Agency) into one of the three local groups of the Aravaipa/Arivaipa Apache Band (in Ap ...
), ''
Lorna the Jungle Queen
Lorna the Jungle Girl, initially called Lorna the Jungle Queen, is a comic book jungle girl protagonist created by writer Don Rico and artist Werner Roth. She debuted in ''Lorna the Jungle Queen'' #1 (July 1953), published by Marvel Comics' 1950s ...
'', and '' Strange Tales''.Buscema/sort/chrono/ Archived from the original December 5, 2011. 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
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
Buscema married in 1953. He continued to freelance for Timely, by now known as
Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to
* Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin ...
, as well as for the publishers
Ace Comics
''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, followi ...
St. John Publications
St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During the 1947-1958 existence of its comic-book division, St. John established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John, the firm was located in Manhattan a ...
, and Ziff-Davis.
Buscema's mid-1950s work includes Dell Comics' '' Roy Rogers Comics'' #74–91 (Feb. 1954 – July 1955) and subsequent ''Roy Rogers and Trigger'' #92–97 and #104–108 (Aug. 1955 – Jan. 1956 & Aug.–Dec. 1956); and the Charlton Comics series ''Ramar of the Jungle'' and ''Nature Boy'' — the latter, Buscema's first
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
work, with a character created by himself and
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
co-creator Jerry Siegel.
Buscema next produced a series of Western, war, and sword and sandal film adaptations for Dell's '' Four Color'' series. Buscema recalled, "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''."
He drew at least one issue of the radio, film, and TV character the
Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Magaz ...
for Dell in 1957, as well as one- to eight-page biographies of every U.S. president through
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II ...
for that company's
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
firm the Chaite Agency, which employed such commercial artists as Bob Peak and Frank McCarthy.
1960s
Buscema spent approximately eight years in the commercial-art field, freelancing for the Chaite Agency and the studio Triad, doing a variety of assignments: layouts,
storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...
s, illustrations, paperback book covers, etc. in a variety of media. 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
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
, debuting over
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...
layouts on the "
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
" stories in '' Tales to Astonish'' #85–87 (Nov. 1966 – Jan. 1967). He then settled in as regular penciller of ''
The Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'', 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 ssuesof that period", said comics historian and one-time Marvel editor-in-chief
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
, who wrote those issues. Thomas and Buscema introduced new versions of the Black Knight and the Vision during their collaboration on ''The Avengers''.
In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema "synthesized the essence of ackKirby'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," wrote comics artist and historian
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.
His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
. "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
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
John Verpoorten. John Buscema named Frank Giacoia, Sal Buscema, and Tom Palmer as his favorite inkers.
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) 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 Sr. or Jim Mooney), and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts. Buscema drew the first appearance of the Prowler in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #78 (Nov. 1969).
In August 1968, Buscema and Stan Lee launched a new title, ''The Silver Surfer''. That series about a philosophical 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¢. "Beautifully drawn by John Buscema, this comic book represented an attempt to upgrade the medium with a serious character of whom Lee had grown very fond," assessed comics historian Les Daniels. Roy Thomas said Buscema considered ''Silver Surfer'' #4 (Feb. 1969), featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor, "as the highpoint of his Marvel work". Characters Buscema co-created in ''The Silver Surfer'' include the long-running arch-demon
Mephisto
Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition.
Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' Méphisto'', a 1931 French film
* ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German-Hungarian film based ...
in issue #3 (Dec. 1968).
Toward the end of the decade, Buscema drew some fill-in issues of superhero series and returned to familiar 1950s genres with a spate of supernatural mystery stories in ''
Chamber of Darkness
''Chamber of Darkness'' is a horror/fantasy anthology comic book published by the American company Marvel Comics. Under this and a subsequent name, it ran from 1969 to 1974. It featured work by creators such as writer-editor Stan Lee, writers Gerr ...
'' and '' Tower of Shadows'', and romance tales in ''My Love'' and ''Our Love''. He then returned to his signature series ''The Avengers'' for 11 issues inked by Tom Palmer.
1970s
The creative team of Roy Thomas and John Buscema introduced new characters such as Arkon in ''The Avengers'' #75 (April 1970),
Red Wolf
The red wolf (''Canis rufus'') is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (''Canis latrans'') and gray wolf (''Canis lupus'').
The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate s ...
in #80 (Sept. 1970), and the Squadron Supreme in #85 (Feb. 1971). With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both of Kirby's titles: ''Fantastic Four'' (penciling issues #107–141, following John Romita Sr.) and '' Thor'' (#182–259). He additionally launched the feature "
Black Widow
Black widow may refer to:
Spiders
* Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus''
American species
* ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow
* ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
, who collaborated with Buscema on many stories up to this time, wrote,
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
''The Savage Sword of Conan'' was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of American company Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starred ...
'' with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title, giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. He additionally drew the ''Conan'' Sunday and daily
syndicated
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
newspaper
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st c ...
upon its premiere in 1978, and even contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 Conan movie, as well as painting four covers for the Conan magazines. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Buscema's work on ''Conan the Barbarian'' seventh on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".
For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month, such as ''
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' (1976) and '' Ms. Marvel'' (1977). In addition to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles including ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
Daredevil
Daredevil may refer to:
* A stunt performer
Arts and media Comics
* Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro
* Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
Master of Kung Fu
Zheng Shang-Chi ( ), also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in '' ...
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
'' 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
Bloodstone may refer to:
*Heliotrope (mineral) or bloodstone, a form of chalcedony
Film
* ''Bloodstone'' (1988 film), an Indian-American action/comedy film
*'' Bloodstone: Subspecies II'', a 1993 horror film
* Bloodstone: An Epic Dwarven Tale, ano ...
" in ''Rampaging Hulk'' #1 (Jan. 1977), and '' Doc Savage'' #1 and 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut from
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
humor
Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...
(''Crazy'', ''Pizzaz'').
Buscema left the ''Thor'' title for a time to launch the Marvel version of the
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter ...
character Tarzan in 1977. Other licensed projects include a 72-page ''
The Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to:
*'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz''
** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...
'' movie adaptation in an oversized " Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking. For Power Records, which produced children's book-and-record sets, Buscema drew ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' and Conan the Barbarian comics. He contributed some superhero drawings for ''Pro'', the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
official magazine (1970), and penciled some chapters of the first issue of ''
Marvel Comics Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issu ...
'' featuring the rock group Kiss (1977).
In 1978, small-press publisher Sal Quartuccio released ''The Art of John Buscema'', 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 ''Marvel Super Special'' #11–13 (June-Oct. 1979).Pacific Comics released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.
Teaching
In the mid-1970s, Buscema ran the John Buscema Art School, which advertised for students in the pages of many Marvel titles. Stan Lee made appearances as a guest lecturer at Buscema's school, and some of the school's graduates (including Bob Hall and Bruce Patterson) went on to become professional cartoonists. Buscema later said that teaching the class was "very gratifying" but that having to make the 60-mile drive after a day's work was too exhausting, and ultimately forced him to give it up. Buscema then collaborated with Lee on the book ''
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
''How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way'' is a book by Stan Lee and John Buscema. The book teaches the aspiring comic book artist how to draw and create comic books. The examples are from Marvel Comics and Buscema artwork. It was first published in ...
'' ( Marvel Fireside Books, 1978), a primer on comic book art and storytelling based on the comic art classes Buscema had given a few years prior, and has remained in print for over 25 years, in its 33rd printing as of 2007.
1980s
After drawing the first issue of ''The Savage
She-Hulk
She-Hulk (Jennifer "Jen" Walters) is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk'' #1 (cov ...
'' (Feb. 1980), 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 a Silver Surfer story for ''
Epic Illustrated
''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...
'' #1 (Spring 1980), a
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
story in '' Marvel Preview'' #22 (Summer 1980), the St. Francis of Assisi biography ''Francis, Brother of the Universe'' (1980), the second ''
Superman and Spider-Man
''Superman and Spider-Man'' is an intercompany comic book jointly published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics in July 1981. Number 28 (and final) in the ''Marvel Treasury Edition'' series, it is a "sequel" to 1976's '' Superman vs. the Amazing Spider ...
'' team-up (1981), and an adaptation of the 1981 movie ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...
''.
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
''Conan the Destroyer'' is a 1984 American epic sword and sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a story by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. ...
'' 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 regular penciller on ''Fantastic Four'' for its 300th issue, during a 15-issue stint from #296–309 (Nov. 1986 – Dec. 1987). Additionally, he fit in the three-issue film adaptation '' Labyrinth'' (Nov. 1986 – Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseries ''
Mephisto
Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition.
Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' Méphisto'', a 1931 French film
* ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German-Hungarian film based ...
'' (April–July 1987), starring 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. That year he and inker
Klaus Janson
Klaus Janson (born January 23, 1952) is a German-born American comics artist, working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies. While he is best known as an inker, Janson has frequently worked as a penc ...
drew a Wolverine solo feature in the biweekly anthology ''Marvel Comics Presents'', followed by self-inked Wolverine series in that title. He pencilled the first 14 issues (Nov. 1988 – mid-Nov. 1989) of the first Wolverine ongoing series, self-inked on #7-8.Bill Sienkiewicz, who inked the last five issues of that run, recalled Buscema's pencil work as "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."
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 Buscema plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored over a period of five years in his spare time appeared that same year. He both penciled and inked 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), that title's 1993
summer annual
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...
, and the 1994 graphic novel ''A Man Named Frank'', a parallel-universe Punisher Western tale. He pencilled the Punisher portions of 1994's '' Archie Meets the Punisher'' 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). Through 1999, he penciled a variety of superhero comics; both penciled and inked 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).
Buscema worked with
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a " Batman Black and White" short story in '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #7 (Sept. 2000). He reunited with Stan Lee on the 2001 one-shot '' Just Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman''.
He finished the pencils on 2003'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'', though he died after finishing the first issue.
An 11 x 17-inch
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted in watercolor by
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries '' Marvels'', on which he collaborated w ...
for the publisher Dynamic Forces, was Buscema's last professional work. Reprinted in
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. His brother Sal Buscema recalled,
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, at the time of his death, was married to Dolores Buscema, with whom he had a son, John Jr., and a daughter, Dianne. His granddaughter
is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, who started out as an inker for her grandfather.
Cancer and death
Buscema was diagnosed with
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
, and died on January 10, 2002, at the age of 74. He was cremated with an artist's pen in his hand.
Awards
*1968: Alley Award for Best Full-Length Story, for Marvel Comics' ''The Silver Surfer'' #1: "Origin of the Silver Surfer", by Stan Lee and John Buscema (tied with
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
' ''The Brave and the Bold'' #79: "Track of the Hook", by Bob Haney and Neal Adams): also Best New Strip for ''The Silver Surfer''.
*1969: Alley Award for Best Full-Length Story for ''The Silver Surfer'' #5: "... And Who Shall Mourn for Him?", by Stan Lee, John Buscema, and Sal Buscema.
*1974: Shazam Award for Best Penciller (Dramatic Division).
*1977: Eagle Award (comics), Eagle Award for Favourite Single Comicbook Story for ''Howard the Duck'' #3: "Four Feathers of Death", with Steve Gerber.
*1978: Inkpot Award
*1997: "Author that We Loved" award at the Spanish Haxtur Awards.
*2002: Inducted into the List of Eisner Award winners#The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, Eisner Award Hall of Fame.
In 2002, Spain’s Haxtur Awards inaugurated the Haxtur Award#Special John Buscema Award, Special John Buscema Award.
Bibliography
DC Comics
*''Batman Gotham Knights'' ( Batman Black and White) #7 (2000)
*''Just Imagine..., Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Buscema Creating Superman'', one-shot, (2001)
*''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
: Blood of My Ancestors'', one-shot, (with Gil Kane) (2003, posthumous)
Dell Comics
*'' Four Color'' #684: Helen of Troy (film), Helen of Troy (1956), #762: The Sharkfighters; #775: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Sir Lancelot and Brian, #794: The Count of Monte Cristo (1954 film), The Count of Monte Cristo, #910: The Vikings (film), The Vikings, #927: Luke Short's Top Gun (adapted from novel ''Test Pit'' by Luke Short), #944: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, #1006: Hercules (1958 film), Hercules, #1077, 1130: The Deputy (TV series), The Deputy, #1139: Spartacus (film), Spartacus (1956–1960)
Black Widow
Black widow may refer to:
Spiders
* Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus''
American species
* ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow
* ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
The Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
Chamber of Darkness
''Chamber of Darkness'' is a horror/fantasy anthology comic book published by the American company Marvel Comics. Under this and a subsequent name, it ran from 1969 to 1974. It featured work by creators such as writer-editor Stan Lee, writers Gerr ...
Daredevil
Daredevil may refer to:
* A stunt performer
Arts and media Comics
* Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro
* Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
Epic Illustrated
''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
Marvel Comics Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issu ...
Master of Kung Fu
Zheng Shang-Chi ( ), also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in '' ...
'' #27 (1975)
*''
Mephisto
Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition.
Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' Méphisto'', a 1931 French film
* ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German-Hungarian film based ...
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' #1–2, 21 (1976–1978)
*''Our Love Story'' #1–3, 5–7, 9, 16 (1969–1972)
*''Punisher: A Man Named Frank'' #1 (1994)
*'' The Punisher War Zone'' #23–30, ''Annual'' #1 (1993–1994)
*''The Rampaging Hulk'' #1 (1977)
*''Rangeland Love'' #1 (1949)
*'' Red Sonja'' #12–13, 15 (1978–1979)
*''Romances of the West'' #1–2 (1949–1950)
*''Rune (comics), Rune/Silver Surfer'' #1 (1995)
*''She-Hulk, Savage She-Hulk'' #1 (1980)
*''
Savage Sword of Conan
''The Savage Sword of Conan'' was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of American company Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starred ...
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
''How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way'' is a book by Stan Lee and John Buscema. The book teaches the aspiring comic book artist how to draw and create comic books. The examples are from Marvel Comics and Buscema artwork. It was first published in ...
'', with
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
* ''Comic Book Artist'' #21 (Aug. 2002): "Remembering John Buscema: A CBA Tribute", pp. 3B-39B
* ''Big John Buscema'', Palma de Mallorca: Ajuntament de Palma, 2009.
External links
*
* , Samcci.comics.org: Silver Age Cover Gallery, Retrieved on 2008-11-26; original site unresponsive 2008-12-02; from the Internet Archive
*
*
John Buscema at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Audio/video
"Drawing Superheroes (1 of 3)" YouTube. December 9, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buscema, John
1927 births
2002 deaths
American comics artists
American storyboard artists
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from stomach cancer
The High School of Music & Art alumni
Golden Age comics creators
Inkpot Award winners
Marvel Comics people
People from Brooklyn
People from Port Jefferson, New York
Silver Age comics creators
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
American people of Italian descent