Busiek was born inBoston. He grew up in various towns in the Boston area, includingLexington where he befriended future comic book creatorScott McCloud.[3] Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them.[3] He began to regularly read them around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy ofDaredevil #120 (April 1975). That comic is the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; he was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and McCloud practiced making comics. The pair contributed to comics hobbyist publications likeNMP'sComics Feature.
During that time, Busiek had many letters published incomic book letter columns and he started the theory that thePhoenix Force was a separate being who had impersonatedJean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.[4][5] Busiek said, "A couple of years later, after I’d broken in, I attended my first convention as a pro, inIthaca, New York, and I stayed atRoger Stern's house... we were talking about how much we liked the newX-Men, and he said, 'It's just a pity there's no way to bring Jean Grey back'... I said, 'Sure there's a way, there's always a way.'"[6]
During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editorDick Giordano atDC Comics. None of them sold, but they got him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story inGreen Lantern #162 (March 1983).[3] After writing four fill-in issues ofPower Man and Iron Fist, he was given the series as his first regular assignment.[7] He was a fan of the work of his predecessor,Mary Jo Duffy and emulated her lighthearted, humorous approach, not knowing that the editorial staff disapproved of that style and had taken Duffy off the series because of it. He was fired from the series for the same reasons as Duffy, after only six issues as its regular writer.[7] In 1985, he wrote aRed Tornadolimited series.[8]
In 1993, Busiek and artistAlex Ross produced theMarvels limited series which comics historian Matthew K. Manning noted, "reinvigorated painted comics as a genre, went on to become an acclaimed masterpiece, and spawned more than its own fair share of imitators."[9] Busiek andPat Olliffe crafted theUntold Tales of Spider-Man series beginning in September 1995.[10] Busiek created theThunderbolts, a group of super-villains disguised as super-heroes. At the end of the first issue, it is revealed that the Thunderbolts are actually theMasters of Evil, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel.[11] In February 1998, he launchedThe Avengers vol. 3 with pencilerGeorge Pérez[12] andIron Man vol. 3 with artistSean Chen.[13] Busiek andCarlos Pacheco collaborated on theAvengers Forever limited series in 1998–1999[14] which replaced theAvengers: World in Chains series on which the two had previously planned to work.[15]
Busiek continued as writer ofThe Avengers through 2002, collaborating with artists likeAlan Davis andKieron Dwyer. His tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Pérez to create theJLA/Avengers limited series.[16] Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career includingArrowsmith,The Liberty Project,ThePower Company,Shockrockets,Superman: Secret Identity,JLA, and the award-winningKurt Busiek'sAstro City.[17] In the 1990s, work on some of Busiek's more challenging, less mainstream projects, most notablyAstro City, was repeatedly delayed by health problems brought about bymercury poisoning.[18][19]
In 2004, Busiek began a newConan series forDark Horse Comics.[17] In December 2005, he signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics.[20] After DC's "Infinite Crisis" storyline, he teamed withGeoff Johns on the eight-part story arc "Up, Up and Away!" that ran in bothSuperman titles as part of DC's company-wide "One Year Later" storyline. In addition, he began writing the DC titleAquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues #40–49.[17] Busiek became the sole writer of theSuperman series with issue #654 (Sept. 2006) and Carlos Pacheco became the series' artist.[21] Busiek and Pacheco developed an extended storyline featuringArion coming into conflict with Superman.[22] The plotline concluded inSuperman Annual #13.[23] Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries titledTrinity starringBatman, Superman andWonder Woman. Each issue except for the first featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art byMark Bagley,[24] and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek andFabian Nicieza with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick,Mike Norton, andScott McDaniel.
Busiek teamed with Alex Ross onDynamite Entertainment'sKirby: Genesis, an eight-issue miniseries which debuted in 2011. The series, which was their first full collaboration sinceMarvels 17 years previous, featured a large group of Jack Kirby's creator-owned characters, the rights to which were acquired by Dynamite such asSilver Star,Captain Victory, Galaxy Green, Tiger 21 and the Ninth Men. Ross co-plotted, handled designs, and oversaw the series overall with Busiek, who scripted the story.[25][26] In June 2013, Busiek relaunched hisAstro City series as part of DC'sVertigo line. Busiek commented that "Astro City's always been aimed at a more sophisticated reader, which I think suits Vertigo. Plus our backlist sales are closer to a Vertigo pattern than DCU."[27][28] The ongoingAstro City series concluded as of issue #52 in 2018.[29]
In April 2022, Busiek was reported to be one of more than three dozen comics creators who contributed toOperation USA's benefit anthology book,Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded byIDW Publishing special projects editorScott Dunbier, The profits were donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees from the February2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[30][31] Busiek andBrent Anderson teamed up and contributed a newAstro City story to the anthology, which will harbor themes relevant to the events inUkraine.[32]
Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including theHarvey Award for Best Writer in 1998[33] and theEisner Award for Best Writer in 1999.[34] In 1994, withMarvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award[35] and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award,[36] as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (forMarvels #4) in 1995.[37] In 1996, withAstro City, he won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series.[38][39] He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996 to 1998 forAstro City;[38][40][41] forConan: The Legend #0 in 2004.[42] Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998,[40][41] as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998.[41] In addition,Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award,[39] and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.[33]
Busiek is married to Ann Busiek. Both Kurt and Ann were rendered by Alex Ross as New Yorkers who react to the invasion ofSilver Surfer andGalactus on page 17 ofMarvels #3. Kurt is used later as the model for a wandering drunk on page 33 of the same issue.[46]
In June 2022, Kurt Busiek revealed in the final issue ofArrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines that the follow-up seriesArrowsmith: Beyond Borders, would be delayed due to his health. Specifically, he related that he had been suffering from persistentmigraines for over a year, for which he was receivingBotox treatments every three months which reduced his productivity. He said that he was searching for a hospital with an advanced headache program where he could be placed.[47]
^DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1980s".Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 227.ISBN978-0756641238.Writer Kurt Busiek offered a solution: what if Jean Grey had never been Phoenix?{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Forsythe, Elisabeth (April 27, 2009)."Kurt Busiek: Marathon Man". Things From Another World.Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. RetrievedJuly 8, 2009.
^Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 213.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Writer Kurt Busiek took the Justice League of America's fabled android, Red Tornado, for a spin in this four-issue miniseries drawn by Carmine Infantino.{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 268
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 274: "Kurt Busiek and artist Pat Olliffe stepped in to fill the void for the kind of classic Spider-Man stories that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had imagined as the character's inception."
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 283: "Busiek and company ignored the pleas from Marvel's marketing division who thought that sales would be affected by not revealing the comic's twist. They managed to conceal their comic's confidential ending until the release of the first issue, and indeed shocked their entire fan base with their dramatic reveal."
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 289: "At the top of [Marvel's] short list of dream artists for the Heroes Return project was George Pérez...But when asked to both write and draw the title, Pérez declined the invitation, stating he would rather just pencil the book...He did, however, suggest a writer that he wanted to work with – Kurt Busiek."
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 289: "Tony Stark returned in style...in this new ongoing series by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Sean Chen."
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 291: "Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco teamed together to tell a time-spanning adventured in the twelve-issue limited seriesAvengers Forever."
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 311: "[JLA/Avengers] was an event that...proved to be one of the biggest and best of the DC and Marvel crossovers, incorporating many of the two companies' greatest heroes and villains."
^Khouri, Andy (October 23, 2006)."TalkingSuperman with Kurt Busiek".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. RetrievedJuly 25, 2012.Arion of Atlantis, unseen for years untilInfinite Crisis, appears before Superman to warn him of hellish times to come.
^Busiek, Kurt (w), Pacheco, Carlos; Merino, Jesus (p), Merino, Jesus (i). "The Fall" Superman Annual, no. 13 (January 2008).
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 333: "Writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley (in his first project for DC) guided the travails of the three heroes as they struggled to find the secret of a cosmic force."
^Biggers, Cliff. "Kirby Genesis: A Testament to the King's Talent";Comic Shop News #1206; July 2010
