| John Buscema | |
|---|---|
 Buscema in a 1975 Marvel publicity photo | |
| Born | Giovanni Natale Buscema (1927-12-11)December 11, 1927 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 2002(2002-01-10) (aged 74) Port Jefferson, New York, U.S. |
| Area | Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | The Avengers Conan the Barbarian Fantastic Four Silver Surfer Tarzan Thor |
| Awards | Alley Award, 1968, 1969 Shazam Award, 1974 Eagle Award, 1977 Inkpot Award, 1978 Eisner Award Hall of Fame, 2002 |
John Buscema (/bjuːˈsɛmə/bew-SEM-ə;[1] bornGiovanni Natale Buscema,Italian:[dʒoˈvanninaˈtaːlebuʃˈʃɛːma]; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)[2] was an Americancomic bookartist and one of the mainstays ofMarvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a majorpop-cultureconglomerate. His younger brotherSal Buscema is also a comic book artist.
Buscema is best known for his run on the seriesThe Avengers andTheSilver Surfer, and for over 200 stories featuring thesword-and-sorcery heroConan the Barbarian. In addition, hepencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including long runs on two of the company's top magazines,Fantastic Four andThor.
He was inducted into theWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002.[3] In October 2024, Buscema was inducted into theHarvey Awards Hall of Fame.[4]
Born inBrooklyn, New York City, fromSicilian parents who emigrated fromPozzallo,Ragusa,[5] John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copyingcomic strips such asPopeye.[6] In his teens, he developed an interest in bothsuperhero comic books and suchadventure comic strips asHal Foster'sTarzan andPrince Valiant,Burne Hogarth'sTarzan,Alex Raymond'sFlash Gordon, andMilton Caniff'sTerry and the Pirates.[7] He showed an interest incommercial illustration of the period, by such artists asN. C. Wyeth,Norman Rockwell,Dean Cornwell,Coby Whitmore,Albert Dorne, andRobert Fawcett.[8]
Buscema graduated fromManhattan'sHigh School of Music and Art. He took night lessons atPratt Institute as well aslife drawing classes at theBrooklyn Museum.[9] While training as aboxer, he began painting portraits of boxers and sold some cartoons toThe Hobo News.[6] Seeking work as a commercial illustrator while doing various odd jobs, Buscema found himself instead entering the comic book field in 1948,[10] landing a staff job undereditor-in-chief andart directorStan Lee atTimely Comics,[11] the forerunner ofMarvel Comics. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was called, included such fellow staffers as established veteransSyd Shores,Carl Burgos,Mike Sekowsky,George Klein, andMarty Nodell. Fellow newcomerGene Colan, hired roughly two months earlier,[12] recalled that "... John never seemed very happy in comics ... there always seemed to be something else he really wanted to do."[13]
His first recorded credit is penciling the four-page story "Till Crime Do You Part" in Timely'sLawbreakers Always Lose #3 (Aug. 1948).[14] He contributed to the "real-life" dramatic seriesTrue Adventures andMan Comics (the premiere issue of which sported one of Buscema's earliest recorded comic book covers), as well as toCowboy Romances,Two-Gun Western (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character theApache Kid),Lorna the Jungle Queen, andStrange Tales.[14] 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, Buscemapenciled andinked in a variety of genres, includingcrime fiction andromance fiction.[12]
Buscema married in 1953.[15] He continued to freelance for Timely, by now known asAtlas Comics, as well as for the publishersAce Comics,Hillman Periodicals, Our Publications/Orbit-Wanted,Quality Comics,St. John Publications, andZiff-Davis.[14]
Buscema's mid-1950s work includesDell Comics'Roy Rogers Comics #74–91 (Feb. 1954 – July 1955) and subsequentRoy Rogers and Trigger #92–97 and #104–108 (Aug. 1955 – Jan. 1956 & Aug.–Dec. 1956); and theCharlton Comics seriesRamar of the Jungle andNature Boy — the latter, Buscema's firstsuperhero work, with a character created by himself andSuperman co-creatorJerry Siegel.[14]
Buscema next produced a series ofWestern,war, andsword and sandal film adaptations for Dell'sFour 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 forThe Vikings. ... I think one of the best books I ever did wasSinbad the Sailor."[16]
He drew at least one issue of the radio, film, and TV character theCisco Kid for Dell in 1957,[14] as well as one- to eight-page biographies ofevery U.S. president throughDwight Eisenhower for that company'sone-shotLife Stories of American Presidents.[17]
During a late 1950s downturn in the comics industry, Buscema drew occasionalmystery,fantasy, andscience-fiction stories for Atlas Comics'Tales to Astonish,Tales of Suspense, andStrange Worlds, andAmerican Comics Group'sAdventures into the Unknown, andForbidden Worlds[14] before leaving comics to do freelance commercial art.[18] He began a freelance position for the New York Cityadvertising firm the Chaite Agency, which employed such commercial artists asBob Peak andFrank McCarthy.[18]
Buscema spent approximately eight years in the commercial-art field, freelancing for the Chaite Agency[Note 1] and the studio Triad, doing a variety of assignments: layouts,storyboards, 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".[19]
He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller forMarvel Comics, debuting overJack Kirby layouts on the "Nick Fury, Agent ofS.H.I.E.L.D." story inStrange Tales #150 (Nov. 1966), followed by three "Hulk" stories inTales to Astonish #85–87 (Nov. 1966 – Jan. 1967).[14] He then settled in as regular penciller ofThe 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 [issues] of that period", said comics historian and one-time Marvel editor-in-chiefRoy Thomas, who wrote those issues.[20] Thomas and Buscema introduced new versions of theBlack Knight[21] and theVision[22] during their collaboration onThe Avengers.
In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema "synthesized the essence of [Jack] 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," wrote comics artist and historianJim Steranko. "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".[23]
Buscema would pencil an average of two comics a month in collaboration with such inkers asGeorge Klein,Frank Giacoia,Dan Adkins,Joe Sinnott, his younger brotherSal Buscema,Tom Palmer, and, occasionally, Marvelproduction manager and sometime inker-cartoonistJohn Verpoorten. John Buscema named Frank Giacoia, Sal Buscema, and Tom Palmer as his favorite inkers.[24]
Among Buscema's works during this period fans and historians call theSilver Age of comic books areThe Avengers #41–62 (June 1967 – March 1969) andThe Avengers Annual #2 (Sept. 1968); the first eight issues ofThe 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 eitherJohn Romita Sr. orJim Mooney), and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts. Buscema drew the first appearance of theProwler inThe Amazing Spider-Man #78 (Nov. 1969).[26]
In August 1968, Buscema and Stan Lee launched a new title,TheSilver Surfer.[27] 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,[28] 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 historianLes Daniels.[29] Roy Thomas said Buscema consideredSilver Surfer #4 (Feb. 1969), featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor, "as the highpoint of his Marvel work".[30] Characters Buscema co-created inThe Silver Surfer include the long-running arch-demonMephisto in issue #3 (Dec. 1968).[31]
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 inChamber of Darkness andTower of Shadows, and romance tales inMy Love andOur Love. He then returned to his signature seriesThe Avengers for 11 issues inked by Tom Palmer.[14]
The creative team of Roy Thomas and John Buscema introduced new characters such asArkon inThe Avengers #75 (April 1970),[32]Red Wolf in #80 (Sept. 1970),[33] and theSquadron Supreme in #85 (Feb. 1971).[34] With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both of Kirby's titles:Fantastic Four (penciling issues #107–141, followingJohn Romita Sr.) andThor[Note 2] (#182–259).[14] He additionally launched the feature "Black Widow" inAmazing Adventures vol. 2, #1 (Aug. 1970).[35]
Marvel editor-in-chiefStan Lee, who collaborated with Buscema on many stories up to this time, wrote,
One thing I loved 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.[36]
Buscema began pencilingConan the Barbarian with #25 (April 1973) followingBarry Smith's celebrated run, and debuted as the Conan artist of the black-and-white comics-magazine omnibusSavage Sword of Conan with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title,[14] giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. He additionally drew theConan Sunday and dailysyndicated newspapercomic strip upon its premiere on September 4, 1978,[37] but left the strip due to financial considerations. He was replaced byErnie Chan as of October 23, 1978.[38] Buscema additionally contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 Conan movie,[39] as well as painting four covers for the Conan magazines. In 2010,Comics Bulletin ranked Buscema's work onConan the Barbarian seventh on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".[40]
For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month, such asNova (1976)[41] andMs. Marvel (1977). In addition to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles includingCaptain America,Captain Britain (Marvel UK),Daredevil,The Frankenstein Monster,Howard the Duck,Master of Kung Fu,Red Sonja andWarlock. He also drew a story for thescience-fictionanthologyWorlds Unknown.[14]
Buscema contributed as well to Marvel's black-and-white comics magazines, including the features "Ka-Zar" inSavage Tales #1 (May 1971) and "Bloodstone" inRampaging Hulk #1 (Jan. 1977), andDoc Savage #1 and 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut fromhorror (Dracula Lives!,Monsters Unleashed,Tales of the Zombie) tohumor (Crazy,Pizzaz).[14]
Buscema left theThor title for a time to launch the Marvel version of theEdgar Rice Burroughs characterTarzan in 1977.[42] Other licensed projects include a 72-pageThe Wizard of Oz movie adaptation in an oversized "Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking.[14][43][44] ForPower Records, which produced children's book-and-record sets, Buscema drewStar Trek and Conan the Barbarian comics.[45] He contributed some superhero drawings forPro, theNFL official magazine (1970), and penciled some chapters of the first issue ofMarvel Comics Super Special featuring the rock groupKiss (1977).[14]
In 1978, small-press publisher Sal Quartuccio releasedThe Art of John Buscema,[46] 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 writerDoug Moench's three-issueWeirdworld epic-fantasy tale "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" inMarvel Super Special #11–13 (June–Oct. 1979).[14]Pacific Comics released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.[47]
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 (includingBob Hall andBruce Patterson)[48] 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.[49] Buscema then collaborated with Lee on the bookHow to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (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,[49] and has remained in print for over 25 years,[50] in its 33rd printing as of 2007.
After drawing the first issue ofThe SavageShe-Hulk (Feb. 1980),[51] Buscema abandoned regular superhero work in order to spearhead art duties on all threeConan titles. The popularity of the character spurred the release of aConan movie in 1982; Buscema provided pencils and inks for a 48-page movie adaptation.[14]
He continued to tackle other high-profile projects such as a Silver Surfer story forEpic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980), aKing Arthur story inMarvel Preview #22 (Summer 1980), theSt. Francis of Assisi biographyFrancis, Brother of the Universe (1980), the secondSuperman and Spider-Man team-up (1981),[52][53] and an adaptation of the 1981 movieRaiders of the Lost Ark.[14]
He leftKing Conan in 1982 after nine issues, although he remained with Marvel's Robert E. Howard franchise with a revival of theKull series for 10 issues, and leftThe Savage Sword of Conan in 1984 with #101 with a series of stories that he plotted himself. After pencilling theConan the Destroyer movie adaptation in 1984 and theConan of the Isles graphic novel in 1987, he leftConan the Barbarian with #190 in 1987, ending a 14-year association with the character.[14]
After nearly five years away from superheroes, except for the first two issues of the X-Men-related, four-issue miniseriesMagik (Dec. 1983 – March 1984), Buscema returned to familiar ground as regular penciller onThe Avengers from #255–300 (May 1985 – Feb. 1989). He was regular penciller onFantastic 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 adaptationLabyrinth (Nov. 1986 – Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseriesMephisto (April–July 1987), starring a character he created with Stan Lee inThe Silver Surfer.[14]
Buscema reteamed with Lee on the Silver Surfer himself with the 1988 graphic novelSilver Surfer: Judgment Day, self-inked and done entirely as full-page panels.[54] That year he and inkerKlaus Janson drew aWolverine solo feature in the biweekly anthologyMarvel 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.[14]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."[55]
Buscema began his sixth decade in the field by joining Roy Thomas for a return toThe Savage Sword of Conan with #191 (Nov. 1991) for a 20-issue run.Conan the Rogue, agraphic novel Buscema plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored over a period of five years in his spare time appeared that same year.[56][57] He both penciled and inked the graphic novelWolverine: Bloody Choices (Nov. 1993).[14]
Buscema returned tocrime fiction withThe Punisher War Zone #23–30 (Jan.–Aug. 1994, self-inking #26–29), that title's 1993summer annual, and the 1994 graphic novelA Man Named Frank, aparallel-universe PunisherWestern tale. He pencilled the Punisher portions of 1994'sArchie Meets the Punisher team-up. No longer attached to a regular series after hisPunisher run, he penciled and inkedThe Avengers Annual #23 (1994) and five more black-and-white Conan adventures, serving as that Marvel franchise's final artist onThe Savage Sword of Conan with #235 (July 1995) and on the short-lived spin-offConan 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 forShadows and Light (1998); and made a final return to Conan with theDeath Covered in Gold three-issue miniseries (1999).[14]
Buscema worked withDC Comics for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a "Batman Black and White" short story inBatman: Gotham Knights #7 (Sept. 2000). He reunited with Stan Lee on the 2001 one-shotJust Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman.[14]
He finished the pencils on 2003'sSuperman: Blood of my Ancestors, begun byGil Kane, who had since died, and had just signed on for a five-issue miniseries with Roy Thomas,JLA: Barbarians,[14] though he died after finishing the first issue.[58][59]
An 11 x 17-inchlithograph print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted inwatercolor byAlex Ross for the publisherDynamic Forces, was Buscema's last professional work.[60]
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,
This guy used to eat, sleep and breathe drawing. It didn't matter what was going on around him. He would get bored with it and start sketching. ... He just couldn't stop drawing. [His back-of-board sketches were] better than some of the stuff that he did on the front. ... He'd get a spark of inspiration and turn the page over and draw whatever was in his skull.[61]
Buscema, who lived inPort Jefferson, New York,[2] onLong Island, at the time of his death, was married to Dolores Buscema, with whom he had a son, John Jr., and a daughter, Dianne.[58] His granddaughterStephanie Buscema is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, who started out as an inker for her grandfather.[62]
Buscema was diagnosed withstomach cancer, and died on January 10, 2002, at the age of 74.[58][59] He was buried with an artist'spen in his hand.[60]
On October 11, 2024, theHarvey Awards announced[63] that Buscema was one of five comics creators to be inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame at the 36th annual Harvey Awards ceremony on October 18 at theNew York Comic Con.[4][64] The other four inductees wereAkira Toriyama,Larry Hama,Sergio Aragonés, andArthur Adams. Upon learning of the accolade, Buscema’s daughter, Dianne Buscema Gerogianis, stated, "We are honored on behalf of my father and wish to thank all who have selected him for the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame. Thank you for keeping his legacy alive."[65]
Series is namedThor in theindicia [copyright] information, but most covers have the title [trademark]The Mighty Thor.
Mio nonno Giovanni ... sposò mia nonna Concetta, pozzallese e si trasferì a Pozzallo dove faceva il barbiere. Emigrò in America come tanti, ma partì solo ... / My grandfather Giovanni ... married my grandmother Concetta and moved to Pozzallo where he was a barber. He emigrated to America like so many others ...
After answering a newspaper ad, John Buscema was hired by editor Stan Lee to be a staff artist.
In this tale written by [Stan] Lee and drawn by the team of John Buscema and Jim Mooney, window washer Hobie Brown became fed up with his dead-end job and used his inventive mind to craft the identity and weapons of the Prowler.
"John [Buscema] did a great job on the first several-week storyline, but after that he decided it wasn't worth his while financially, and Ernie Chan inherited the feature." Chan came aboard with the October 23 strip.
The Yellow Brick Road from Munchkin Land to the Emerald City was also wide enough to accommodate DC and Marvel as they produced their first-ever joint publication ... Roy Thomas scripted a faithful, seventy-two page adaptation of Dorothy Gale's adventure, while John Buscema's artwork depicted the landscape of Oz in lavish detail.
| Preceded by | The Avengers artist 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Thor artist 1970–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four artist 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Conan the Barbarian artist 1973–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | Savage Sword of Conan artist 1974–1984 | Succeeded by Gary Kwapisz |
| Preceded by Walt Simonson | Thor artist 1978–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Avengers artist 1985–1989 | Succeeded by Rich Buckler |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four artist 1986–1987 | Succeeded by Keith Pollard |
| Preceded by Mike Docherty | Savage Sword of Conan artist 1991–1993 | Succeeded by |
