Issuu

CBA’s Jon Cooke is back in April! Make ready for COMIC BOOK CREATOR, the new voice of the comics medium! TwoMorrows is proud to debut our newest magazine, COMIC BOOK CREATOR, devoted to the work and careers of the men and women who draw, write, edit, and publish comics, focusing always on the artists and not the artifacts, the creators and not the characters. Behind an ALEX ROSS cover painting, our frantic FIRST ISSUE features an investigation of the oft despicable treatment JACK KIRBY endured from the very business he helped establish. From being cheated out of royalties in the ’40s and bullied in the ’80s by the publisher he made great, to his estate’s current fight for equitable recognition against an entertainment monolith where his characters have generated billions of dollars, we present Kirby’s cautionary tale in the eternal struggle for creator’s rights. Plus, CBC #1 interviews artist ALEX ROSS and writer KURT BUSIEK, spotlights the last years of writer/artist FRANK ROBBINS, remembers comics historian LES DANIELS, sports a color gallery of WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his beloved, showcases a joint talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL on their unforgettable collaborations, as well as throws a whole kit’n’caboodle of other creator-centric items atcha! Join us for the start of a new era as TwoMorrows welcomes back former Comic Book Artist editor JON B. COOKE, who helms the all-new, allcolor COMIC BOOK CREATOR!

80 pages • $8.95 All-color • Quarterly Digital Edition: $3.95 COMING THIS JULY: COMIC BOOK CREATOR #2 (double-size Summer Special) Former COMIC BOOK ARTIST editor JON B. COOKE returns to TwoMorrows with his new magazine! #1 features: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY endured through FRANK ROBBINS spotlight, rememberreturns to TwoMorrows with his new magazine! #1 features: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY endured through FRANK ROBBINS spotlight, remembertures: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY ing LES DANIELS, WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his beloved, a talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL, new ALEX ROSS cover, and more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $17.95 (Digital Edition) $6.95 • Ships July 2013

4-issue Subscriptions • PRINT: $36 US with FREE Digital Editions • DIGITAL: $15.80 ($45 First Class US • $50 Canada • $65 First Class International • $95 Priority International) Subscriptions include the double-size Summer Special

TwoMorrows. A New Day For Comics Fans! TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

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NUMBER 21

CELEBRATING THE LIVES & WORK OF THE GREAT CARTOONISTS, WRITERS & EDITORS

AUGUST 2002

EDITOR’S RANT: CBA: PHASE TWO Ye Ed goes on and on about everything changing but somehow still staying the same........................................4

Editor/Designer JON B. COOKE

A DAY IN THE LIFE: INSIDE UNIVERSE ROSS Alex Ross’s writer collaborator Steve Darnell spends the day with the artist to check out his hectic existence ....6

Publisher

LAND OF THE LOST STORIES: THE END OF THE NEVERENDING BATTLE? George Khoury gives us a look at an unpublished Superman story by Dave Gibbons, Garry Leach, & others ....10 CBA COMMUNIQUES: TIN SOLDIERS AND GOLD KEY’S COMING You though the debate over Vietnam was finally put to rest? Well, think again as a reader takes us on ..........12 THE ADAM HUGHES SPECTACULAR AH-HA! ADAM HUGHES BARES ALL! In an uproarious interview, the wunderkind cover artist from Jersey talks about his life and work ....................14

TWOMORROWS JOHN & PAM MORROW Associate Editors CHRIS KNOWLES DAVID A. ROACH CHRISTOPHER IRVING GEORGE KHOURY Contributing Editors ROY THOMAS JOHN MORROW

ADAM HUGHES PORTFOLIO With an incredible array of work, the wildly popular artist shares with us his bodacious talent..........................39

Proofreader ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON

CELEBRATING “BIG JOHN”: THE JOHN BUSCEMA REMEMBRANCE CBA’s multi-part look at the life, work and legacy of the renowned Marvel comic book artist ....................Flip us!

Cover Art & Color ADAM HUGHES

COMIC BOOK ARTIST™ is published 10 times a year by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. 919-833-8092. Jon B. Cooke, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204 USA • 401-783-1669 • Fax: 401-783-1287. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT the editorial office. Single issues: $9 postpaid ($11 Canada, $12 elsewhere). Six-issue subscriptions: $36 US, $66 Canada, $72 elsewhere. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2002 Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. Cover acknowledgements: Art ©2002 Adam Hughes. Wonder Woman ©2002 DC Comics. First Printing. PRINTED IN CANADA.

A Day in the Life

Inside Universe Ross A “typical” day with the world’s most popular comic book artist Editor’s Note This portrait of an “average” day of work for artist superstar Alex Ross is the first of a column dedicated to showing the typical routine of those who work in the comics industry. We had intended CBA associate editor George Khoury to write this piece, but after circumstances kept George from the assignment, we are very grateful that Steve Darnell—sometime comics writer and collaborator with Alex on Uncle Sam— jumped in as the deadline loomed, thus saving the day. This visit took place on an early June weekday. We also thank Alex for going along with this little experiment, which occurred during a very hectic time for the artist. The article is ©2002 Steve Darnell.

Below: The last year or so has been a very busy time for Alex Ross, complete with incredible national exposure: The Spider-Man and Smallville TV Guide covers, as well as an Academy Award poster. Spider-Man ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc. Smallville ©2002 Warner Bros. TV. Oscar ©2002 AAMPAS.

by Steve Darnell The assignment sounded simple enough: Spend a day with my good friend and sometimes collaborator Alex Ross, pay attention to what goes on and report back with the cogent details so readers have an idea of what goes on during a typical day for the man whose résumé includes Marvels, Kingdom Come, Superman: Peace on Earth and some other titles which elude me at the moment. The thing is, these aren’t exactly typical days for Alex. A week before our meeting, he moved into a newer and larger house; a week after our meeting, he’ll be taking the matrimonial plunge. The result is a scene of fractured domesticity: most everything is still in boxes, except for the all-important drawing table and the even more important CD player. (Drawing being the solitary endeavor that it is, Alex invariably works with the CD player or television on. There have been occasions where I’ve heard both going at once.) In fact, this day there's a very familiar disc playing…. “It’s your White Stripes disc,” Alex says. “You lent it to me right before my move.” 12:15 P.M.: Knowing that Alex is something of a night owl— the late-evening hours are his best chance to get work done with a minimum of distractions—we arrange to meet during the noon hour to guarantee that I don’t wake him up. When I arrive, it turns out he's been up for two hours.“I didn’t work last night,” he explains, “so I got to bed around three.” As a result, he was up earlier than usual, touching up the cover he’s painted for the forthcoming Anthrax CD. “I’d like to believe it’s the final version,” he says as he shows me where the band requested “more vibrant color.” For now, the piece goes off to the side; later, Alex will package it up as part of his nightly trip to the Federal Express offices. The opening act taken care of, it’s off to the main event:

Today, Alex’s main project is a cover for Battle of the Planets, the Top Cow comic based on the popular Japanese cartoon of the 1970s. Alex is serving as cover artist and art director for the series. It’s funny to see Alex—who made a career out of photo-realism—tackling characters with such a rigidly defined, cartoony look. “I’m trying to bring realistic light, shadow and color,” he explains, “but I’m going to try to stay true to the look for the show. It’s not my realistic take on these characters as human beings. I simply need to make you believe that humans could have eyes this big.” In this instance, the cover started out as a very tiny, penciled layout. Later, Alex copied the layout at 235% its original size and put a piece of graphite on the back. Now, he’s tracing that drawing to make an impression on the page that will become the cover. “This is for placement,” he explains as he starts going over the original drawing. “Usually there are quite a few alterations as I bring in the photos of my models.” Yes, even when it’s time to approximate animated characters from Japan, Alex is never without his photo references—one of whom bears an eerie resemblance to the man himself…. 12:30 P.M.: The first of the phone calls begins. Like a marshal strapping on his six-gun for a day of dueling, Alex slips on his trusty headset and takes a call from his friend Sung Koo, former comic shop owner and longtime Secret Asian Man. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I decide this is a good opportunity to investigate Alex’s bookshelves. I see a copy of Cheese Monkeys, the debut novel by Alex’s pal, renowned book designer Chip Kidd. (The book’s cover was designed by another mutual friend, Chris Ware. Ware’s Acme Novelty Library is, of course, must reading.) I remember asking Alex about borrowing this book from him some time last year, but he declined, explaining that he was going out of town the next week and that he’d probably read it during the plane trip. I seize the moment and start to read. Twenty pages into this story of an art major going to college in the late ’50s, I'm hooked. 12:45 P.M.: Alex raves to Sung about Wizard’s recent Battle preview. “Oh, God, I was so happy… when I saw it in print, I thought it looked really nice.” The White Stripes disc finishes and a mix disc—made for Alex by Sung Koo—goes on. 12:55 P.M.: Alex finishes his phone call and I ask about maybe borrowing Chip’s novel. Alex declines, explaining that he’s getting ready to go out of town for his honeymoon and he’ll probably read it on the plane trip. I’m starting to see a pattern here. 1:10 P.M.: Time for some food, courtesy of the local Taco Bell. At present, the kitchen exists as a place to store glassware and soft drinks; for all his artistic genius, Alex’s genetic makeup has never been threatened by the “chef gene.” (And in spite of all his success and affluence, Alex has repeatedly refused all suggestions to install a Craft Services table.) Alex takes the moment to show off his new HDTV, although finding a program that really highlights the difference between COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

August 2002

Clockwise from top: Alex Ross begins his day working the phone and finishing up an Anthrax CD cover, seen top right. Then (far right) the artist sketches for a project near and dear to his heart, the Battle of the Planets comic book revival (also above). Always nearby to Alex’s drawing table is a trusty CD player with a many an album to help him through his crushingly busy schedule. All photos by Steve Darnell. (It’s tough to see, but Alex is wearing an Uncle Sam T-shirt, promoting the Darnell/Ross collaboration, the U.S. two-issue mini-series.

regular and high-definition television is tricky. Finally, we light on a nature program for a few minutes as Alex contemplates his immediate workload. “I don’t have a background to contend with, so I’ll probably have this finished by the end of the night.” 1:50 P.M.: Two men arrive to install blinds throughout the house. In an effort to clear a path for the workmen, Alex dashes off to the “trophy room”—where he plans to display his enormous collection of action figures and related delights—to move boxes away from the windows and into the center of the room; before I know it, I’m right there alongside him, schlepping boxes around the room. (Note to myself: Include a workmen’s comp claim with the invoice for this article…) Actually, this particular task doesn’t take long and soon Alex is back at the drawing table, calmly plowing ahead with his cover as if nothing was going on. It turns out that the young man helping to install the blinds went to school with Bill Reinhold’s daughter. Bill is a good friend of Alex’s and the inker of Earth X. At this point, I begin to contemplate introducing a new game called “Six Degrees of Alex” at my next party. 3:10 P.M.: Having more or less completed the initial reproduction of his graphite-backed drawing, Alex looks over the penciled product and decides to make some changes. Two of the team’s five members August 2002

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

must be erased and re-drawn. This means tearing into one of the many unopened boxes for some reference material—in this case, Japanese publications featuring the characters from the show. “I’m intent on getting the details right, even if that means erasing a lot of work and starting again,” he says calmly. “I’ve always doublechecked every single drawing, even if it’s just to make sure I’ve got the swerve of Wonder Woman’s hair consistent from panel to panel.” Alex gets back to work. I indulge in my own artistic obsession by picking up a stray copy of Kingdom Come and methodically putting mustaches on all the characters. 3:35 P.M.: The glass-tinters call to confirm their upcoming visit. I’m wondering how the Cubs are doing. 3:50 P.M.: Speak of the devil: Bill Reinhold is on the phone to talk about Paradise X, the last of Alex’s Earth X-related series. At Alex’s suggestion, I peruse the new Wizard, which features a lengthy interview with our pal Alan Moore and an illustration by… Alex Ross. Alex and I had lunch with Alan several years ago during a trip to London. Alex and I both agree we can hear these words coming off the page and coming out of Alan’s mouth. 4:20 P.M.: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Alex gets a phone call! This time, it’s Charlie Kochman, the DC editor who’s manned the helm for Alex’s recent collaborations with Paul Dini, 7

CBA Interview

Adam Hughes An uproarious chat with the ultimate “good girl” artist Conducted by Jon B. Cooke Transcribed by the LongBox.com staff Look, folks: We could debate the pros and cons of objectifying women in the form of comic book cheesecake till the cows come home, but one thing is certain: Whatever the intent, Adam Hughes draws absolutely mesmerizing and delightfully charming women. However provocatively staged, there’s a wholesome (and almost ironic) element to AH!’s adoration of the female form (with distinct emphasis on the bosom, natch!), and it’s infectious. Mutual pal Mark Chiarello, DC’s superb art director, introduced Ye Ed to the wunderkind artist at the 2001 International Comic Con: San Diego, and I found AH! to be, well, a bit subdued. Yet when I conducted this interview via phone in May 2002, Adam was very friendly, outgoing and downright hilarious (reminding me a bit of a character in one of Kevin Smith’s good movies), but also reflective of his standing in the industry. Adam copyedited the final transcript.

This page: Artist and model. Adam Hughes, the subject in question, poses with Julie Rapp, his oft-model for the Wonder Woman covers. This and all images in this section are courtesy of Adam Hughes.

Comic Book Artist: Where are you originally from? Adam Hughes: The fashionable west coast of New Jersey. I was born and raised in a little town called Florence, on the Delaware River. CBA: Do you have any siblings? Adam: No, not really. Like that line from the Superman movie: “Any more at home like you?” “ Uh, no, not really.” It’s just me. CBA: Did you have an introduction to comics at a young age? Adam: Yeah, I actually even remember my first comic book, which was Fantastic Four #81. It’s the issue when Crystal joined the FF. I had two older cousins who outgrew comics (like all people seem to do; all normal people), and they gave me their box of comics which included scads of Fantastic Four, which I immediately fell in love with. My deepest love of comic books as a child was the Fantastic Four. There were also a couple issues of National Lampoon because this was, like, the early, early ’70s. I was wee, tiny, and I remember cracking open this National Lampoon and there was this weird fumetti comic with talking breasts or something like that. You had a breast coming out of the ocean and a whaler saying “Thar she blows!” My mom’s talking to my cousin about Kent State or something and I’m sitting there going, “Wow, what are these?” My mom saw and flipped out, “Oh my God, he’s looking at boobs!” [laughter] And look where I am now… CBA: Drawing boobs for a living. Adam: It was a seminal moment. [laughter] My Uncle Bill, my mother’s only brother, taught photography at the Smithsonian and I was a frequent study of his back in the late ’60s, early ’70s. I have tons of black-&-white photographs of me, just being a kid, and this one of me sitting in a chair at my grandparents’ with the January 1970 issue of Playboy in my lap! [laughter] I’m two-and-a-half! [See pg. 16.]I’m literally fresh off the label of a Gerber’s baby food jar and ready for a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover and I’ve got this Playboy with Barbie Benton on the cover [laughter]. Everybody looks at that and goes “Hmmmm.” CBA: That’s foreshadowing for you! Adam: If I ever write a novel or ever publish a sketchbook, that’s going to be the author’s photo. [laughter]. CBA: So you were born in 1967? Adam: Correct. CBA: So when did you see these Fantastic Four comics? Was it the early ’70s when you were literally five years old? COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

August 2002

Bares All! on his career, medium and future Adam: I must have been four or five. There may have been comics before that, Archie and Juggie Do Paris digests at that point. I seem to remember Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, and the other sorts of stuff for kids that’s safe to read. But the one I remember reading was FF #81. That and the other comic in there that stood out, that scared the sh*t out of me, was Tales of Suspense #66, which contained the secret origin of the Red Skull. Man, that big, scary Red Skull! That Jack Kirby leering head literally haunted my nights! Jack basically just thrilled and scared the sh*t out of me. CBA: Kirby’s just got this distinctive style. Did it grab you as a kid? Adam: It did, I think. One of the things about Kirby’s stuff is that both the greatest artist in the world and the simplest layman can get something out of it. I think that’s why Kirby has such appeal, that’s why he’s the “King of Comics.” Jack didn’t have a target audience. Anybody could find something to dig in Jack’s work, throughout his whole career. It jumped out at me and I really, really dug the way he and Joe Sinnott drew women. Kirby really never got the kudos that he deserved for drawing really pretty women like a lot of the stuff he did in the ’50s that I really haven’t seen a lot of. I think he dabbled in the romance stuff, I’m not really sure…. CBA: With partner Joe Simon, Kirby invented the romance genre. Adam: He did? That shows you how smart I am. I’m editing that the hell out. [laughter] He got so known for drawing the cranky monsters and guys with pancake fingers, but look at Crystal: She’s a hoo-ah! I like her. [laughter] I think I found it compelling and was really lucky because I had that box of Marvels. CBA: So this was primo Marvel stuff? Adam: This was literally my little Ark of the Covenant and what was really cool was that there were some incomplete comics in there. They had (I think) FF Annual #2 without the cover which had an original story (I think) and a reprint of FF #5 which was Doctor Doom’s first appearance. Just when the FF did their time-travel thing and the Thing is doing his “Blackbeard the Pirate” deal, that’s where one of my cousins had ripped off the last of the pages and lined the cat box with it or something and I was going, “How’d they get back to their own time?!?” [laughter] It took me forever to find a reprint of FF #5 and go, “Ohh, that’s how!” CBA: Did you immediately become a collector because of this box of comics? Adam: Do you mean at age four, did I all of a sudden get fat, bearded, and become obsessed with Mylar? [laughter] No, I loved comics and like every kid that age I was bumming money off everyone I could find and actually volunteering to do chores so I could buy the latest stuff. CBA: Did you get into Jack’s work at DC at the time? Adam: I didn’t even understand the world of the comics industry. All I understood was every week some new ones showed up down at the general store and there was this flea market in the next town over that my grandmother would take me to on Sundays and this guy had a box of comics with no covers for like a quarter or however much. This is, like, mid- to late 1970s, at this point. I do remember getting a couple issues of the New Gods and totally digging them because it was by “the FF guy.” The newsstand distribution, especially for a little town in New Jersey, wasn’t entirely consistent so you might get one issue of something and never see the subsequent issues. CBA: Did you pick up the reprints like Marvel’s Greatest Comics? Adam: That’s where I got my fix; because Marvel was reprinting all that 1960s material back when they were hurting in the ’70s and they were reprinting everything and just flooding the market with old stuff. I think Daredevil and X-Men were bi-monthly and on the verge of cancellation. I loved the polished quality of the second half of the Kirby and Sinnott run. Everything from the Galactus stuff to when they left the book, was absolutely brilliant to me. I was actually lucky because I got to hang out with Scott Dunbier, the editor for Wildstorm, who used to August 2002

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

Heroine Addiction

The Adam Hughes Checklist The definitive index to the artwork of AH! by Larry Dempsey Compiled by Larry Dempsey [Many thanks to Larry Dempsey for permission to use his authoritative—and exhaustive—Adam Hughes checklist taken from his (currently without a home page) Web site. Kudos to Aussie Royd Burgoyne for his welcome help. Notes: r: means “reprinted from:”; tpb means “trade paperback”; hc means “hardcover”] #

DESCRIPTION/STORY TITLE

DATE

COMIC BOOKS & MAGAZINES A-1 TRUE LIFE BIKINI CONFIDENTIAL (Atomeka Press) 1 cover, pin-up 1990 ACTION MASTER (Evolution Comics) 2 cover pencils 1991 ALTER EGO (TwoMorrows) 9 pin-up (r: ’98 Heroes Con program book pin-up) 7/01 AMAZING HEROES (Fantagraphics) 136 pin-up 2/29/88 164 pin-up 5/1/89 189 cover AMAZING HEROES SWIMSUIT SPECIAL (Fantagraphics) 1 pin-ups 2 pin-ups 3 pin-up 6/92 AMAZING SPOOF HEROES SWIMSUIT ISSUE (Fantagraphics) 4 cover pencils 1993 BARBI TWINS SWIMSUIT COMIC ART CALENDAR (Topps) nn pin-up 1995 BATMAN CHRONICLES GALLERY (DC Comics) 1 back cover co-pencils/co-inks 5/97 BATMAN VERSUS PREDATOR (DC Comics/Dark Horse) 2 pin-up 1992 BATMAN VS. PREDATOR COLLECTED ED. (DC/Dark Horse) nn pin-up (r: Batman Versus Predator #2] 1993 BEST OF AMAZING HEROES SWIMSUIT SPEC. (Fantagraphics) nn cover, pin-ups BEST OF DARK HORSE PRESENTS (Dark Horse Comics) Vol. 3 (r: Dark Horse Presents #50) 1993 BIG BAD BLOOD OF DRACULA (Apple Comics) 2 “A Chronology of Dracula” 9/91 BLOOD OF DRACULA (Apple Comics) 4 5 “Count Dracula” pencils 8/88 7 “Count Dracula” pencils 10/88 8 “Count Dracula” pencils 11/88 9 “Count Dracula” pencils 1/89 10 “Count Dracula” pencils 3/89 11 “Count Dracula” pencils 5/89

CHASSIS (Millennium) 1 cover 1996 CHASSIS VOL. II (Hurricane Comics) 1 cover 6/98 CLASSIC STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (Dark Horse Comics) 2 cover 7/94 CLASSIC STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (Dark Horse Comics) nn boxed set edition tpb inside back cover 11/95 (r: Classic Star Wars: A New Hope #2 cover) CLASSIC STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI (Dark Horse) 1 cover 10/94 CLASSIC STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI (Dark Horse) nn Boxed set edition tpb inside back cover 11/95 (r: Classic Star Wars: Return of the Jedi #1 cover) COMICS GREATEST WORLD: GHOST (Dark Horse Comics) nn main story pencils***title? 6/93 CYNDER/NIRA X (Immortelle Studios)***listed only as Cynder 1 variant cover 1996 DANGER GIRL (Image Comics) 3 cover 8/98 DARK HORSE PRESENTS (Dark Horse Comics) 50 "Hip-Deep in the Consciousness Stream” 4/91 co-writer/pencils DEATH GALLERY (DC Comics) 1 pin-up 1994 DEATH HAWK (Adventure) 1 pencils***title? 5/88 DETECTIVES (Alpha Productions) 1 cover 4/93 DIRTY PAIR: RUN FROM THE FUTURE (Dark Horse Comics) 1 variant cover pencils 1/00 DOC SAVAGE: THE MANUAL OF BRONZE (Millennium) nn pin-up (r: Pat Savage: Woman of Bronze #1) 8/92 DRACULA IN HELL (Apple Comics) 2 cover pencils 3/92 THE DREAMING (DC Comics) 55 co-pencils/co-inks on pgs 10-11 12/00 DV8 (Image Comics) 1 cover pencils (“Pride”) 8/96 EAGLE (Crystal Publications) 6 pin-up (first published work) 6/87 9 background pencils 9/87 10 background pencils 10/87 11 background pencils 11/87 12 background pencils? 12/87 EAGLE: THE DARK MIRROR SAGA (Comic Zone) 1 cover 12/92 2 cover 2/92 3 cover 4/92 4 cover 7/92

ELEMENTALS VOL. 2 (Comico) 12 cover, interior pencils, back cover 2/90 17 cover 5/91 FLAXEN: ALTER EGO (Caliber Comics) 1 back cover 1995 FOX KIDS MAGAZINE nn? pin-up Win/99 nn? cover Spr/00 FRANK CHO: ILLUSTRATOR (Insight Studios Group) nn “Brush Strokes and Paint,” writer, chapter intro 6/00 (tpb & hc) GAMORRA SWIMSUIT SPECIAL (Image Comics) 1 pin-up 6/96 GATECRASHER: RING OF FIRE (Black Bull Entertainment) nn cover (tpb) 11/00 GEMINAR 72-PAGE SPECIAL (Image Comics) nn half-page art (pg. 68) 7/00 GEN13 BIKINI PIN-UP SPECIAL (Image Comics) nn pin-up 1997 GEN13 YEARBOOK ’97 (Image Comics) nn third-page art (pg. 40) 6/97 GEN13 : ORDINARY HEROES (Image Comics) 1 cover, interior: writer/pencils****story title? 2/96 2 cover pencils, writer/pencils****story title? GHOST (Dark Horse Comics) 1 cover, interior pencils 4/95 2 cover, interior pencils 5/95 3 cover pencils, interior pencils/co-inks (Ghost versus 6/95 Nemo seq.) 5 cover 8/95 6 cover 9/95 7 cover 10/95 GHOST HANDBOOK (Dark Horse Comics) nn cover, pin-up, back cover 8/99 GHOST SPECIAL (Dark Horse Comics) 1 cover 7/94 GHOST STORIES (Dark Horse Comics) nn cover, "Story One: I'm Already Dead" interior pencils,4/95 sketches (tpb r: Comics Greatest World: Ghost) GHOST/BATGIRL (Dark Horse Comics/DC Comics) 1 half-page art 8/00 GHOST: BLACK OCTOBER (Dark Horse Comics) nn (tpb r: Ghost #6 and 7 covers) 1/99 GHOST: NOCTURNES (Dark Horse Comics) nn (tpb r: Ghost #1 and 3) 5/96 G.I. JOE (Marvel Comics) 111 pin-up 4/91 GLAMOUR INTERNATIONAL 19 pin-up (r: Who’s Who in the DC Universe #4) 10/92

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August 2002

Justice League America ©2002 DC Comics GREEN LANTERN CORPS QUARTERLY (DC Comics) 6 pin-up Fall/93 GUY GARDNER: WARRIOR (DC Comics) 25 pin-up 11/94 HAMMER OF THE GODS (Insight Studios Group) 3 cover****description? Date? HERO ALLIANCE Vol. 2 (Innovation) 3 cover, back cover 12/89 HOMAGE STUDIOS SWIMSUIT SPECIAL (Image Comics) 1 pin-up 4/93 JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE WITH… (DC Comics) DAVE GIBBONS CREATING GREEN LANTERN back cover 2001 GARY FRANK CREATING SHAZAM! back cover 2002 JIM LEE CREATING WONDER WOMAN back cover 2001 JERRY ORDWAY CREATING JLA back cover 2002 JOE KUBERT CREATING BATMAN back cover 2001 JOHN BUSCEMA CREATING SUPERMAN back cover 2001 JOHN BYRNE CREATING ROBIN back cover 2002 KEVIN MAGUIRE CREATING THE FLASH back cover 2001 JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (DC Comics) 31 cover, interior pencils 10/89 32 cover pencils, interior pencils 11/89 33 cover, interior pencils 12/89 34 cover, interior pencils 1/90 35 cover, interior pencils 2/90 36 cover 3/90 37 cover, interior pencils 4/90 38 cover pencils, interior pencils 5/90 39 cover pencils, interior pencils 6/90 40 cover, interior pencils 7/90 41 cover 8/90 42 cover 9/90 43 cover pencils, interior pencils 10/90 44 cover pencils, interior pencils 11/90 45 cover pencils, interior pencils (pgs. 1, 2, 21, & 22) 12/90 46 cover pencils 1/91 47 cover pencils 2/91 48 cover pencils 3/91 49 cover pencils 4/91 50 cover pencils 5/91 51 cover pencils, interior pencils 6/91 52 cover pencils 7/91 JUSTICE LEAGUE QUARTERLY (DC Comics) 1 cover pencils Win/90 JUSTICE MACHINE (Millennium) 1 interior pencils 1992

JUSTICE MACHINE YEAR ONE (Millennium) nn (r: Justice Machine #1) LADY RAWHIDE (Topps Comics) 3 cover 11/95 LADY RAWHIDE SPECIAL EDITION (Topps Comics) 1 cover (r: Zorro #3 cover) 6/95 LEGENDS OF THE STARGRAZERS (Innovation) 1 cover, back cover 8/89 2 cover, back cover 9/89 3 cover, back cover 12/89 4 cover, back cover 2/90 5 cover, back cover 4/90 6 cover, back cover 6/90 LEGENDS OF THE STARGRAZERS: BOOK 1 (Innovation) 1 cover****tpb reprints ??? LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (DC Comics) 100 interior co-pencils/co-inks (pg. 76) 1/98 LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ANNUAL (DC Comics) 1 cover pencils 1990 6 pin-up 1995 LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ARCHIVES Vol. 4 (DC Comics) nn cover (hc) LEGIONNAIRES (DC Comics) 7 cover, interior pencils 10/93 9 interior pencils (pgs. 16-20) 12/93 10 interior breakdowns (pgs. 10-17) 1/94 12 interior pencils (pgs. 1, 2, 7-10) 3/94 13 cover 4/94 14 cover 5/94 16 cover 7/94 50 cover 7/97 LIBERTY MEADOWS (Insight Studios Group) 20 cover LYCRA-WOMAN AND SPANDEX-GIRL (****publisher?) 1 pin-up pencils 12/92 LYCRA-WOMAN & SPANDEX-GIRL HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 1 cover MARVEL AGE (Marvel Comics) 129 cover 10/93 MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIAL (Marvel Comics) 1 two double-page pin-ups 1992 2 double-page pin-up, pin-up pencils 1993 3 cover, double-page pin-up, two pin-ups 1994 4 two pin-ups 1995

MAZE AGENCY (Comico #1-7, Innovation: #8-10, 12, 13, & 19) 1 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover 12/88 2 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover 1/89 3 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover 2/89 4 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover pencils 3/89 5 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover pencils 4/89 6 cover pencils, back cover pencils 5/89 7 cover pencils, back cover pencils 6/89 8 cover pencils, interior pencils, double-page pin-up, 12/89 back cover pencils (r: Amazing Heroes #164 pin-up) 9 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover pencils 2/90 10 cover pencils, back cover pencils 3/90 12 cover pencils, interior pencils, back cover pencils 5/90 13 cover pencils, back cover pencils 6/90 19 cover, back cover 3/91 MAZE AGENCY VOL. 2 (Caliber Comics) 3 cover 1998 MAZE AGENCY ANNUAL (Innovation) 1 interior pencils 1990 MAZE AGENCY MAZE BOOK (Innovation) 1 cover, inside front cover pencils, interior pencils/co-inks, pin-ups, inside back cover pencils, back cover pencils (tpb r: Maze Agency #1-4, #7, and #13 covers, #1-4 interiors, #13, #6, and #8 back covers, miscellaneous art from #8, #9, and #12, and Maze Agency Annual #1 story) MISTER MIRACLE (DC Comics) 19 cover 9/90 NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER ANNUAL (Marvel Comics) 3 interior pencils (pgs. 1-4) 1993 NEW FRONTIERS (Evolution Comics) 2 cover pencils 1991 NEW MUTANTS (Marvel Comics) nn cover (graphic novel) 1994 NEW TITANS (DC Comics) 93 pin-up, double-page pin-up 12/92 NEXUS VOL. 2 (First Comics) 57 cover, interior pencils 6/89 NEXUS THE LIBERATOR (Dark Horse Comics) 1 cover 8/92 2 cover 9/92 4 cover 11/92 PAT SAVAGE: WOMAN OF BRONZE (Millennium) 1 pin-up 7/91 PENTHOUSE (Penthouse International) V.25 #3 interior pencils/co-inks (Young Capt. Adventure) 11/93

August 2002

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

T H E

L I F E

A N D

NUMBER 21

L E G E N D

O F

“ B I G ”

J O H N

B U S C E M A

CELEBRATING THE LIVES & WORK OF THE GREAT CARTOONISTS, WRITERS & EDITORS

AUGUST 2002

REMEMBERING JOHN BUSCEMA: A CBA TRIBUTE FRED HEMBECK’S DATELINE@!!?* Sir Fred memorializes those great “scowling” characters drawn by Big John Buscema..........................................3 CBA RETROSPECTIVE: THE LIFE OF LEGENDARY “BIG JOHN” BUSCEMA Chris Irving talks to the friends of the renowned Marvel artist about the man behind the art ..............................4 CBA TESTIMONIALS: REMEMBERING BUSCEMA Over 25 of the artists’ peers recall the life and work of the Marvel legend ........................................................14 CBA INTERVIEW: A TALK WITH JOHN BUSCEMA Alan Woollcombe shares a 1994 conversation with the artist, conducted at the UK Comic Art Convention ......26 SAL BUSCEMA INTERVIEW: MEMORIES OF BROTHER JOHN Tom DeFalco talks with John’s brother and the “other” Buscema, a legendary Marvel artist in his own right ....34 ARTIST SHOWCASE: JOHN BUSCEMA SKETCHBOOK Some of the best Buscema art ever done was his warm-up sketches on the back of his comic book pages ........36 Cover: A lovely portrait painting of John Buscema by his friend—and one of Big John’s best inkers—Tom Palmer. Our profound appreciation goes out to Mr. Palmer for all of his support and contributions to this issue. Characters ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc. Art ©2002 Tom Palmer. Above: John Buscema commission piece featuring the Cimmerian, Conan. Courtesy of Mike Arnold. Conan ©2002 Conan Properties, Inc. Art ©2002 the Estate of John Buscema. Please send all letters of comment, articles and artwork to: Jon B. Cooke, Editor, Comic Book Artist, P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204 Phone: (401) 783-1669 • Fax: (401) 783-1287 • E-mail: jonbcooke@aol.com

Editor/Designer JON B. COOKE Publisher

TWOMORROWS JOHN & PAM MORROW Cover Painting TOM PALMER Transcribers LONGBOX.COM JON B. KNUTSON BRIAN K. MORRIS SAM GAFFORD STEVEN TICE Logo Designer/Title Originator ARLEN SCHUMER Editorial credits on flip side

COMIC BOOK ARTIST™ is published 10 times a year by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. 919-833-8092. Jon B. Cooke, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204 USA • 401-783-1669 • Fax: 401-783-1287. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT the editorial office. Single issues: $9 postpaid ($11 Canada, $12 elsewhere). Six-issue subscriptions: $36 US, $66 Canada, $72 elsewhere. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2002 Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. Cover acknowledgements: Art ©2002 Tom Palmer. All characters ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc. First Printing. PRINTED IN CANADA.

CBA Retrospective

The Life of Legendary

Christopher Irving takes a journey to discover the artistry by Christopher Irving John N. Buscema was born on December 11, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York. It was less than two years before the infamous “Black Thursday” would bring about the beginning of the Great Depression, and during the advent of the adventure comic strip. Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie and Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs had debuted two years before baby John Buscema, while Dick Caulkin’s Buck Rogers and Hal Foster’s Tarzan strips would make their first appearance within the next couple of years. Foster’s Prince Valiant and Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon (itself created in response to the aforementioned 24th Century space adventurer) were early inspirations of Buscema’s. Cancer claimed “Big” John’s life this past January 10th, and his passing leaves behind a legacy of artwork (mostly for Marvel Comics) and generations of fans, both personal and professional. “John Buscema was one of the most natural people I’ve ever known,” Stan Lee, a frequent collaborator with the artist, reflected. “Totally unaffected and totally honest. He spoke whatever was on his mind truthfully, though people often thought he was kidding. One example was when he said he hated doing super-hero comics. He really meant it. He never enjoyed drawing costumed heroes. He preferred things that he considered natural, like Conan. Mainly, though, he really wanted to paint; painting was his true love. He often told me he couldn’t wait to retire so that he could spend his time painting. As for the kind of person he was— he was a genuinely decent human being and a great friend; a sincere, loyal, helpful, gruff bear of a man with a warm and gentle soul.” “He was a man of very strong convictions, and he knew what he loved and didn’t love,” cartoonist Stan Goldberg of Archie fame said. “When he did love it, he gave it his heart and soul. What he didn’t love, he had certain descriptions of how he’d handle that. People who met him for the first time and heard him describing what he didn’t love would say ‘That guy is terrible, look what he just said.’ “But he was the biggest, sweetest, kindest man you could ever imagine. I haven’t felt this way about losing a friend in a long time. He was our friend.” “[John was] a big teddy bear, and someone who’s imposing when you meet him, but a big pussycat when you get to know him,” Mad magazine artist Mort Drucker observed. “He had a wonderful sense about him, very modest and a delightful man. “He didn’t suffer fools lightly,” Irwin Hasen, cartoonist behind Dondi and DC Comics’ “Wildcat” said. “He had this

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“Big” John Buscema and experiences of one of the greatest comic artists of all

wonderful hearty laugh. He was a warm, friendly guy, but you couldn’t be a wise guy with him. He’d put you down if you started to be a smart-ass. He was just one of those rare guys, and I’m so grateful that I finally met him after so many years of my life.” Bill Seay, chair of the Berndt Toast Gang of artists, also focused on John as a professional. “A tall, imposing guy, beautifully trimmed beard. He was a genial, delightful person to spend time with, and loved to talk about the illustrators of the 1940s. He really idolized some of those people, like Dean Cornwell, Floyd Davis, Albert Durer, and loved to discuss their work. He spent hours and hours in the museums studying the old masters. In addition to studying the old masters, he loved the illustrators of that period in illustration. “He was a wonderful person, just delightful.”

Four-Color, Roy Rogers), American Comics Group (Forbidden Worlds and Adventures into the Unknown) and St. John’s. By 1958, after the crippling attacks on comics by Dr. Frederic Wertham and government authorities, along with the creation of the Comics Code Authority, coupled with the advent of television and homogenizing of the medium, Buscema left funny books behind and re-entered the marketing and advertising world. Yet even his innate ability to produce quickly could not provide steady enough work.

Opposite page: Commission piece by John Buscema commemorating a number of his most fondlyrecalled Marvel characters. Characters ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc. Below: Conan commission piece. Conan ©2002 Conan Properties, Inc. Both courtesy of Mike Arnold. Art ©2002 the Estate of John Buscema.

As a youth, Buscema attended Manhattan’s High School of Music and Art, as well as took nightly lessons at the Pratt Institute for a year-and-a-half, topped off with another year studying life drawing at the Brooklyn Museum. Buscema worked in advertising for a short time; his advertising work included everything from paperback book covers to layout work for Seagrams’ Whiskey. In 1948, John Buscema became a staffer at Timely Comics, the company that would eventually become Marvel. His association with the comics house was only short-lived: After a year-and-a-half, Martin Goodman laid off the entire staff of artists, reducing them to freelancer status after the comics mogul discovered a closet-full of half-finished and rejected story art (accumulated because young editor Stan Lee felt obligated to keep the staffers earning their daily bread, regardless if the produced material would ever see print or not). According to the Grand Comics Database, Buscema’s first published work was 1950’s Two-Gun Western for Timely/ Marvel, although the artist once claimed in an interview that his first work was a story about grave-robbers at Lincoln’s tomb. It is possible that, with the plenitude of reprints done throughout the various companies, John’s work was not printed until years after its completion. Or just as possible, it was unsigned and remains unaccredited. Artist and a former student of John Buscema, Bob Hall, cites Buscema’s self-discipline during this early period: “I remember him saying that he worked with an alarm clock when he was starting, and once he had the experience of taking forever to do something. He realized you can’t survive by doing that, so he trained himself to draw faster. He literally did time himself. I don’t know if this is exactly what he said, I may be tweaking things (but, John was highly disciplined, so this might be true), but that when the alarm went off, that drawing was done. He was good enough to be able to time himself and get a drawing. He wasn’t going to screw around after that. He felt that, in order to exist in the business and be fast, you had to discipline yourself to draw fast. For a while you may turn out bad drawings, but that’s the way to do it.” Buscema stayed freelance in the then-dwindling comics market, working for such publishers as Dell (where he drew August 2002

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CBA Testimonials

Remembering Buscema Over 25 of the master’s peers reminisce about John and his art Below: Certainly one of JB’s most fondly-recalled comic books are his short but sweet run on the early Sub-Mariner issues. Here’s a detail of his cover art on Sub-Mariner #1, as inked by Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky. ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Stan Lee

writer, editor, publisher John Buscema, one of the greatest artists the comic book world has ever known, was a complete anomaly. While doing illustrations that many of the old masters would have been proud to call their own; while doing illustrations that served as models and inspirations for new, aspiring artists as well as experienced old-timers; while doing illustrations that depicted stories so well that one would think they were done by a screen director who also happened to be a fantastic artist; while doing illustrations that never resorted to flash or exaggerated style to cover up imperfections in his drawing (because such imperfections seldom if ever existed); John Buscema constantly surprised those who were his greatest fans by stating that he was simply in comics for the money— for his real love was painting! Therein lies much of the greatness of John Buscema. Such a master of visual storytelling was he, such a perfect depicter of the human form at rest and in action, that even though his heart may not have been totally in his work, his skill, dedication and brilliance were in every figure and every panel he drew. Knowing John as I did, and knowing his subtle and offbeat sense of humor, I feel there’s always a chance that his gruff remarks were just his way of putting on his panting public, but whether or not that’s the case, my hat is off to a masterful artist, a wonderful man who never gave his colleagues or his fans less than his absolute best—an artist who brought dignity, beauty and genius to our field—an artist who will never be forgotten as long as comics exist. Excelsior!

John 14-B

Romita John Romita

artist, art director John Buscema’s name conjures up so many feelings that it’s hard to chose. A peerless draftsman, obviously, he was also a fine storyteller. While he often “put down” comics as unimportant his work said something else. Powerful, majestic, subtle and beautiful characters filled his pages and always with sensitivity. The real Buscema showed on those pages. Professionals like us should be immune to a fellow artist’s illusions, but I fell in love with his heroines and rooted for his heroes. Only Caniff and John could do that to me. One of a kind and truly an artist’s artist… that’s how I think of John Buscema. Our hearts are with Dolores and the family. We miss him terribly.

Joe Sinnott

artist To fully appreciate the brilliance of John Buscema, you had to work with him. I had the good fortune to collaborate with him on many of his greatest characters. To see the incomparable draftsmanship in the originals of The Mighty Thor, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Conan, Ms. Marvel, Nova, and others was a most rewarding experience. Much of my most satisfying work was with John. He was in a class by himself! No one was more forthright than John. I’ll forever miss him.

Neal Adams

artist, writer, publisher It is significant to know and understand how the world may deal brutally with its talented creatives and what danger we face when it happens. It, of course, is not required of the world that we support and coddle our talented artists. So, in all honesty, there should not be any guilt to be parsed out. In fact, the more you coddle and support talent, the more you spoil it, so supporting and coddling is not a good idea. There is a middle ground that for John Buscema, as an artist, and I, as a fan, was torn away. As a kid, I got my hands on a comic book called Mr. Muscles. It was about, as you might suspect, a guy with a lot of… muscles. Thing was, the artist seemed to know where all the muscles go. I realized this by instinct, not by knowledge. This character had incredibly beautiful muscles, but no one, no one in comics knew this much, not even my heroes at the time. One comic… and then he was gone! As a kid, I got into comics sporadically because my family was in Germany with the occupation forces. When we got back to the States, the world of comics had changed. Whole comic companies had closed down. It was the Dark Ages. Archie, Harvey, DC, Dell, and Gold Key had survived. Oops! And Timely… who cared about them? Couple of others, Charlton, whatever. I moved on to high school, an art high school. New friends, etc. Third year, 12th grade. The Steve Reeves Hercules movie came out. Oh my God, it was great. Real men with real muscles. And Steve Reeves. What healthy guy didn’t know about Steve Reeves?! From the black-&-white pages of the Muscle and Fitness magazine (or whatever it was called then). Then Dell printed the Hercules comic book based on the movie. But, good lord! It’s that guy… that Hercules artist. The guy who knew anatomy. The guys in my group went totally apesh*t. We couldn’t believe Dell had hired the right artist for the right job. We were numb at the thought. COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

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Then, he was gone. Poof! Who was he? Did he draw anything else? Nothing surfaced. Archivists will tell you differently, but this is the truth: He was a Will-o’-the-Wisp… we didn’t even know his name. But that Hercules book burned like a beacon. Jack Kirby and Wally Wood’s Challengers, Kubert, Heath, then Drucker on the war books, Kubert inking Carmine on the first issue of The Flash, random appearances by Williamson and a few others… and that Hercules book. No, he didn’t draw Steve Reeves, more’s the pity… but he drew Hercules. Many years later, Stan sucked John back into comics and the rest is history…. Yes… but you know the mid-’50s to the mid-’60s, all things being equal, I think—I know—that the light of John Buscema would have shined brighter by three times! John’s rise came at the plummet of the comic book medium. I think we all owe Stan the Man a round of applause for urging John back for one more try at the golden ring. And try he did and succeeded, and as they say of Davy Crockett, “He made himself a legend forever more.” Will I blame our industry for delaying this flame? Yes. Because now the flame is out. And I, selfishly, do not want it to be so. John: That last bear hug we gave each other last San Diego, it should have not been our last. But, I’ll say this, Big Guy: You sure did good work. You sure did damn good work.

Ernie Colón

artist, writer, editor I was given an issue of Conan the Barbarian to do while at my brief stay at Marvel. At first, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to draw this great icon of Hyborean adventure. Then, as John Buscema’s unparalleled work on Conan began to seep into my consciousness, beads of sweat began to appear on my forehead. With good reason. Fred Astaire has just completed his act and the audience is wild with cheers and applause. The stage manager then points to me and says,“Okay, kid: Let’s see what you can do.” My response, appropriately enough, is, “Hah…?” I did the story. I did my best and it was okay. John came back from vacation—or wherever—sat down to continue his amazing work on Conan, and the universe was once more in order. I was, and am, a fan.

David Lloyd

artist I met John Buscema at a festival in Gijon, Spain. A nice guy and typical of his generation of comics artists, workmen in a trade is how they largely see themselves, despite the enormous number of people their skills have influenced over the years. John didn’t know my work, so my constant desire for instant approval from the elite and respected craftsmen of my youth was frustrated once again. All those invited to the festival were separately interviewed on stage as examples of their creations were displayed on a big screen. If he sees mine, I thought, he might August 2002

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tell me he liked it when I talk to him later. He saw some of my interview and saw some of my work, but he left before the end. He might have been hungry, he might have had an appointment to keep, he might have been tired from jet lag and wanted to rest. But it could just have been that he wasn’t greatly impressed with what I do. Of course, I didn’t ask him what he’d thought of what he’d seen at my interview or why he’d left before it finished but, even now, five years later, I still occasionally wonder what he had thought and wish I’d heard a few complimentary words from him about my efforts. That’s what John Buscema was to me, one of the awe-inspiring greats by which we judge our own value, to keep us on our toes in an industry in which it’s very easy to become flat-footed and trudge a well-worn path. John may not be with us any more but his example will stick around for as long as his work is published and there are artists like me around to learn something from it.

John Workman

artist, writer, letterer, art director When I was much younger, I used to daydream quite a lot about changing the minds of those who saw comic book reading as a worthless pursuit. This attitude really bothered me, and I set out, within the confines of my imagination, to inform the ignorant about the truly great things that had been done with the comics form. From recent memories, I gathered examples of stories that had real value and worth for any reader of any age. A couple of those stories that ranked high on my list (most especially for their visual wonders) were drawn by John Buscema, and I was stunned a few years later to find that he saw them as complete failures. In a couple of issues of the early Marvel black-&-white magazine Savage Tales, John Buscema drew some Conan stories that were inked by Alfredo Alcala. When I saw them, I couldn’t believe the sheer beauty of the images. It was as if Joseph Clement Coll had come back to life and taken to drawing comics. The product of the two men working together was the most amazing collaboration that I’ve ever seen. The surprising thing was the fact that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Neither Buscema nor Alcala could

Above: Gorgeous splash-page detail of Wolverine, penciled by JB and inked by Klaus Janson. From Wolverine #1. Courtesy of a generous fan whose name was misplaced at presstime. Our apologies, amigo, and please tell us who you are and we’ll get you your comp issue of CBA. ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc.

CBA Interview

Talking with Big John That loveable curmudgeon at the ’94 UK Comic Art Convention Opposite page: Enrico Savini shares this JB commission piece featuring the Thunder God and two of the Warriors Three. Bob McLeod did some revision work. Below: A poignant representation of the passing of a master comic book artist. This unfinished commission by JB featured his favorite assignments at Marvel Comics. Courtesy of Mike Arnold. Art ©2002 Estate of John Buscema. Thor, Silver Surfer ©2002 Marvel Characters, Inc. Conan ©2002 Conan Properties, Inc.

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Conducted by Alan R. Woollcombe On Oct. 2, 1994 John Buscema was in London as star guest at UKCAC (United Kingdom Comic Arts Convention). Securing John was a major coup for the organizers, who had lined him up on panels and signings throughout what must have proved a very long day. During a break, we sat in a corner and he good-naturedly granted the following interview. The artist was good-humored, sharp, and not above catching me out occasionally—in short, far from the intimidating ogre of rumor. The interview appeared originally in the March 1995 issue (#37) of the long-defunct British magazine Comic World. This is the verbatim transcript [if slightly edited by Y.E.]—ARW Alan R. Woollcombe: I read an interview with Steve

Englehart recently. He said that in the mid-1970s you and he were both hired by Jenette Kahn at DC briefly, but then Stan [Lee] came back to you with a bigger offer of money. John Buscema: That’s a fabrication. I never worked for DC in my entire life. I was approached three times: once many years ago by Carmine Infantino and twice by Jenette Kahn. (Actually, I shouldn’t say Jenette Kahn, it was one of her editors.) I did meet Jenette twice, and twice we couldn’t, err, come to any sort of, err… They couldn’t take me away from Marvel, okay? What I had at Marvel I could never get at DC. Alan: What do you have at Marvel? John: One of the things I have at Marvel is Conan, which I love. DC wanted me to work on Superman which I think is probably as dull as Spider-Man—I wouldn’t be happy working on it. Also, the benefits that I have, which is very difficult for another company to match, really. I’ve been there a long time and they’ve been very generous with me, and DC could never match what I have at Marvel. Alan: Have you ever worked for another comic company? John: Oh, before—many years ago I worked with quite a few companies, but every one of them closed up like a domino effect. This was back in the ’50s. [chuckles] Alan: Did you ever work with Joe Kubert? John: No, no, never worked with Joe Kubert. It’s a funny thing—if I’ve been in the field for 47 years, I think Joe has been in it for about 50 years or better. I met him [for the first time] about five years ago. I met [DC editor] Julie Schwartz at a convention and I mentioned that I would love to meet Joe Kubert. He told me that the next time I got up to the city [New York] to give him a call and he would make sure that Joe would be there, and we would meet. In fact we did, we had lunch together and I was very impressed with Joe. I think he’s a fabulous artist, I think he’s fantastic, and I think he’s the same thing as a man. He’s really a very interesting person, and we seemed to get along very well. I had an embarrassing situation. Joe has a school [the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art] and he asked me if I would be willing to have a graduation exercise or some-thing with the students, would I be willing to go to [New] Jersey [where the school is] and be a guest speaker? I agreed, and then I had to back out because I was so busy and that’s quite a distance—I would have had to kill an entire day and I just couldn’t have afforded that day. And he said “Well, maybe next time”—and I had to turn him down a second time because of the same situation. He never called me again! [chuckles] So I feel kind of embarrassed—I don’t want to meet him face to face! [laughter] Alan: You mentioned you were bored by Spider-Man, but you did ink some early issues of Amazing Spider-Man…. John: No, I have never inked any job except mine up at Marvel. I penciled—I forget who inked, maybe…. Alan: Mickey Demeo? John: Mickey Demeo was Frank Giacoia by the way, did you know that? Alan: I thought Frankie Ray was Frank Giacoia. John: And I think he was also… wait a minute, Mickey Demeo is Esposito. That is not a real [name]—somebody is using a double, like Frank Giacoia used Frankie Ray, and Demeo is the same situation. Alan: And Gene Colan used Adam Austin. John: Yes, I know that. And John Buscema used John Buscema! [chuckles] I don’t know why the hell they do it. Well I do know about Giacoia, I know why that happened but I won’t go into it, because it’s COMIC BOOK ARTIST 21

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Comic Book Artist #21