Click to make Hulk-sized.
This double-page splash from Incredible Hulk #300 (1984) is a great example of what Sal Buscema brought to the title for many years, creating one of the definitive visual renditions of the charater. Sal was one of the classic Marvel Comics stalwarts, doing excellent work for many of their characters, most notably Spider-Man.
One thing I always like to point out regarding Incredible Hulk #300’s opening pages is the persistence of the story’s title “Days of Rage” on the billboard. You can see part of that title on the billboard chunk Hulk is throwing a couple of pages later:
Don’t know who exactly was responsible for this visual gag, but it gave me an excuse to post another pic by Mr. Buscema.
Thanks, Sal, and so long.
The look of Sal Buscema’s work dominates my mental images of late 70’s – early 80’s Marvel hero comics. It seemed so ubiquitous and tone-setting to me that it’s part of what made work by other artists (Miller, Byrne, Colan, Sienkiewicz,) stand out as more remarkable. It’s clear to me now that he was doing his own mighty work to follow the good story-telling traditions and visual patterns set in place before him and keeping characters consistent and distinctive.
The question always arises in my mind of how often he was following detailed scripts and how often he was working “Marvel Method” and doing his own story-telling from detailed (or sketchy) summaries.
The one Marvel Omnibus in my collection is Walt Simonson’s Thor run, which featured mostly Buscema’s art on the last half. That’s my favorite of his work, rising up to the challenge of following Simonson’s own magnificent art and keeping to that style.
RIP Mr. Buscema.
Very sad news, Sal was my favourite Marvel artist when I first got into comics, Rom and The Hulk were my top 2. It’s amazing to remember that he was penciling and inking two full comics a month, plus producing fill in issues as needed. As great as the inking on his own pencils were, his style really merged seamlessly and beautifully with inking styles as diverse as Joe Sinnott and Akin and Garvey. I still think he drew the definitive Hulk, and no other artist could quite capture Rom as well as he did. Happy memories of Rom dispatching Dire Wraiths to Limbo and the Hulk battling the Wendigo in the snow. rest in peace Sal.
I always liked (and still like) his work on The New Mutants, taking over for Bob McLeod: solid storytelling, great facial expressions, teenagers who looked like teenagers. All around great art.
Man, Sal Buscema. Last of the OGs. As a kid, he was not my favorite, but over time I grew to appreciate and love his work. Very much the definitive Hulk artist, but also a significant contributor to Spider-Man (the DeMatteis/Buscema run finally collected in Omnibus format recently is probably my favorite post-Ditko Spidey). And of course he drew my beloved ROM Spaceknight, and the back half of Simonson’s Thor, among the thousands of other pages he crafted. The go-to guy at Marvel for decades.
He often inked himself (and by all accounts his true passion was inking), but I also like how his pencils transformed with different inkers. You showcase Talaoc above. I loved the work he did with Ernie Chan and Bill Sienkiewicz.
A true comic OG…and one of the quiet, every present, versatile stalwarts that makes the comic industry go.
@Bill: “Last of the OGs”
Steranko’s still around!
Sad to hear of his passing.
Everyone here has already said it better than I can, but man, what an absolute professional. I’ve given him grief in the past for not being terribly exciting a lot of the time. That said, how many books did rescue from deadline doom at the last minute? I don’t know if he ever turned in an assignment late, but I have trouble imagining it. How many thousands of pages of did he create? Each one easily readable and in service of the story.
When I was first getting into comics and buying random back issues he seemed to be the artist on every third book I picked up. He was the embodiment of the Marvel house style.
When I think of the Hulk, it’s his version that I think of.
@Michael Grabowski
Totally agree about his Thor run. I wouldn’t envy anyone having to follow up Simonson on that book, but he certainly rose to occasion.
Thanks for everything Sal.
BTW: Has there ever been another pair of sibling artists that had as much impact on comics as the Buscema brothers? The Severins are the only one I can think of who could even come close. Am I forgetting anyone?
Sad to hear about Sal’s passing. In addition to Hulk 300, my favorite work of his was on Gerber’s Defenders. He made the weird, ungainly concepts work on the comic book page. Sal’s Hulk was as endearing as he was powerful. The action was always well-executed, even when it took place entirely within Kyle Richmond’s mind as his brain sat in a bowl. I liked how his work was a perfect showcase for inkers, especially Bill Sienkidwicz and Klaus Janson. RIP
@LouReedRichards: have any other sibling pairs had as great an impact on super-hero/mainstream comics as the Buscemas or Severins? Probably not. The next closest might be Adam & Andy Kubert.
In terms of indie comics, and the medium as a whole for that matter, Gilbert and Jaime Hernández (with Mario!) have to be the sibling pair with the greatest body of work, legacy, and influence.
@ Mike Loughlin
Of course! The Hernandez Brothers, can’t believe I totally blanked on that one. Agree about the work, legacy, and influence on the medium as a whole.
Also didn’t think of the Kubert’s either – Thanks!
For better or worse, Stan Lee and Larry Lieber deserve a place in this conversation, if the question is “Siblings with great impact on superhero or mainstream comics.”
Otto, Earl, and Jack Binder deserve a place on the “Great Brothers of Comic Book History” list as well!
I wonder what Sal Buscema’s overall drawn page count is compared to Jack Kirby’s? It does seem like Sal became Marvel’s “Kirby” of the ’70s and beyond–in terms of being able to quickly churn out a lot of work.
In addition to his lively pencils on Incredible Hulk, The Defenders, Rom, Marvel Team-Up, Spider-Man, etc., Sal also did some truly beautiful inking over Barry Windsor-Smith’s pencils on some of those early Conan the Barbarian issues. And it was always interesting whenever Sal Buscema inked over his brother John’s layouts.
Gene, Dan, and David Day should get honorable mention as talented brothers who have impacted comics; Bo and Scott Hampton as well.
@Steven Gauthier
Thanks – yeah I meant to qualify my comment as “sibling artists”, but you’re absolutely right about the Lee/Lieber Brothers. and their impact.
@ Sean – I was wondering something along those lines as well. Just how many pages did Sal produce? – The amount must be mind-blowing!
Thought of the Day brothers, just didn’t think their impacts was as huge as the Buscemas and Severins.
Didn’t think of the Hamptons or the Binders though – good call.
Three siblings in comics? C’mon y’all leave a little something on the table for everybody else.
“Thought of the Day brothers, just didn’t think their impacts was as huge as the Buscemas and Severins.”
Yeah, their work was rather sporadic, and one of them died WAY too young.
Not siblings, but here’s an honorable mention for a son that carried on his father’s work, Mark & Vaughn Bodē.
Oh, here’s some siblings who (always or almost always) work together, the Pander Brothers!
I LOVED Sal’s runs on ROM and the Hulk. Gerry Taloc did an excellent inking job on that HULK #300 above.
Tim Vigil and Joe Vigil should be mentioned as two brothers who have both created comics.
Also, Robert Crumb and his brothers Charles and Max.
I believe that Rick Vietch’s brother, Tom, wrote or drew some underground comics.
Then there are the family comics creators dynasties: Buscemas, Kuberts, Romitas, Bodes, Adams, Simons, Kirbys, and Steven Butler’s daughter Lily has recently become a comic book artist/colorist. I’m sure there are other comic creator legacy families out there.
His work on Spectacular Spider-Man was what got my attention. I didn’t like it at first (too angular to be Spidey!), but it really grew on me as I kept reading.
When I interviewed J.M. DeMatteis (the writer on that run), he told me how for the end of Spectacular Spider-Man #200 (the death of Harry Osborn), DeMatteis had written dialogue and captions for the final page, but when he got back Sal’s art, he knew he didn’t have to add a word.
That’s a storyteller.