Sal Buscema

[devildinosaur]

No offense, Steven, but Sal Buscema's been one of the most expressive artists in comics for a long, long time. He may not be revered like his brother, but he's revered by me! He's been consistently great since I was but a wee lad. Just thought I'd stick up for the man.

[Rod G]

No offense, Steven, but Sal Buscema's been one of the most expressive artists in comics for a long, long time. He may not be revered like his brother, but he's revered by me! He's been consistently great since I was but a wee lad. Just thought I'd stick up for the man.


Hear,hear!

[bh123]

I am a very big fan of Sal Buscema, as I explain here...

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=14694

I'd certainly enjoy getting more original artwork by him in the future.

[devildinosaur]

I am a very big fan of Sal Buscema, as I explain here...

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=14694

I'd certainly enjoy getting more original artwork by him in the future.

Cool link, Ben. Our Pal Sal WAS very under appreciated. He consistently turned out great work while working on multiple titles. I collect Spider-Girl just because of Sal's inking (although having Frenz on pencils isn't exactly half bad, either).

[Paul McEnery]

The first comics art I ever really noticed as art was Sal and John together on The Avengers. And after that, it was Sal I followed.

There are two sides to the work. One is the sharpness of the line. And in some ways that really is attached to the 70s as a feel, because it's so cool, like in Birth of the Cool -- classical, unemotive, zippy, and pop. You could be listening to the hard-edged space around Phil Spector's instrumentation with all that clarity.

But then there's Sal's content, which shines through when he's inked by Klaus Janson (whose style was the opposite, a fuzzy detail which emphasized emotional humanism, with a touch of existential bleakness). People are always arranged around the scene the way they actually would be -- as in, for instance, a courtroom; it's not just that the scene is right, it's that the angles he picks emphasize the power relationships in the room while foregrounding the actors in such a way that it's their relationship to power that matters, placing the reader right in the middle of the action, drawn into being those characters while at the same time kept at that cool objective distance. Neat trick.

And the characters are always dynamic, even if it's a small bit of business with a glass in the hands, or body language as two characters in the background are in conversation. Now that's something people forget to do on a regular basis, and again, a neat trick that brings you into the picture while keeping you at a distance, like a kid watching his parents interacting with their friends from the banisters -- a wide-angle shot he uses a lot, with quite the emotional kick for a young audience.

Sal doesn't get noticed the way flashier artists do, but I figure it's the same as with Kingsley Amis (compared to his son). There's no less craft involved in being simple -- rather more, actually; and it displaces the artistic movement away from the surface of mere style and into the actual substance of the work.

And it's a style that's a lot more influential than most people credit. When you think of Starlin, you first off notice the way he blends Kirby and Ditko. It's not so obvious that he's utilizing Sal's skills at mise-en-scene and body language. Not to mention getting different bodies expressing individuality as much as different faces. At a time when Marvel's characters (just to pick on them) all look and act interchangeably, I yearn for the old days.

And besides, if there's one comics image that's burned into my brain, it's the proto-Defenders story with Submariner, Silver Surfer and The Hulk, all floating on the board, with Hulk danging his feet like a little kid, IIRC. Small touch, but you've got the character in a nutshell right there. And it's a picture that makes me go back to comics in the hope of getting the same thrill that I got when I first saw it.

Cool but human, static but dynamic, direct but nuanced, distant but close.

Can't touch that.

[devildinosaur]

The first comics art I ever really noticed as art was Sal and John together on The Avengers. And after that, it was Sal I followed.

There are two sides to the work. One is the sharpness of the line. And in some ways that really is attached to the 70s as a feel, because it's so cool, like in Birth of the Cool -- classical, unemotive, zippy, and pop. You could be listening to the hard-edged space around Phil Spector's instrumentation with all that clarity.

But then there's Sal's content, which shines through when he's inked by Klaus Janson (whose style was the opposite, a fuzzy detail which emphasized emotional humanism, with a touch of existential bleakness). People are always arranged around the scene the way they actually would be -- as in, for instance, a courtroom; it's not just that the scene is right, it's that the angles he picks emphasize the power relationships in the room while foregrounding the actors in such a way that it's their relationship to power that matters, placing the reader right in the middle of the action, drawn into being those characters while at the same time kept at that cool objective distance. Neat trick.

And the characters are always dynamic, even if it's a small bit of business with a glass in the hands, or body language as two characters in the background are in conversation. Now that's something people forget to do on a regular basis, and again, a neat trick that brings you into the picture while keeping you at a distance, like a kid watching his parents interacting with their friends from the banisters -- a wide-angle shot he uses a lot, with quite the emotional kick for a young audience.

Sal doesn't get noticed the way flashier artists do, but I figure it's the same as with Kingsley Amis (compared to his son). There's no less craft involved in being simple -- rather more, actually; and it displaces the artistic movement away from the surface of mere style and into the actual substance of the work.

And it's a style that's a lot more influential than most people credit. When you think of Starlin, you first off notice the way he blends Kirby and Ditko. It's not so obvious that he's utilizing Sal's skills at mise-en-scene and body language. Not to mention getting different bodies expressing individuality as much as different faces. At a time when Marvel's characters (just to pick on them) all look and act interchangeably, I yearn for the old days.

And besides, if there's one comics image that's burned into my brain, it's the proto-Defenders story with Submariner, Silver Surfer and The Hulk, all floating on the board, with Hulk danging his feet like a little kid, IIRC. Small touch, but you've got the character in a nutshell right there. And it's a picture that makes me go back to comics in the hope of getting the same thrill that I got when I first saw it.

Cool but human, static but dynamic, direct but nuanced, distant but close.

Can't touch that.

I'm quite certain Sal would appreciate those comments. I also love the angular, sharpness of his line. For me, Sal's 8 year run on Spectacular Spider-Man made my late teen/early twenties a fun time.

[Zombie Uatu]

I don't post here often, but I felt I ought to respond to this column.

For me, the Sal Buscema \ Klaus Jansen art team literally defined the way Spider-man looked for me as a kid. The only other artist on the Spider-books in the early-mid 90's who I was a big fan of was Mark Bagley, and together these 2 represented the two 'looks' of Spidey, one crisp, clear and heroic, the other... well, I always remember thinking that the art literally 'looked like webs'. There are panels that stick out in my memory in a major way from Sal\Klaus, and yes, I really do believe he deserves more credit than he gets.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Many times over the years, mostly on CBR's Classic Comics forum, I've talked about my appreciation of Sal Buscema's work. Now, it's certainly true that not everything he ever did was great, but pretty much everything of his I've ever seen that wasn't at least good was pretty obviously drawn extremely quickly and probably under so ridiculous a deadline that nobody else would have even tried. People often forget that for a while there, Sal was sort of the go-to guy when some book was behind schedule and/or some other scheduled artist was unavailable.

People that don't Sal apparently don't get that his style is more that of a cartoonist than a classical illustrator, They also ignore his great skill at depicting emotion and expression, and the very kinetic nature of his drawing.

I won't claim that Sal is one of the greatest comics artists ever, but he is nonetheless very, very good.

[Steven Grant]

I won't claim that Sal is one of the greatest comics artists ever, but he is nonetheless very, very good.

I think that's what I said...

- Grant

[bh123]

Some of Sal Buscema's best storytelling ever was in Spectacular Spider-Man when J.M. DeMatteis was writing the book. Buscema had some incredibly dramatic layouts and stark detail that really brought forth the emotional intensity of DeMatteis' stories. IMHO, it was definitely a high-water mark in Buscema's career.

[devildinosaur]

People that don't Sal apparently don't get that his style is more that of a cartoonist than a classical illustrator, They also ignore his great skill at depicting emotion and expression, and the very kinetic nature of his drawing.

I won't claim that Sal is one of the greatest comics artists ever, but he is nonetheless very, very good.

Well said. Sal WAS more of a cartoonist than, say, Charles Vess is an illustrator. Moreover, he was able to perfectly capture facial emotion every time. But I do think his ability to produce such consistently eye-pleasing work over so many years under so many deadlines qualifies him as one of the great Marvel artists. Nice post, Jeffrey.

[Paul McEnery]

People that don't Sal apparently don't get that his style is more that of a cartoonist than a classical illustrator, They also ignore his great skill at depicting emotion and expression, and the very kinetic nature of his drawing.
.

I just went back to Essential Defenders 3 to show The Buggins what I was talking about. It's funny how much you don't think about what Sal does because his whole style was about getting out of the way of the storytelling. But when you're thinking about what he's doing, suddenly it all pops out of the book.

I mean, the freaking evil faun, for goodness' sake. Even there he catches the expressions perfectly. You know it's Jack Norris in Nighthawk's costume, because he holds himself differently. (Which does pose the question of how none of the characters manage to spot the various switcheroos in the plot, but lets gloss over that...)

Which in my eyes makes Sal one of the greats every bit as much as an Adams or a Steranko.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I think that's what I said...

- Grant

Yeah, I wasn't so much commenting specifically on your comments about Sal so much as I was just commenting on Sal being a lot better artist than many people credit him. I personally think he's among the more sadly underrated of the comics artists of his time, so I always take any opportunity to praise the virtues of Sal's work.

However, I do think Sal's work has more to it - and perhaps a bit more of that "it" quality - than you credit him with.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I just went back to Essential Defenders 3 to show The Buggins what I was talking about. It's funny how much you don't think about what Sal does because his whole style was about getting out of the way of the storytelling. But when you're thinking about what he's doing, suddenly it all pops out of the book.

I mean, the freaking evil faun, for goodness' sake. Even there he catches the expressions perfectly. You know it's Jack Norris in Nighthawk's costume, because he holds himself differently. (Which does pose the question of how none of the characters manage to spot the various switcheroos in the plot, but lets gloss over that...)

Sal is also great at capturing a character's essence while using minimal detail to do so. One of my favorite Sal comics, which I always get back to when discussing him, is an issue of HULK in which the Hulk is going to get Jarella's body back from the military base where it's being held, and he ends up fighting Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) due to a misunderstanding. I agree with you that Starlin appears to have cribbed some elements of his iconography from Sal (though I think it's probably more a case of both being influenced by Gil Kane), but in this instance Sal refers back to Starlin stylistically but without really drawing one's attention to it. The poses he picks for Mar-Vell convey the sort of dignity and grace with which Starlin drew the character while also remaining true to Sal's own very kinetic style. Similarly, when Marvel's cosmic awareness kicks in, he merges the way Starlin depicted that abilty seamlessly with his own style.

Another good example was in, of all places, the X-Men guest appearance in ROM. Though he doesn't ape Byrne's style, Sal nonetheless does a great job of capturing the facial expressions and a lot of the characteristic gestures/movements of Kitty Pryde, Wolverine and others in a manner consistent with Byrne's versions of those characters. This helps create the sense that this is more a "real" X-Men story, vs. just a marketing gimmick, because the characters have a feel entirely consistent with the way they were being depicted in their own book.

[Michael P]

I loved Sal's art on Spectacular Spider-Man until Bill Sienkiewicz started inking it.

Two talented men, but boy do those styles not mesh.

[Paul McEnery]

I loved Sal's art on Spectacular Spider-Man until Bill Sienkiewicz started inking it.

Two talented men, but boy do those styles not mesh.

Yeah, it's like some editor was sitting there going: boy, everyone seems to like this guy, but he looks like shit. I know, I'll get Sienkewicz to jazz it up a bit for me. Then all the cool kids will want to hang out with me, and maybe I'll get laid at last.

[devildinosaur]

I loved Sal's art on Spectacular Spider-Man until Bill Sienkiewicz started inking it.

Two talented men, but boy do those styles not mesh.

I can honestly say that's the only time I haven't liked Sal's work...Sienkiewicz inking him kinda makes it a muddy mess.

[websbestcomics]

I love how all of Sal's characters look like they've just gone totally insane with shock at whatever stunning event is happening in any particular scene. Those big square mouthed, beady eyed expressions on Hulk are the absolute best. I don't think another Hulk artist ever came close to depicting the characters anger and savagery than Sal Buscema. His ROM run totally rocked.

[JeffreyWKramer]

If anyone hasn't checked out Sal's work on the CREEPER revival of several years back, it's highly recommended. Excellent stuff. Has Sal done other non-Marvel stuff besides that?

[midnightman2001]

Sal Buscema is THE man, no doubt! I love his action panels. When Captain America punches a baddie, I really got the sense that his punch packed some power behind it. Remember the panels of the villain flying across the room with a tooth knocked out?

Sal Buscema also single handedly saved many a book from the dreaded deadline doom in the 1970s.

I also wear that Sal Buscema tee shirt proudly. ( the yellow one that is out now which has that distressed look to it showing all those Marvel characters).

I normally do not buy original artwork due to the price. But I would spring for some of Sal's work.

[pariah-1972]

Sal buscema =godlike nuff said.

[benday-dot]

I grew up thinking Sal was the greatest. I loved his Marvel work and always looked for it on the stands. I left comics for a long time and when I returned a couple years back to look at my old collection again, and as I started to build it up anew I hate to say, with great respect to all the very fine and well-informed posters on this board, that my Sal-love suffered somewhat. I have a lot of Sal in my collection and I realized I wasn't as interested in it as I once was. A new aesthetic seemed to displace it in my order of appreciation.

I found I really began to gravitate toward a bolder and more discrete artwork, or where a finer line is involved one that was also involved with a greater discourse with mood and the expressive or even the grotesque.

I know the posters see some of these elements in the great body Sal B's work, but to me, with exception of the justly praised collaboration with Klaus Janson (one of my favourite inkers ever) they are rather absent. My favourite Sal work comes with Defenders and Incredible Hulk (where he is ably assisted by Joe Staton). I am not so partial to his Spider-Man work where Esposito and Colletta are the main inkers. And I just have not been able to commend Sal's inking of his own work.

It may be unfair to compare Sal B to Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and and Gene Colan, but fair or unfair those three speak to me at a level artistically, with such inventiveness and imagination, with such direct intent and hinged to a propulsiveness and viscerality that I guess its hard for me now to get what I once got out of Sal B. Am I saying I think he's a wee bit bland? Yikes. Just maybe.

Sure hope I haven't caused offense to all my CBR colleagues and lovers of the ubiquitous Sal Buscema.

[devildinosaur]

I grew up thinking Sal was the greatest. I loved his Marvel work and always looked for it on the stands. I left comics for a long time and when I returned a couple years back to look at my old collection again, and as I started to build it up anew I hate to say, with great respect to all the very fine and well-informed posters on this board, that my Sal-love suffered somewhat. I have a lot of Sal in my collection and I realized I wasn't as interested in it as I once was. A new aesthetic seemed to displace it in my order of appreciation.

I found I really began to gravitate toward a bolder and more discrete artwork, or where a finer line is involved one that was also involved with a greater discourse with mood and the expressive or even the grotesque.

I know the posters see some of these elements in the great body Sal B's work, but to me, with exception of the justly praised collaboration with Klaus Janson (one of my favourite inkers ever) they are rather absent. My favourite Sal work comes with Defenders and Incredible Hulk (where he is ably assisted by Joe Staton). I am not so partial to his Spider-Man work where Esposito and Colletta are the main inkers. And I just have not been able to commend Sal's inking of his own work.

It may be unfair to compare Sal B to Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and and Gene Colan, but fair or unfair those three speak to me at a level artistically, with such inventiveness and imagination, with such direct intent and hinged to a propulsiveness and viscerality that I guess its hard for me now to get what I once got out of Sal B. Am I saying I think he's a wee bit bland? Yikes. Just maybe.

Sure hope I haven't caused offense to all my CBR colleagues and lovers of the ubiquitous Sal Buscema.

Not when you express yourself so well in regards to his work. I can still see the Sal-appreciation squeezing through.

I loved his very early work on "The Avengers", and I'm proud to say I own a few issues.

[websbestcomics]

It just occured to me that Sal Buscema perfectly fits into the category of a true master of the medium. His drawings seem effortless, and every single line had a purpose. There aren't many artists like that in comics. His brother John also had this same magical quality; a total confidence in each line regardless of whether it was technically realistic or not. There is a kind of grace and certainty in Sal's work, an efficiency to it that forces you to read it quickly, without any need for pause over any particular panel. He is probably the most under-rated artist in comics.

[Lone Ranger]

Another good example was in, of all places, the X-Men guest appearance in ROM.

Yup - those are a couple of great issues.

I think another good example of what you are talking about is the Sal B/Ernie C collaboration on the first John Carter Warlod of Mars Annual - keeps the look of the ongoing series, without trying to be Gil Kane & Co. That is a great, great book.

I loved Sal's art on Spectacular Spider-Man until Bill Sienkiewicz started inking it.

Two talented men, but boy do those styles not mesh.

Agreed, agreed, agreed. Not a good fit.

Has Sal done other non-Marvel stuff besides that?

IIRC, he popped up with some Batman stories several years ago (late 90s?)

I have a lot of Sal in my collection and I realized I wasn't as interested in it as I once was.

I understand where you are coming form - that has certainly happened to me with a number of artists, including Sal's brother.

[CaptChucky]

I really didn't like Sal's work until he started inking himself on "Incredible Hulk." Since then, I've loved his work. He understands his own pencils very well. I also liked his earlier inking over his brother, John.

[mrswing]

Registered here just to post on this thread...

Sal Buscema has, to me, created the ultimate Hulk and Cap portrayals (as well as the definitive ROM, but that's hardly a classic series, enjoyable though it was).

But the main reason I liked him when he was very active and almost omnipresent in the Marvel Universe, was that he drew every character well. Not necessarily best, but never less than good. Many artists had problems doing a good Spider-Man, for instance - even John Buscema never got him right. Sal, though, drew an excellent Spidey - and even changed with the times (the post McFarlane era).

Steven also mentioned Ross Andru as a solid workhorse artist without the 'It' -factor: well, he too had a perfect Spider-Man, and his artwork on Superman Vs. Spider-Man was INCREDIBLE, especially those Manhattan skylines which formed the background to their clash. In the original oversized print, some pages of this comic are powerful enough to take your breath away.

[devildinosaur]

Registered here just to post on this thread...

Sal Buscema has, to me, created the ultimate Hulk and Cap portrayals (as well as the definitive ROM, but that's hardly a classic series, enjoyable though it was).

But the main reason I liked him when he was very active and almost omnipresent in the Marvel Universe, was that he drew every character well. Not necessarily best, but never less than good. Many artists had problems doing a good Spider-Man, for instance - even John Buscema never got him right. Sal, though, drew an excellent Spidey - and even changed with the times (the post McFarlane era).

Steven also mentioned Ross Andru as a solid workhorse artist without the 'It' -factor: well, he too had a perfect Spider-Man, and his artwork on Superman Vs. Spider-Man was INCREDIBLE, especially those Manhattan skylines which formed the background to their clash. In the original oversized print, some pages of this comic are powerful enough to take your breath away.

Welcome to the forums, 'Wing! And you're dead on about Sal drawing all Marvel characters well...there's not a single instance I remember where a Sal drawn character didn't look exactly like he/she was supposed to!

PS--I love Ross Andru...I guess I'm drawn to venerable workhorses! I loved his version of the Man of Steel!

[Imaginos666]

I like Sal's work ... and hate that everyone seems to be so hesitant to admit that he's not a great artist. He's a fine talent and a competent professional, and it's a shame that isn't considered complementary.

And I liked Andru, too. Those were good years for Spidey when he was on the book. His art was very atmospheric.

[devildinosaur]

I like Sal's work ... and hate that everyone seems to be so hesitant to admit that he's not a great artist. He's a fine talent and a competent professional, and it's a shame that isn't considered complementary.

And I liked Andru, too. Those were good years for Spidey when he was on the book. His art was very atmospheric.

I don't understand the hesitation, either...he's drawn so well for so long I consider him one of the true greats.

[Georgie Roussell]

I think that Sal was too cartoony, not artistic at all.

[NatGertler]

I think that Sal was too cartoony, not artistic at all.Yeah, dang that cartooniness. Real art is measured by the number of teeny lines on it!

[ForeverTaskmaster]

To me Sal is one of the all-time greatest. His Hulk run, his Defenders run and his Rom run are some of the finest comics you will ever read. The man knows action. Not only that, but he is also a class act. I met him at a convention once long after his runs on Hulk, Defenders and Rom. There was a big queue waiting for him to sign or draw something. When the convention was closed I still didn't have the chance to talk to the man. The organizer of his signing and drawing session (which lasted about 8 hours) told us :"Tough luck, people. The session is over." Sal told the guy something like:"No way it's over. It's over after the remaining people have been taken care off."
How can you not like the guy ?

[devildinosaur]

I think that Sal was too cartoony, not artistic at all.

Yeah, his characters aren't overly realistic, but their faces always conveyed the right information, and they were always dynamic.