Could John Byrne make a comeback with the right inker?

[Cody_Starbuck]

Perez and Starlin really never left just took breaks.

 

I never read any of Starlins 70s stuff till I read Breed from Image.

 

Perez's talent is still there just not his speed.

 

In essence anymore several artists can look great if they have time. Most cant or wont do monthly books anymore because it takes them more time. I think all these guys can shine again doing annuals and one shots.

 

Id buy any Perez, Starlin or Neal Adams annual or one shot. Good inker or not.

 

I think Bryne would be the same way give him time and he can produce wonders again I just dont think montly books are for them anymore without more time or help.

 

Just a quick note: Breed is from the 80's. It was originally published by Malibu.

[HarryRod]

I would like to see John Byrne teamed up with a modern firm such as Liquid!

Their work on Extreme X-Men was amazing

[Koa]

Perez and Starlin really never left just took breaks.

 

I never read any of Starlins 70s stuff till I read Breed from Image.

 

Perez's talent is still there just not his speed.

 

In essence anymore several artists can look great if they have time. Most cant or wont do monthly books anymore because it takes them more time. I think all these guys can shine again doing annuals and one shots.

 

Id buy any Perez, Starlin or Neal Adams annual or one shot. Good inker or not.

 

I think Bryne would be the same way give him time and he can produce wonders again I just dont think montly books are for them anymore without more time or help.

 

Considering that Byrne's output has been 3-5 pages per day for nearly 40 years I don't think having more time would make a difference.

 

The quality of the work has changed over time, so maybe 5 pages per day isn't working as well as it once did. For example, his work his filled with tangents these days. That's something that didn't happen often in the past. Doing too much work can burn out anyone.

[Koa]

John get's a lot of flack for his modern but he had such an impact over the years that i can't help but wonder, if he worked with Danny Miki or Tim Townsend, an inker who understood the modern look of comics if he couldn't make a comeback among fans.

 

I think part of it is just the volume of work he does, when he was on wonder woman he said he was drawing and lettering 5 pages a day and in my opinion, that's probably why his worked has suffered in quality.

 

So, what do you guys think?

 

Are there any other classic artists that could make a comeback with a good modern inker or change in style?

It`s really more about the main character one gets to draw then the inker.

An example is put John Byrne on Batman or X-Men and we would see a renewed popular interest. It`s really the character who can make or break most of these artists. When did McFarlane and Jim Lee get popular?

When Marvel allowed them to draw Spider-Man and X-Men.

So in conclusion getting to draw a top comic book character is more important than teaming up with a top inker to be popular with today`s comic book buyers.

 

Characters are important in getting attention. McFarlane and Jim lee went on to have greater overall success when they left spider-man and the x-men. John had success with Alpha flight after leaving the X-men. John was drawing Batman, spider-man and the X-men through the late 90's and 2000's without getting much attention, he wouldn't take the world by storm just because they put him back on a batbook. there needs to be some changes in the actual work he's producing. it's not about getting a top book, those sell with or without great art these days.

[zosocane]

John Byrne was my penciling hero when I was a young teen. His X-Men, Avengers, FF and Captain America runs were unforgettable.

 

JR JR today draws too "cartoonish". Loved him in the 80s; won't buy any of his new works today.

 

Would like to see Frank Miller inked by Klaus Janson again. Another Daredevil run!

 

Other honorable mentions: Ron Frenz (who did nice Ditko-esque pencils on ASM); Mike Zeck; Mike Grell; Steve Bissette (inked by John Totleben).

[Logan510]

Perez and Starlin really never left just took breaks.

 

I never read any of Starlins 70s stuff till I read Breed from Image.

 

Perez's talent is still there just not his speed.

 

In essence anymore several artists can look great if they have time. Most cant or wont do monthly books anymore because it takes them more time. I think all these guys can shine again doing annuals and one shots.

 

Id buy any Perez, Starlin or Neal Adams annual or one shot. Good inker or not.

 

I think Bryne would be the same way give him time and he can produce wonders again I just dont think montly books are for them anymore without more time or help.

 

Considering that Byrne's output has been 3-5 pages per day for nearly 40 years I don't think having more time would make a difference.

 

The quality of the work has changed over time, so maybe 5 pages per day isn't working as well as it once did. For example, his work his filled with tangents these days. That's something that didn't happen often in the past. Doing too much work can burn out anyone.

 

[Brian48]

I haven't followed Byrne's work at all since "returning" to the hobby after 30 years. Has his style really "aged out" that badly or are we just talking about slow output vs bad output?

[Logan510]

I haven't followed Byrne's work at all since "returning" to the hobby after 30 years. Has his style really "aged out" that badly or are we just talking about slow output vs bad output?

 

 

He doesn't draw like he did in 1980. This is the same kind of stuff I hear from "fans" ragging on a 72 year old Neal Adams because he doesn't draw like he did in 1970

[Tony S]

I've loved Byrne's art since his earliest days at Charlton. I am not a fan of his storytelling. If there is a problem - and I'm not sure there is since he's still actively working - it's that his ego gets in the way. I don't know that he needs a better inker. I'd be fine with seeing him work for Marvel or DC - but only as an artist. Let him ink his own stuff for that matter. Just don't let him write.

 

 

[Logan510]

I've loved Byrne's art since his earliest days at Charlton. I am not a fan of his storytelling. If there is a problem - and I'm not sure there is since he's still actively working - it's that his ego gets in the way. I don't know that he needs a better inker. I'd be fine with seeing him work for Marvel or DC - but only as an artist. Let him ink his own stuff for that matter. Just don't let him write.

 

 

Yeah, his Fantastic Four sucked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Prince Namor]

His commissions absolutely rock.

[Bosco685]

Characters are important in getting attention. McFarlane and Jim lee went on to have greater overall success when they left spider-man and the x-men. John had success with Alpha flight after leaving the X-men. John was drawing Batman, spider-man and the X-men through the late 90's and 2000's without getting much attention, he wouldn't take the world by storm just because they put him back on a batbook. there needs to be some changes in the actual work he's producing. it's not about getting a top book, those sell with or without great art these days.

 

By 1989, John Byrne's name brought so much attention to a title, it could cause a jump in buying at comic stores. When it was announced Byrne was going to be the artist on Wolverine #17, people were purchasing multiple copies as they thought it had a chance to pop.

 

 

Even later on when he published John Byrne's Next Men #1 (1992), this caused another buying frenzy. Especially since there were high hopes this was going to be something unique because Byrne could cut loose since he would write and draw in this title.

 

So I think if given the right character/title, control and marketing, Byrne returning to a mainstream title could cause temporary excitement.

[Prince Namor]

I just recently bought my first John Byrne OA:

 

[dgarthwaite-migration]

I think John Byrne just goes through the motions now. He has stock expressions. Stock faces and poses. He's a good artist, but he's in a comfort zone that is boring. An inker isn't going to fix that. He needs to challenge his own self.

 

DG

 

You may not like his work now, but he is far from stagnant or hacking it out for a check. Go to his MB and interact a little and you will discover an artist who is not only constantly trying new things in his work, but also finds an incredible amount of joy in what he does.

 

Pretty awesome Captain America and Wolverine commissions!

 

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43852&PN=1&totPosts=47

 

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43568&PN=1&totPosts=74

 

(Not mine... )

 

Sorry guys. Byrne is drawing the same generic faces and facial expressions he drew in the 70's & 80's. He draws the same truncated area of the body & torso he drew back then also. He's a good artist, but I find those pieces as well as all of his modern work... boring. His art took a nose dive after Next Men was cancelled by Dark Horse. He's rebounded after that, but his work looks completely uninspired to me. I would not describe those pieces as "awesome".

 

Is his work...

Tight? Yes.

Talented? Yes.

Adept? Yes.

Proficient? Yes.

 

Exciting? No.

Awesome? No.

Boring? Yes.

 

DG

[slym2none]

Good thing we all have our own opinions, eh?

 

 

 

 

-slym

[Bosco685]

 

[Bosco685]

Good thing we all have our own opinions, eh?

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

Hey, I was just posting that. But slightly different.

 

[ChrisInBaltimore]

I will say his modern run on Spider-Man around volume 2s relaunch looked identical to the new Next Men book I picked up.

 

It didn't look like his 70s stuff, but that is a ten year gap in time between the above two books. For them to look the same was a bit odd.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

If everyone had the same opinion, you could all just mumble to yourself in the corner and there would be no need to engage in conversation online.

 

I suspect a thread like this gets started because someone is a fan of John Byrne (or a shill for him) and wants to toss around ideas that could get him more work in the industry. Many veteran artists have seen their talents go ignored. One artist told me that if a publisher likes his art style, they just go find some new artist that will draw like him so they can pay less.

 

John's work would be light years ahead of what many publishers are dishing out, but I feel his work has lost it's edge and therefore isn't quite what I want to see month after month.

I'd honestly want someone with his storytelling ability, but I'd want them to have a desire to draw even better.

 

You could honestly draw a circle around the facial features on his characters, crop everything else, and see the same set of stock faces on everyone he draws. A happy Steve Rodgers looks just like a happy Reed Richards. An angry Jean Grey's face looks just like an angry Sue Richards. John started drawing thick eyebrows on some of his characters at some point, and it's just distracting and annoying. He drew a scrawny Fantastic Four when he took over that book in the 80's, and those same body frame sizes get reused over and over. Some of the faces are jovial at the wrong time or have very simplistic line work showing a frown or an open mouth laugh. Some variation and improvement in these areas would be nice.

 

DG

[Bosco685]

If everyone had the same opinion, you could all just mumble to yourself in the corner and there would be no need to engage in conversation online.

Nobody is saying if you don't like John Byrne, hit the road. It is very much a response that everyone has a right to their opinion, whether positive or negative. So don't dig for attacks that aren't there.