Sal Buscema is a God 1 1

[Michaeld]

He is the artist I associate with the Hulk more than any other. I just won this page that I remember vividly from my youth. The third panel has been etched in my mind for decades and it pops into my head whenever I watch The Avengers movie with the Hulk jumping onto a jet in mid flight. The scene looks like it was taken directly from this page. Right down to the pilot ejecting. Have a look. Sal

Why is he a God? Between the years 1975 and 1985 Sal penciled 116 issues of The Incredible Hulk only missing 7 issues during his run. Within these same years he also penciled 57 issues of Rom Space Knight, 13 issues of Nova and the Defenders and was also doing filler issues of other various titles. If that isn't enough to impress you consider the fact that many of these comics were inked by Sal himself.

[tth2]

Congrats!

But it's already well established in this forum that Sal is a God.

[Rick2you2]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:10 AM, Michaeld said:

Why is he a God? Between the years 1975 and 1985 Sal penciled 116 issues of The Incredible Hulk only missing 7 issues during his run. Within these same years he also penciled 57 issues of Rom Space Knight, 13 issues of Nova and the Defenders and was also doing filler issues of other various titles. If that isn't enough to impress you consider the fact that many of these comics were inked by Sal himself.

I think that just makes him underpaid.

[Drummy]

Great page -- one I remember fondly from my youth!

[MAR1979]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:10 AM, Michaeld said:

He is the artist I associate with the Hulk more than any other. I just won this page that I remember vividly from my youth. The third panel has been etched in my mind for decades and it pops into my head whenever I watch The Avengers movie with the Hulk jumping onto a jet in mid flight. The scene looks like it was taken directly from this page. Right down to the pilot ejecting. Have a look. Sal

Why is he a God? Between the years 1975 and 1985 Sal penciled 116 issues of The Incredible Hulk only missing 7 issues during his run. Within these same years he also penciled 57 issues of Rom Space Knight, 13 issues of Nova and the Defenders and was also doing filler issues of other various titles. If that isn't enough to impress you consider the fact that many of these comics were inked by Sal himself.

Appears Sal was excellent at meeting deadlines.

You left out his many issues of Captain America and Marvel Team-Up in that time range.

Cap  from 1975-1985 = 181, 185, 188, 218–223, 225–237, 284–285
MTU from 1975-1985 = 32–46, 48–52, 56–58, 82–85, 88, 130, 132–133

His work on Hulk and Cap are very memorable, with his Hulk being my personal favorite.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by MAR1979

[Mighty Hal]

On 4/16/2022 at 7:03 AM, MAR1979 said:

Appears he was excellent at meeting deadlines.

 

I gotta tell you, the qualifications for "God" status seem kind of thin.

[MAR1979]

On 4/16/2022 at 10:11 AM, Mighty Hal said:

I gotta tell you, the qualifications for "God" status seem kind of thin.

Seems like typical collector dopamine high and subsequent afterglow. 

It's great page from a run for which most panel pages with the Hulk on them were absorbed into collections a decade or more ago, the exuberance is understandable. 

Edited April 16, 2022 by MAR1979

[chrisco37]

He also did the early issues of Peter Parker as well.  He was a workhorse.

[BuscemasAvengers]

I guess that makes this guy a Celestial ...

[Jeffro.]

Sals' stuff is not everyone's cup of tea but I've always liked his work at least until the mid/later 80s when his style on Thor and Spec Spidey got much more angular. His 70s and early 80s work is, for me, quintessential Marvel.

Having said that, prolific output is not necessarily a criteria for "god" status. Colletta's output was massive too and...... well..... 

Edited April 16, 2022 by Jeffro.

[TupennyConan]

My fondest memories with comics are those of reading Sal's HULK books.

[joeypost]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:10 AM, Michaeld said:

He is the artist I associate with the Hulk more than any other. I just won this page that I remember vividly from my youth. The third panel has been etched in my mind for decades and it pops into my head whenever I watch The Avengers movie with the Hulk jumping onto a jet in mid flight. The scene looks like it was taken directly from this page. Right down to the pilot ejecting. Have a look. Sal

Why is he a God? Between the years 1975 and 1985 Sal penciled 116 issues of The Incredible Hulk only missing 7 issues during his run. Within these same years he also penciled 57 issues of Rom Space Knight, 13 issues of Nova and the Defenders and was also doing filler issues of other various titles. If that isn't enough to impress you consider the fact that many of these comics were inked by Sal himself.

At least I know who outbid me. 

[stinkininkin]

Always love to see collectors add cherished pieces to their collection. Congrats!

And while I don't personally put Sal in the "deity" category, I will say that his inks on his big brother John in the original Silver Surfer series is the best John has ever looked IMHO, which is no small thing! 

 

[Rick2you2]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:41 AM, Jeffro. said:

Sals' stuff is not everyone's cup of tea but I've always liked his work at least until the mid/later 80s when his style on Thor and Spec Spidey got much more angular. His 70s and early 80s work is, for me, quintessential Marvel.

Having said that, prolific output is not necessarily a criteria for "god" status. Colletta's output was massive too and...... well..... 

What’s so terrible about Coletta? A lot of his work was done during a time when the art was not considered the way it is now—it was part of a package of story content and pictures sold to kids who were looking for a little adventure, or girl’s romance, or sci if, or whatever? And from what I have read, he was quick—a good character trait for entertainment selling for 12 cents. And by the way, he could draw beautiful women, in that old fashioned style. As for Sal, eh. I always thought he made the Hulk look like a pea-brained, overly muscled child.  

[Math Teacher]

On 4/16/2022 at 10:41 AM, Jeffro. said:

Sals' stuff is not everyone's cup of tea but I've always liked his work at least until the mid/later 80s when his style on Thor and Spec Spidey got much more angular.

I cannot think of a better word to describe his work on SSM.

[stinkininkin]

On 4/16/2022 at 9:07 AM, Rick2you2 said:

What’s so terrible about Coletta? A lot of his work was done during a time when the art was not considered the way it is now—it was part of a package of story content and pictures sold to kids who were looking for a little adventure, or girl’s romance, or sci if, or whatever? And from what I have read, he was quick—a good character trait for entertainment selling for 12 cents. And by the way, he could draw beautiful women, in that old fashioned style. As for Sal, eh. I always thought he made the Hulk look like a pea-brained, overly muscled child.  

Nothing wrong with Coletta as long as you don't mind him obliterating entire Kirby backgrounds and characters. Yes, he was useful in terms of getting books out on time, which matters, but his work speaks for itself. That said, he WAS capable of doing very solid professional work, which makes it sad that the majority of his career would be spent being nothing more than a publisher friendly hack.

[joeypost]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:04 PM, stinkininkin said:

Always love to see collectors add cherished pieces to their collection. Congrats!

And while I don't personally put Sal in the "deity" category, I will say that his inks on his big brother John in the original Silver Surfer series is the best John has ever looked IMHO, which is no small thing! 

 

[joeypost]

[joeypost]

[joeypost]