Discussion II : Byrne Boogaloo 0

[Chip Cataldo]

One of my favorite artists of all time. He really got me into comics in the first place with his Fantastic Four run. I picked up about 5 issues around #250 while the family was visiting an uncle and was hooked ever since. Had a huge collection of any book he had art in long before the Internet and eBay made it easy. It being friends with Terry Austin in the early 90s helped as he'd clue me in to obscure stuff or source something oddball for me. One of the highlights of my life was going with Terry to John's house for a visit back in 1995. I got to have dinner with Byrne & Austin, and for this comic fan it doesn't get any better than that.  I never really read much of his stuff after Next Men finished as I didn't really buy new comics anymore. The few pages of Elsewhen I've seen were okay.

Thoughts on one of the GOATs? Any personal stories or opinions on his artwork? I welcome them all because I know he's also a grump that rubs some the wrong way. 

[DougC]

I don't have any Byrne stories so I will wait until the Neal Adams thread, Shooter thread, or the Stuart Sayger thread.

[Ken Aldred]

After my comments in the Ross / Kirby thread I can’t categorise Byrne as my GOAT, but for me he’s Hall of Fame or Mount Olympus level, certainly.

Growing up as a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, he was one of my favourites from then on, I looked forward eagerly to his comics, and did so constantly through X-Men, Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four, Superman, Namor, OMAC and Next Men. A very consistent, reliable writer / artist, and for me, one of the most significant. After X-Men, without Austin’s inking, his art could seem more undetailed or simplified at times, but the pacing and storytelling was still top-notch. Perhaps his figures and layouts became more repetitive and formulaic later in his career, as I started to lose interest a bit after Next Men, but some work after that was still quite readable, such as Generations and his Angel mini-series set in World War 1.

Yup. I’ll always look back on that initial two decades, in particular, with a lot of fondness.

I suppose that’s a strategy I’m pursuing a great deal at present, a 60-year-old reading and revisiting the works of my childhood idols; Kirby, Miller, Byrne, and still finding some magic there, even from a more mature and jaded perspective.

Edited March 17 by Ken Aldred

[B2D327]

I loved comics as a kid; Byrne made me a collector. I'd devour his artwork and emulated his style to the best of my ability all through high school until my own evolved (and hopefully continues to progress). I still love his style when inked properly and have been able to find new examples every now and then to remind me of how good he is that still keep me in awe like they did 40 years ago. I've added many artists influences to my own since but he'll always be at the top of the pile. 

[B2D327]

More “BYRNE” inspiration 

[D2]

On 3/17/2024 at 12:00 PM, DougC said:

I don't have any Byrne stories so I will wait until the Neal Adams thread, Shooter thread, or the Stuart Sayger thread.

The topic I created was for any sig series stories, but mine just happened to be about Byrne. If you have any sort of con sig stories, I’d love to hear them  

[s-man]

I started collecting comics with UXM #172, so it was after Byrne's run on the title.  It wasn't until I picked up the book below that I discovered his work and he's been my favorite artist ever since.  

And then I picked up this book and tried to imitate his style (with little success):

[jimjum12]

On 3/17/2024 at 10:33 AM, Chip Cataldo said:

One of my favorite artists of all time. He really got me into comics in the first place with his Fantastic Four run. I picked up about 5 issues around #250 while the family was visiting an uncle and was hooked ever since. Had a huge collection of any book he had art in long before the Internet and eBay made it easy. It being friends with Terry Austin in the early 90s helped as he'd clue me in to obscure stuff or source something oddball for me. One of the highlights of my life was going with Terry to John's house for a visit back in 1995. I got to have dinner with Byrne & Austin, and for this comic fan it doesn't get any better than that.  I never really read much of his stuff after Next Men finished as I didn't really buy new comics anymore. The few pages of Elsewhen I've seen were okay.

Thoughts on one of the GOATs? Any personal stories or opinions on his artwork? I welcome them all because I know he's also a grump that rubs some the wrong way. 

All I know is that my first return to comics was precipitated when I saw FF 244 on a 7-11 spinner, and took it home. I went back and sought out all of his issues. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[media_junkie]

Fantastic Four 247 is where I first saw Byrne's art (I was never a big Xmen collector).  The giant Dr. Doom was all it took, been a fan of Byrne's ever since.

 

[Sal]

the first time i was exposed to him was at Camp Sloane in Lakeville, Connecticut as a ten- or eleven-year old nascent comic collector. I still remember telling one of my friends that I didn't like him and i can literally hear him asking incredulously, "You don't like John Byrne?"  My somewhat sheepish reply was "I don't like how he draws Mr. Fantastic."

Yeah, pretty stupid.

 

A couple of years later in Commons in Ithaca, NY, at a comic shop whose name is lost to the vagaries of time, I picked up a signed copy The Art of John Byrne, as by that time I had completely seen the light.  Better late than never, I guess

[Comic-Fan]

I always loved his style, his X-Men run is spectacular!  Also a big fan of his She-Hulk. 

Edited March 23 by Comic-Fan

[Cman429]

First autograph from the first artist at the first comicon I ever attended was Byrne. He was holding court with 4-5 guys just talking about his run at marvel and how they were undoing it (this was during the 90s just before Image boom) when I got to his table. I was crippling shy so I just got my autos & left but I always remember flipping through the stack of original art pages he had on the table & thinking “gosh, $50? $150!?!? Comicons aren’t for poor high school kids like me!” 

Little did I know if I had saved my paper money & bought 1-2 of those pages I’d probably be able to buy a new car today 

[RockMyAmadeus]

[RockMyAmadeus]

[Readcomix]

On 3/18/2024 at 9:21 PM, Sal said:

the first time i was exposed to him was at Camp Sloane in Lakeville, Connecticut as a ten- or eleven-year old nascent comic collector. I still remember telling one of my friends that I didn't like him and i can literally hear him asking incredulously, "You don't like John Byrne?"  My somewhat sheepish reply was "I don't like how he draws Mr. Fantastic."

Yeah, pretty stupid.

 

A couple of years later in Commons in Ithaca, NY, at a comic shop whose name is lost to the vagaries of time, I picked up a signed copy The Art of John Byrne, as by that time I had completely seen the light.  Better late than never, I guess

Gotta be Comics for Collectors. Tim has been there forever. I had a great experience back-issue shopping. Worth a visit if you’re ever in Ithaca.

[Chip Cataldo]

On 3/18/2024 at 11:01 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

A seriously underrated run. Byrne is a master storyteller.

[B2D327]

I remember this cover from the newsstand and how I couldn't wrap my head around Byrne's depiction of lighting. All I knew was that Spidey looked super cool and I really wanted to know who that mummy dude was.

[ganni]

John gets front seat in X-men'97 special thanks department

[Cat]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:07 PM, ganni said:

John gets front seat in X-men'97 special thanks department

You'd think it'd be Jim Lee. 

I signed up to the Byrne boards around 2005ish, and just joined in on conversations. He has a thing about needing to use your real name, and I didn't want anyone searching my real name and connecting me to comics (I was young and stupid, what can I say?) so I used a fake name. Fake, but plausible, and close to real. 

My love for Byrne was primarily his legendary Uncanny X-Men run. I didn't like his Fantastic Four work, funnily enough, despite being a huge FF fan, something about it just doesn't work for me, but of course I'd never say that, I'd never be rude to him directly, that'd be crass. Anyway a discussion was going about something, and the topic got to comparisons between his current work (which I think might have been Doom Patrol at the time, MIGHT have been) vs his old stuff like X-Men. He declared that NO FAN of his prefers his X-Men work to his current work. I politely posted and said that actually, i do prefer the old work, and gave my reasons to back up my case. BAM! INSTABAN!! Followed by mocking from both Byrne and other posters how I was just a troll, how I was never even a Byrne fan. 

That really put me off the guy. That plus his later comments which we've all heard really soured me on him, and his attitude on the forum was later absolutely atrocious towards others. So the only Byrne work I buy is his X-Men work, and West Coast Avengers, which is for completion, I don't like the story. I prefer a Vision with feelings, and feel he really did the character wrong, misunderstanding them. Oh, and the first Hellboy story, which he did dialogue for. I'm not that big into Hellboy yet though. I need to read some more as it hasn't grabbed me yet. 

His work on Uncanny X-Men is incredible. Those pencils are so beautiful. The story they told so intense. Just wow. 

But otherwise, no thanks. 

[Cat]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:07 PM, ganni said:

John gets front seat in X-men'97 special thanks department

Oh nevermind, it's just in alphabetical order.