Sal Buscema – Page 2 – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Barry Windsor-Smith — Slayer Of The Status Quo

January 21, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Conan # 7, July 1971

Conan celebrates its 50th anniversary in comics this year, and we celebrate the anniversary with three Conan-themed posts this week.

Barry Winsdor-Smith was not the first choice to draw Conan. Legend has it that Roy Thomas knew that John Buscema was the idea artist for the job. But Publisher Martin Goodman nixed the idea, citing budget and schedule, and told Stan/Roy to find someone less expensive.

The solution? The young British-born Smith, who had been a fill-in artist on a handful of super-hero titles with an unmistakable Kirby influenced style, and who was both cheap — and available.

And so Barry drew Conan for 21 of the first 24 issues — and the comic book world promptly grew up.

Smith, one of the many “young guns” of similar age, and breaking in at around the same time, (Chaykin, Kaluta, Simonson, Wrightson among the many others) ultimately developed an inimitable style. Yes the Kirby influence was there, especially early on. But so is Steranko. And Alphonse Mucha, the best-known stylist of the Art Nouveau period (late 19^th – early 20th century), provides much of the inspiration for the intricate designs and beautiful women that populate those early Conan stories.

Smith’s run on Conan is unlike any other in professional comics at that time. And Baby Boomers, who had grown up on the simple stories of DC, and had segued into the cosmic soap operas of Stan and Jack, were primed for these comics. The Boomers were growing older, and now, the comics were growing up with them.

Smith’s style developed rapidly over his three year run on Conan, culminating in the extraordinary “Red Nails” that first appeared in 1973/1974 in Savage Tales. And of course, the work was always best when Smith was inking himself, but both Sal Buscema and Dan Adkins did excellent work, and interestingly, both are credited on this issue. Sal is credited on this specific page, but without all 20 original pages together, it’s difficult to tell.

Either way, it’s a stunning page, and only a small harbinger of things to come.

Conan launches in comic books and the more “mature” Marvel magazines.

And early try-out story by Smith and Thomas features “Starr the Slayer,” published just a few months prior to Conan in Chamber of Darkness #4. Smith also developed a Kull Black and White proposal for a paperback graphic novel. (Similar to Gil Kane’s Blackmark) that ultimately was published (unfinished) much later in Savage Sword of Conan #3. Both prototypes look nearly identical to Smith’s Conan.

Smith’s early Marvel work on Avengers is pretty much straight from the Jack Kirby handbook — except for the wild Vision splash page (Avengers #66) which adds some Steranko and Alphonse Mucha into the mix; a sign of things to come.

Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema — A Different Spin

December 4, 2019 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man Collectible Series #2, August 2006

Our celebration of Marvel’s 80^thAnniversary concludes with the publisher’s most iconic character in one of his classic stories.

The lead story in the original Amazing Spider-Man # 1(1963) finally gets its own terrific cover more than 50 years later, thanks to this unique reprint series published in 2006.

News America created The Spider-Man Collectible Series as weekly promotional supplements to Sunday newspapers. Each issue was printed on newsprint and contains half an issue of a classic Lee and Ditko Spider-Man comic, published in original order. Only 24 issues were produced, suggesting the series did not succeed as well as envisioned.

Since each original Spidey comic was split in half, every other issue of the supplements required brand new covers, depicting classic stories. For the most part, the covers are as dynamic as this one — if I could find them, I would attempt to acquire as many as possible.

Ron Frenz is a great visual storyteller (definitely influenced by classic Marvel artists), and Sal Buscema’s inks are always spot-on. (For more than 50 years!) I consistently enjoy their team-ups.

As for this Spider-Man story itself? It’s a classic that sets up storylines and characterizations for years, as Spidey saves J Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son — only to be blamed for sabotaging the rocket in the first place.

It’s a story I heard dramatized over and over again as a kid, because I was somewhat obsessed with the Golden Record recording of that classic issue. (See below).

And of course, it makes sense that the “back-up” story featuring the Fantastic Four is the original cover of Amazing Spider-Man #1 and all other subsequent reprints. Although the original published cover blurb has made me wonder if the astronaut story was actually intended as the cover and pulled. Why call out the cover story as an “extra attraction” if that’s the story we can already see? Hmmm.

Although the Fantastic Four make a great marketing hook, the lead story in issue #1 is actually the rocket rescue, and includes a re-cap of Spidey’s origin for those who missed or didn’t remember Amazing Fantasy #15

*No good deed goes unpunished…and becomes the defining thread in Spidey stories.*

Golden Records produced four “book and record” combos of classic stories in 1966 during the first Marvel Merchandising craze. Each of the four (Thor, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Spidey contained a straight reprint of the associated comic, minus only the cover price.

*Above — Some of the newly created covers for classic Spider-Man stories.*

Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott — Fireworks

November 30, 2019 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Fantastic Four Annual #13, 1978

Continuing our ongoing celebration of Marvel’s 80^thAnniversary.

Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott deliver an iconic (and terrific) image of the Human Torch in this celebratory opening splash page.

Celebratory in that the Fantastic Four had just gone through a quirky period editorially where they were essentially “broken-up”, and they have reunited in FF #200, on-sale at the same time.

At this point in the run, Joe Sinnott, acknowledged as one of the all-time greats, is pretty much the only consistent through line in the FF — the series was rapidly going through a number of mix and match creative teams. In a three-year period, Joe inks pencillers Sal Buscema, John Buscema, Keith Pollard, Rich Buckler, Ron Wilson, and of course George Perez, who does some of his best known work in this era. (Shortly after this issue is published, Joe adds John Byrne and Bill Sienkiewicz to this mélange.)

Sinnott’s credits, including this one, are often categorized as “finishes” during this timeframe, as many of the pencillers are providing breakdowns only. Doesn’t help enough with the schedule though, as a number of issues are reprints and fill-ins. Marvel, as others have noted, was going through some difficult times. The Fantastic Four themselves wouldn’t truly find their full footing again until a few years later, when Byrne fully takes over writing and art chores.

As for Joe and Sal? With the end of the Spider-Man newspaper strip this year, Joe officially retired from inking … at age 92. Sal (age 83) “retired” in 2000, but continues to be coaxed into working — sometimes by my former colleagues — to this day.

“Flame on!”