John Buscema: Under the Influence

If you're not a fan of Big John Buscema, well... I honestly don't know why you wouldn't be! Be that as it may, one thing JB fans often discuss is the "look" of the Master's work when under the pen and brush of various inkers. It's long been known - basically because Buscema said it whenever he saw an "in" - that John Buscema preferred only two inkers ever touch his pencils: his younger brother, Sal, and himself. All others, again according to Buscema, ruined his work. Buried it. Whatever negative you want to throw in here, chances are good that Buscema felt it or said it!

Today we're going to examine several samples of wonderful John Buscema pages, each one with a different inker. A hearty "thanks!" in advance to the great people across the Interwebs who own these pages and have posted them elsewhere online. We all benefit from your generosity!

Here's today's Hall of Fame line-up:

1. John Buscema
2. Dan Adkins
3. Alfredo Alcala
4. Sal Buscema
5. Ernie Chua
6. Tony DeZuniga
7. Frank Giacoia
8. Don Heck
9. Rudy Nebres
10. Tom Palmer
11. George Roussos
12. Joe Sinnott
13. Sonny Trinidad

Your job is to leave some impressions in the comments section, and hopefully a rich conversation develops today. Please also offer suggestions on other inkers I may have missed. My goal was certainly not to slight anyone's work, and I make no claim that my presentation today is comprehensive.

So let's get on with it...

John Buscema inks, from Avengers Annual 24, p. 23

Dan Adkins, from Sub-Mariner 8

Alfredo Alcala, from Savage Sword of Conan 2, page 31

Sal Buscema, from Silver Surfer 7, page 38

Ernie Chua, from Conan the Barbarian 36

Tony DeZuniga, from SSoC 27, page 20

Frank Giacoia, from Sub-Mariner 1

Don Heck, from Our Love Story 3

Rudy Nebres, from SSoC 158

Tom Palmer, from Avengers 81, page 4

George Roussos, from Avengers 42, page 9

Joe Sinnott, from Fantastic Four 121, page 9

Sonny Trinidad, from SSoC 22, page 15

The Many Styles of Rich Buckler

Rich Buckler has been called many things, notably a swiper of other artists' work or ideas. I'd prefer to call him a talent, able to produce whatever style the job demanded or his editors asked of him. For many Bronze Age Babies, we cut our teeth on Buckler's Fantastic Four. When I came to that mag, Buckler was just coming out of his phase where he aped Jack Kirby. One could do worse. But just before Buckler left the book (turning it over to a young George Perez), his style had changed, coming into a bit more distinct look.

Of course, Buckler was virtually omnipresent on Marvel's 1970s covers, competing with Gil Kane and Kirby for ubiquity. As the 70s gave way to the 80s, Buckler landed at DC where he again turned in stellar work. While Rich Buckler will most likely never be mentioned among the masters, he must be considered one of the Bronze Age greats, for sheer output alone. And if you dig deep, you may be surprised at just how much he put his hands on - corner boxes, covers on mags you'd least expect (the All-New, All-Different X-Men, for example), and big projects like DC's Limited Collectors' Edition treasuries.

Samples of Buckler's work (below) include:

Avengers 104 (1972), inked by Joe Sinnott
Fantastic Four 150 (1974), inked by Sinnott
Saga of the Original Human Torch 2 (1990), inked by Danny Bulanadi
All-New Collectors' Edition C-58 (1978), inked by Dick Giordano
Action Comics 486 (cover)(1978), inked by Frank Giacoia
Tarzan 25 (cover)(1979), inked by Bob McLeod