Thanks for the post Eta! J. Byrne is one of my favorite artists as well. I may try to seek these books out as well! John is a true legend of his craft!!!
Once again, very well presented, appreciate your vids. John Byrne is the artist who really got me into Marvel Comics full time when I bought X-Men 122, his drawings with Terry Austin inking quickly became the gold standard for comic work. I was compelled to obtain anything he pencilled, Avengers, Iron Fist, Marvel Team-Up, anything for Marvel he did that I could get. The quality of his work in those years is why classic X-men is so highly regarded and is what led to the making of the first X-Men movie which brought about almost two decades of superhero films.
Looking at this early development of his techno illustration made me realize that though Byrne made his living and expressed himself in the super hero genre,he really is essentially a science fiction artist, very much as Kirby was.The best of the stories that he worked on in the X-men were of a science fiction slant and that seemed to be the angle that he stressed on the FF ,which at its core is very much an Asimov/Heinlein style super hero comic.Byrne's later and perhaps the last of his strongest work was on minor science fiction comic ventures such as The Next Men and his gorgeous interpretation of Kirby's Omac.
+azimovist I think you are on to something with the science fiction slant. I have never seen Byrne's interpretation of Kirby's Omac. I will look it up.
Thank you for putting this video up I am learning to be a comic artist and there is not a lot of information of these great artist you have spotlighted and it teaches me to go back and really study and learn from the greats and develop as a true comic artists please do more videos.
eta nick yeah I noticed I realized I have seen a lot of the art before but I never looked at who were the artist I just liked the stories but now knowing the artist this is awesome so thanks again.
Some amazing (condition) Charlton Byrne books. I picked up some of those Charlton books way back when and I had him sign a couple of them at a show. I liked his Rog 2000 so I had him draw a robot fighting Spiderman at the same show for $35. It was $20 for one figure and $15 for a second (on the same page).
Very cool early Bryne work. Byrne was always good at perspective and had great layouts. I especially loved his FF run. Thanks for uploading. Great video.
His style was solidified right from the get go. Thanks for sharing this rare stuff. Even though you disagree, from the first panel - it's JB. He's pushing boundaries even in his panel design!
He used lots of curves in his old stuff. For some reason he thinks using more straight lines in his new stuff ( less organic ) looks better. Also his proportions are off these days ( skinny body’s and big heads). Also he tried to draw like Neal Adams in the old days . His Captain America book in my opinion was him at the peak of his powers.
he started working professionally for Charlton in 74.I think his first work for Marvel was on Iron Fist in 1975 when he was 24 or twenty five.Thanks for another great video.
I've always been a fan of Byrne and his work caught my eye when he was still at Charlton, long before he did anything for Marvel. Thanks for posting this. BTW: "fanzine" is pronounced like "magazine", not the way you pronounced it.
Really enjoyed these 2 videos on Byrne. I am grabbing up his first work on different runs. Have yet to get the E-Man 6 but did get a hold of Spiderman 189 and FF 209 in pretty high grade. I think X-Men 108 will be my next Byrne book. One of the best artists ever in comics!
Hey, this is a great video. The way I see it, the first image , the Captain America one, is more reminiscent of Jim Steranko (yet perhaps it's just me). My favorite John Byrne moments? Wolverine on the Phoenix saga (actually the whole saga with John Byrne in it). A cross over involving Spiderman and Red Sonja. Some of his work on the Iron Man title. Some of his work on the Hulk title, specially the fight between Hulk and the Abomination. All of his Superman work. Legends.
Nick, I am sorry they are killing you on Byrme's website. You are entitled to your opinion, and as a great member of this comic community i support you. I read the posts, and tried to join, but could not. I have heard you say beautiful many times, great, and So many compliments. If they can't handle a few negatives they are in the wrong profession. That is why i don;t care who draws or writes my comics. To me it is about the Hero. As long as the art is good an the story, I can care less who does it. When you give these guys a ego we suffer. and this is an example.
eta nick I really appreciated you posting this. I had been dying to see this early stuff forever. I agreed with what you said about the art and thought your presentation was really great.
I have *_never_* been a "fanboy." The art is *_all_* I care about, 'cause the rest is mostly childish nonsense. If there's a good, well-written story, then that's just icing on the cake.
I had two copies of The Art Of John Byrne. I wonder why he never tried the Star Wars series back in 1977-1978 when Marvel Comics was granted to do the series. He only did a book cover. It's odd, because a year before Star Wars was released, he, Chris Claremont and inker Terry Austin did a StarLord one shot. I collected the Marvel Comics series with the gorgeous Carmine Infantino drawings.
I am speculating that he didn't want to do it because by 1978, he was blowing up in recognition with the X-men books and much like Neal Adams back in the late 60's....he probably can make his own demands so he did plenty of other works like Marvel Team UP and even Spider-man in 1978. Unlike Adams, as big as John Byrne was, he probably couldn't muscle himself into drawing 10 covers per month like Adams were able to do in the late 60's and early 70's. Money was much better to draw covers so Neal and DC did their best to expose his talents to as many titles as they could.
etanick1 I think that's as good as speculation and I think I will agree, although despite that, I would think, as imaginative as Star Wars is, John Byrne would have tried his hand at it, don't you think? Even in the form of sketches and such. Have you seen the Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader he drew? I like his depiction of the character. Indeed, John Byrne has a clean line and something extremely detailed style that instantly grabbed my attention. Thank you so much for your reply.
I'm trying to remember where I found it. You can email me and I'll send it to you, if you're okay with that. I"m sure you can find it. Type John Byrne draws Vader. John's depiction of Anakin is both very tragic, gruesome and horrific.
Alain Deloin well, he was. He rails against people saying his old stuff was better ( and it was) and has a real complex about it. Nobody worshiped this guy more than me back in the day but his new art reflects his personality.. bitter snarky and tired.
Nick nice comics... John Bryan's art is nice .. On his art work one page show's a great page and than the a bad page of bad art work .. It maybe its two much on his hands .. His a good drawer but a bad inker . A great vid nick .. Keep them go mate
I think his first published work was Nightmare magazine #20 which preceded E-Man. I searched high and low on Ebay and found issues close to that number but it still eludes me.
there is another earlier published item by John Byrne that is super rare...super rare :( ACA Comix #1 I have seen it twice on Ebay in the past 16 years and I regretted not jumping on it because it wasn't crazy expensive but I just wasn't quick enough.
thanks! I do have a copy of the art of John Byrne...love that drawing where he blew up his head drawing...urghh..I think that was in that book but it is tuck away in a box somewhere that I can't find..thus I didn't use it for this vid. Do you have it? if so can you confirm that drawing :) or am I getting old and going senile.
eta nick, what changes did you start noticing 'in the early to mid part of Byrne's run on FF after he left the X-Men'? I'm curious to know what those changes are because I didn't notice any changes. Maybe make another video showing panels from the beginning of his FF run and show how similar panels later in his run were so different that you noticed something? Just a suggestion.
hmmm....thanks but given the amount of hates I got for this video, I think I will just leave the issue alone. Life is way too short to try to combat the e-hates.
Yup, the E-man books (6 & 7) are dirt cheap so getting a copy of those 2 are easy and is a MUST for Byrne's fan. Doomsday #1 is a little harder to find but for whatever reasons, Byrnes' fans have never really collect those...at least not like they will pay up for his first artwork at Marvel. No doubt, some of the cheapest "first works" of any famous bronze artists today.
even though this is Byrne I can see that he is using Wally Woods types of rendering comic's, I know one of his contempories are Jack Kirby, as should be.
right where he begins opening to the first pages of the drawings in space with the panels in a specific order and the Point of view. I was reading in a Wizard magazine where they were talking about Wally and Jim Shooter was said to have taken a couple of Wally's pages for the bullpen saying to his artists this is the way your comic's SHOULD look like, and better look like.
I have read a lot of J. Byrne comics from the early X-Men to Fantastic Four and Superman. Now I have Star Trek John Byrne Collection and I must say that his style did not improve compared to his early works like E-Man, especially when it comes to drawing faces of persons. Also muscular men do not appear so much in Star Trek, maybe as one gets older even a comic drafter gets bored by always showing youthfulness.
Byrne peaked as far as an artist in my opinion in the early to mid part of his run on the FF after he left the X-men....but half way thru that run, I started to notice the changes in his styles and by the end of that run and his work on Wolverine as well as other series, I no longer all that jazz to see it.
Tiberius Prime This is "dynamic" to you? www.artofjohnbyrne.com/gallery/commissions/commissions-poses/commissions-poses2009/2009-01-13_162412_Aurora03.jpg.php Byrne USED to be good. At one time ,I would buy anything he drew. Even if it was just a cover. But since his self imposed exile from drawing for Marvel or DC, His skills have diminished considerably. Even his new Star Trek photonovels are complete garbage. If anyone else had produced a book with so many glaring Photoshop mistakes, He would crucify them on his site.
Heymar Reinhardt I feel sorry for the fan who paid big bucks for that John Byrne commission. And what’s with the BIG MOUTH he draws on every character he does these days? A reflection of the artist, perhaps.
Hi. Unfortunately John Byrne found your video. Rather than be happy and point out all the positive things you said, he decided to focus on the negative. Now it looks like his forum is going to make fun of you. Sorry that John has such an empty life that he has to search his name on RU-vid and instead of commenting here where you could see, he does it someplace where he has full control. His post is here if you'd like to defend yourself. www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47239
Eric Ladd You've been polite and nothing I say next refers to you. You're a good guy from all I've ever seen but let's look at just three comments from John Byrne's board from other people, including a moderator who should know better. "I could barely stand to listen for 20 seconds..." "Thank you for your critique, Tonto." "It's shot like a really sad porno." Those comments don't exactly cause someone to want to further explain themselves do they? I sure wouldn't waste my time. It's funny, here is another comment from John's board. "The comments section of RU-vid is the sewer of the web." Funny, he says that but has no issue with the very rude, not called for comments made in the thread he's posting in. Strange that wouldn't you say?
BaconBonanzaBoy Those are the ONLY three derogatory comments and comments like this are made daily on and off the internet. We can ignore them or run and hide from them. Eta Nick can do the same; ignore them or run and hide from them. You didn't mention the person that posted that the video gave him a chance to see Byrne's very early work, which he had never seen before. There are positives in the thread. Should anyone take offense for bad mouthing the comments section of RU-vid? Anonymity, zero consequence for actions, etc. all lead to bringing out the worst in people. I'm not hiding, but you won't find many people touting the virtues of debates in the comments section of RU-vid. And for the record, the 'he' in reference to the 'no issues with the very rude' is no John Byrne. I'm genuinely interested to see one person's examples of how John Byrne's work changed so perceptibly mid-way through his FF run.
Eric Ladd I choose to ignore them. Perhaps there are 3 comments made like those on and off daily but have you been at the end of them on a daily basis? I am not saying I hear insult 3 times a day but I have heard them for 34 years living in America from many bosses that said things like "I can't believe you graduate from college with this kind of poor English skills" to "you are not fit to meet the clients with your poor English skills"...so guess what I started my own business and don't have to work for people that insulted me on my short falls. If you take what I don't care to do as running and hide, then so be it but why would I care to defend my personal taste to anyone? I dont' need to hide, John Byrne and some of his loyal fans did a wonderful job in displaying their ignorances for the world to see. Deleting this video would be run and hide...leaving it here with all the comments will do more good. Last but not least, i gave/sold away most of my books from 1985 onward a few years back and I mentioned this many times in my other videos so I don't have anything to use to show for a video that you mentioned and the last thing I care to do is go buy them again to explain myself.
eta nick You could have just politely declined again and said you don't have any examples. I just wanted to know about some comic book art. I could have done without hearing how you feel like you have been crapped on for 34 years and struggled to overcome life's challenges by starting your own business. Take care.
Reading the responses at Byrne central is kinda sad. Byrne really has a complex about his art and relishes his fanboys propping his opinions up. Anyway he was my artistic hero. Oh, by the way this video seemed like a celebration of Mr. Byrnes art yet his choir seemed to have a problem with it.. strange . I joined his forum once but it didn’t seem an inviting place to hang out .. with all the egg shells and all.
The pages from that early fanzine certainly foreshadow one of Byrne's BIG problems later on: He wrote too damn much copy! ALL of the stories he wrote (which were most of them, after the X-Men) were far too wordy, with complicated plots and back-stories which required (in *_his_* mind, anyway) a ton of exposition and revelation. That meant he was great about gathering loose plot threads, but it too frequently made for too many "talking heads." (And with John not being that great with faces, the stories' lack of momentum was only compounded.) Sometime in the '80s, Byrne did a mini-series which revived Jack Kirby's New Gods. You would have expected a bang-up, book-length battle, but apart from a few decent dust-ups, it was mostly a talkathon. Very disappointing, and predictably boring. Same or similar trouble with the OMAC graphic novel.
@17:00- I would suggest his inking being weak is just a reflection of the output of Charleston. Look at the other material on this label - his stuff is still better. It does appear he rushed alot of it - while the fanzine looked like true portfolio material he worked on meticulously. Terry Austin had such a clean defined style so perfect for Byrne - what a great team. I hate that cross hatched look that became popularized by Image comics in the 90s. Antithesis of this stuff. And don't get me started about McFarlane- the most overrated in history.
You're entitled to your opinion, Nick -- and at least it is your own. The only opinions the fans on the John Byrne Forum have are the ones Byrne gives them. That site is stacked with unfaltering fans stroking his ego and kissing his arse; the arse up which he has his own head firmly lodged. His arrogance and self-absorption often makes him appear stupidly unaware. An example of his ignorance is that he still believes Stan Lee created the Marvel Universe and that Jack Kirby initiated nothing and was only the artist following instructions. Get your head out of your arse, Mr Byrne! Jack Kirby was an artist and creative genius, while Stan Lee is a bullshit artist and credit taker. Byrne denigrates Kirby, but back in his days at Marvel and DC, he was happy making a nice living out of simply reworking Kirby's creations and concepts. When Byrne tries to come up with something of his own it is usually uninspired and derivative. His Trio comic, for example, was instantly forgettable. Byrne gets mad when someone says they prefer his old work. He feels he has matured as an artist and his new stuff is way better. Personally, I find most of Byrne's artwork, since inker Terry Austin stopped making it look good, incredibly bland.
If you won’t give JB’s current work a fair go, then that’s your choice and your loss. Your hateful personal remarks about John, however, are offensive and your opinion of his fans on the John Byrne Forum is just plain wrong. If you took the time to look at some posts you’d find examples of lively discussions and dissenting opinions. Also, I don’t know why some people have to tear Stan down to build up Kirby.
Hugh B Hey, Hubie, do not let this shock you, but I am prepared to concede that John Byrne’s current work is technically better. But, and there is a big but, with that superficial slickness comes an emotional shallowness. His earlier work showed some character. On occasions it even exuded a certain charm. It might not have been perfect, and he occasionally had to swipe from Neil Adams and Jack Kirby, but it is preferable to the sterile stuff he cranks out these days. If John Byrne had ever apologised on any of the many occasions he has been proven to be in the wrong, I might have been inclined to say sorry for the personal attack you find so offensive. I will admit that I should not have tarred all the fans on the John Byrne Forum with the same brush. I see where one free thinker tried to defend Jack Kirby after a dismissive remark by John Byrne, only to be shouted down and shown the door. Perhaps that was not one of the examples you wanted me to find.
Neville Bain I promised myself I wouldn’t respond to any more of your tirades, but there’s one thing in your venomous outpourings that demands a response. In the field of comic book art, John Byrne is one of the Modern Masters, but you’ve probably never read the book. How dare you accuse JB of swiping. It is other artists who copy him. Just look at how many classic John Byrne covers have been ‘homaged’.
Hugh B I am reminded of an incident told to me a few years ago by a friend of a friend who used to post on the John Byrne Forum. To accompany some news magazine story on Spider-Man The Musical, an illustrator ripped off a Byrne Spider-Man drawing from the cover of an old She-Hulk comic. An outraged member of the Forum posted both pictures of Spider-Man hanging upside down with his arms positioned between spread legs. Howls of ‘How dare he rip off JB!’ and ‘What a no talent hack!’ soon sounded forth. ‘That sort of pose has been done dozens of times by other artists without them having to resort to copying,’ chimed in another. To prove his point he posted a John Romita drawing of Spidey. (Of course, Spider-Man would never be referred to as Spidey on the Forum, because John Byrne thinks that nickname shows a lack of respect for the fictional comic book character.) Anyway, the Romita drawing was an exact mirror image of the Byrne pose. ‘Gee JB, it looks like John Romita copied you too,’ declared an observant fan. ‘Well, Romita has done so many drawings of Spider-Man, he’s entitled to one swipe,’ Byrne responded magnanimously. ‘Er, JB, actually that Romita drawing was done years before yours,’ blabbed a fan who was just too dumb for his own and John Byrne’s good. Well, that thread was locked down so fast. When John Byrne gets caught out by an inconvenient truth, his response has always been: ‘Move along. Nothing to see here.’
