John Byrne

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John Byrne

At the 1992 San Diego Comic Book Expo.
Photo by Corey Bond.
Birth name John Lindley Byrne
Born July 6, 1950 (1950-07-06) (age 57)
Walsall, England
Nationality
Naturalised American
(immigrated British, Canadian)
Area(s) Penciller, Inker, Writer
Notable works Next Men
X-Men
Fantastic Four
Superman

John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero. His best-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC ComicsSuperman franchise. During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He is sometimes considered a controversial figure due to opinions he has expressed regarding his experiences within the comic industry.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and career

Dark Phoenix trade paperback. Cover art, from The Uncanny X-Men #135 (July 1980), by Byrne & Terry Austin.
Dark Phoenix trade paperback. Cover art, from The Uncanny X-Men #135 (July 1980), by Byrne & Terry Austin.

Byrne was born in Walsall, England where along with his parents (Frank and Nelsie) he lived with his maternal grandmother.[1] While living there, he was first exposed to the American superheroes that would dominate his professional life through reruns of American programs such as The Adventures of Superman. In Britain, he was able to read domestic comics such as Eagle as well as reprints of DC Comics.[2] When he was eight years old he left England with his parents and moved to Canada. According to Byrne himself, he was not an academically gifted student. Later he was married to photographer and actress Andrea Braun Byrne for 15 years.

His first encounter with Marvel Comics was in 1962 with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four #5. He later commented that "the book had an 'edge' like nothing DC was putting out at the time."[3] Jack Kirby’s work in particular had a strong influence on Byrne and he has worked with many of the characters Kirby created or co-created. Besides Kirby, Byrne was also influenced by the naturalistic style of Neal Adams.

In 1970, Byrne enrolled at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary. He created the superhero parody Gay Guy for the college newspaper which poked fun at the campus stereotype of homosexuality among art students. Gay Guy is also notable for featuring a prototype of the Alpha Flight character Snowbird. While there, he also published his first comic book, ACA Comix #1, featuring "The Death’s Head Knight".[4]

Byrne left the college in 1973 without graduating. He broke into comics illustrating a two-page story by writer Al Hewetson for Skywald Publications’ black-and-white horror magazine Nightmare #20 (August 1974). He then began freelancing for Charlton Comics, making his color-comics debut with the E-Man backup feature "Rog-2000", starring a robot character he’d created in the mid-1970s that colleagues Roger Stern and Bob Layton named and began using for spot illustrations in their fanzine CPL (Contemporary Pictorial Literature). A Rog-2000 story written by Stern, with art by Byrne and Layton, had gotten the attention of Charlton Comics editor Nicola Cuti, who extended Byrne an invitation. Written by Cuti, "Rog-2000" became one of several alternating backup features in the Charlton Comics superhero series E-Man, starting with the eight-page "That Was No Lady" in issue #6 (Jan. 1975).

Byrne went on to work on the Charlton books Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Space: 1999, and Emergency!, and co-created with writer Joe Gill the post-apocalyptic science-fiction series Doomsday + 1. Byrne additionally drew a cover for the supernatural anthology The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #54 (Dec. 1975)

[edit] Marvel Comics

Byrne’s first story for Marvel Comics was "Dark Asylum" (written by David Anthony Kraft), published in Giant-Sized Dracula #5. He began drawing Marvel’s lower-selling titles, including Iron Fist, The Champions, and Marvel Team-Up. For many issues, he was paired with writer Chris Claremont.

[edit] The Uncanny X-Men

In 1978, he joined Claremont on The Uncanny X-Men with issue #108. Their work together would make them both fan favorites and X-Men became one of the industry’s best-selling titles. Byrne has repeatedly compared his working relationship with Claremont to Gilbert and Sullivan, and has said that they were "almost constantly at war over who the characters were".[5] Byrne became "increasingly unhappy" and left the title with issue #143. In 2004, the two re-teamed for a brief run on DC's JLA; Byrne worked from a full script, and was uninvolved in plotting the books.[citation needed]

The Fantastic Four #236 (Nov. 1981), the 20th anniversary issue. Cover art by Byrne & Terry Austin.
The Fantastic Four #236 (Nov. 1981), the 20th anniversary issue. Cover art by Byrne & Terry Austin.

[edit] Captain America

In the early 1980s, Byrne worked on a number of other Marvel books. His nine-issue run (#247–255) with writer Roger Stern on Captain America included an issue (#250) in which the Captain was nominated for the US presidency.

[edit] Alpha Flight

Marvel persuaded Byrne to write and draw Alpha Flight, a Canadian superhero team who were first introduced "merely to survive a fight with the X-Men".[3] The book was popular (its first issue sold 500,000 copies[6] and critically well regarded)[citation needed], but Byrne has said the book "was never much fun" and that he considered the characters two-dimensional.[3] One of those characters, Northstar, became Marvel’s first openly gay superhero. Though intended by Byrne to be gay from the beginning, his homosexuality was only hinted at during Byrne’s tenure on the book.

[edit] The Incredible Hulk

After issue #28 of Alpha Flight, Byrne swapped books with Bill Mantlo, writer of The Incredible Hulk. According to Byrne, he discussed his ideas with editor-in-chief Jim Shooter ahead of time, but once Byrne was on the book, Shooter objected to them.[3] Byrne only wrote and drew six issues (#314–319) of The Incredible Hulk.

[edit] The Fantastic Four

Byrne's most important post-X-Men body of work at Marvel was his six years on The Fantastic Four (#232-293), considered by many to be a "second Golden Age"[7] on that title. Byrne said his goal was to "Turn the clock back...get back and see fresh what it was that made the book great at its inception".[8] However, he also made a number of significant changes to the title: the Thing was replaced as a member of the quartet by the She-Hulk, while the Thing had adventures in his own comic (also written by Byrne), and his longtime girlfriend Alicia Masters left him for his teammate the Human Torch; the Invisible Girl was developed into the most powerful member with her heightened control of her refined powers and the self-confident assertiveness to use it epitomized by her name change to the Invisible Woman; and the Baxter Building, their headquarters, was destroyed and replaced with Four Freedoms Plaza. Byrne has cited multiple reasons for leaving the book, including "internal office politics"[3] and that "it simply started to get old".[9]

[edit] Superman

Near the end of his time at Marvel he was hired by DC Comics to revamp its flagship character Superman. This was part of a company-wide restructuring of the history of the DC Universe and all of its characters following the miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. Byrne’s reworking of Superman in particular gained widespread media coverage outside the comic book industry, including articles in Time and The New York Times.

The Man of Steel #1, July 1986.
The Man of Steel #1, July 1986.

At the time, Byrne said, "I'm taking Superman back to the basics...It's basically Siegel and Shuster's Superman meets the Fleischer Superman in 1986".[10] He also cited the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve as an influence (Byrne even used Reeve’s face as the visual model for his Superman, mostly because Byrne found that he couldn’t quite capture the face that the previous Superman artist Curt Swan had drawn).[citation needed] Byrne significantly reduced Superman’s powers (though he was still one of the most powerful beings on Earth), eliminated the Fortress of Solitude, Krypto, and had his foster parents the Kents still alive while Superman was an adult to enjoy their adopted son’s triumphs as well as to provide him with support, grounding and advice whenever he needed it.

Byrne also did away with the character's childhood/teenage career as Superboy; in Byrne's revamped history, Clark Kent does not put on a costume and become a super-hero until he's an adult. Byrne has since admitted this was a mistake, since it completely gutted the basic premise of The Legion of Super-Heroes, a team of super-powered teenagers existing a thousand years in the future, who were inspired by Superboy. Once one of DC's most popular titles, the Legion has never really grounded in the 20-plus years since John Byrne robbed their history of Superboy.

One of the biggest changes was in Clark Kent, whom Byrne felt was the real personality while Superman was just a disguise, and that the heart of the character was not so much an outsider seeking his heritage but a young man who grew up in the American heartland and embraced its ethics;[citation needed] Byrne wrote Clark Kent as having a more aggressive and extroverted personality, even making him a top football player when he was in high school. Byrne also did his part to come up with explanations for how Superman’s disguise works, such as the public simply does not realize that he has a secret identity since he is unmasked, that Superman would vibrate his face via his super speed in order to blur his image to photographers and having Kent keep a weight training set around to explain how the human and presumably weaker Kent could have a frame as massive as Superman's. Byrne’s Superman felt that his deepest roots were on Earth, and that his home planet of "Krypton is anathema to him".[10]

The new Superman debuted in the six-issue miniseries The Man of Steel, which described his origin and early career. Byrne wrote and drew two monthly Superman titles with the hero's present-day adventures: a new Superman title beginning with issue #1 (January 1987) and Action Comics, in which, beginning with issue #584, Superman teamed up with another hero or group. The original Superman book was renamed Adventures of Superman starting with issue #424 and was initially written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Jerry Ordway, but the writing chores were taken over by Byrne after a year (from issues #436–442, and 444). As 1988 marked the 50th anniversary year of Superman’s creation, Byrne managed to do more Superman-related projects while working on the core Superman monthly titles at the same time: he wrote the prestige format graphic novel, Superman: The Earth Stealers, while also writing three separate four-issue mini-series: The World of Krypton, The World of Metropolis, and The World of Smallville.

Byrne spent about two years on the Superman titles before leaving. He cited the lack of "conscious support" for his work from DC Comics and the fact that the version of Superman that the company licensed for merchandise was different from his version in the comic books as the reasons for his dissatisfaction.[3]

[edit] Return to Marvel

In 1986, Marvel began publication of a new line of superhero titles created by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, which took place in a continuum removed from the Marvel Universe proper, called the New Universe.

[edit] The Star Brand

In 1987, the New Universe line saw a revamp under new Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco, and Byrne took over writing and art-breakdowns on the line’s flagship title, Star Brand (renamed The Star Brand during Byrne’s term on the book). Byrne's run started with issue #11 and continued until the series’ cancellation eight issues later upon Marvel's discontinuation of the entire New Universe line.

The Sensational She-Hulk #31 (Sept. 1991), Byrne's return to the title. Also pictured are Byrne and editor Renée Witterstaetter. Cover art by Byrne.
The Sensational She-Hulk #31 (Sept. 1991), Byrne's return to the title. Also pictured are Byrne and editor Renée Witterstaetter. Cover art by Byrne.

[edit] Avengers West Coast

In 1989, after leaving Superman, Byrne returned to work on a number of titles for Marvel Comics. His work on West Coast Avengers (issues 42–57, soon renamed Avengers West Coast) was contingent on his being allowed to do what he called "my Vision story".[3] The Vision was a long standing Marvel superhero and member of The Avengers, an android originally created by the villain Ultron constructed with the body of the original Human Torch. The Vision went on to join the team, marry his teammate the Scarlet Witch, and father two children by her. Byrne radically changed this, revealing that Ultron lied about the Vision’s creation. The android Human Torch was found and joined the WCA. The Vision was disassembled and stripped of his emotions. The couple’s twins were revealed to be pieces of the soul of the demon Mephisto. In addition to these changes, Byrne’s run is remembered for the introduction of the Great Lakes Avengers, an eclectic group of new superheroes.

[edit] The Sensational She-Hulk

On the request of editor Mark Gruenwald, Byrne wrote and drew a new series, The Sensational She-Hulk. Gruenwald directed that it be significantly different from the character’s 1970s series, The Savage She-Hulk.[6] Byrne’s take was comedic and the She-Hulk, who was aware she was in a comic book, regularly broke the fourth wall. Byrne left the book after writing and drawing the first eight issues. Byrne was asked for input on writer Dwayne McDuffie’s She-Hulk: Ceremony graphic novel, and according to Byrne, most of his objections to the story and notations of errors were ignored, and his editor, Bobbie Chase, "was rewriting my stuff to bring it into line with" the story in Ceremony. Upon complaining to DeFalco, Byrne says he was fired from his series.[11] He later returned to write and draw issues #31–50 under new editor Renée Witterstaetter.

[edit] Iron Man

Byrne took over writing Iron Man (#258–277), drawn by John Romita Jr. and later by Paul Ryan. Byrne launched a second "Armor Wars" story arc, restored the Mandarin as a major Iron Man nemesis, and featured the 1950s "pre-superhero Marvel" monster Fin Fang Foom.

[edit] Namor, the Sub-Mariner

Byrne also started a new series, Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Byrne’s take on the undersea antihero Namor cast him as the head of a surface company, Oracle, Inc. (no relationship to the real-life software company of the same name), in order to help keep the ocean unpolluted, and had Namor involved in corporate intrigue. Byrne wrote and drew the book for 25 issues, until new artist Jae Lee inspired a sharp change in the series' mood and plot of the book. Byrne wrote the book until #32.

[edit] Creator-owned works

In the early 1990s, Byrne began creating a series of original, creator-owned works for publisher Dark Horse Comics. This was during a general trend in the industry for established creators working for Marvel and DC to bring their original works to other publishers or create their own companies to publish the works themselves. A number of these creators, including Byrne, Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, and Art Adams, banded together to form the Legend imprint at Dark Horse.

Byrne’s first title for Dark Horse was Next Men, a work he considered darker and more realistic than his previous work. The Next Men were five young people who were the product of a secret government experiment. Byrne said, "I thought I would see what I could do with superheroes in the 'real world'" and "[e]xplore the impact their existence would have."[3] Byrne’s other Dark Horse titles were Babe (a kind of She-Hulk for mature readers) and Danger Unlimited, the latter about a Fantastic Four-like team of heroes in the future fighting an alien occupation of Earth.

The Next Men lasted until issue 30 in 1994, when Byrne ended the series, intending to return "in no more than six months". However, Byrne says he "did not count on... the virtual collapse of the whole comic book industry, which seemed to occur at just the time I put Next Men on the shelf... In the present, very depressed marketplace, I don’t feel Next Men would have much chance, so I leave the book hibernating until such time as the market improves."[3]

[edit] Later career

First issue of Marvel: The Lost Generation,  numbered as #12 (March 2000). Cover art by Byrne & Allen Milgrom.
First issue of Marvel: The Lost Generation, numbered as #12 (March 2000). Cover art by Byrne & Allen Milgrom.

In later years, Byrne has done titles for Marvel, DC, and other publishers, including the 1992 prestige format graphic novel Green Lantern: Ganthet’s Tale with science fiction author Larry Niven at DC.

He also wrote and drew another of DC’s signature series, the long-running Wonder Woman title from 1995–1998. During that time he relegated the superheroine to the status of observer in a many issues, spotlighting supporting characters such as Queen Hippolyta in their own adventures. He additionally took over New Gods vol. 4 at the end of 1996, as as writer-artist of issues #12–15, continuing with it as the series was rebooted with a new #1 as Jack Kirby's Fourth World. That ran 20 issues from 1997–1998. Byrne also wrote a Wonder Woman prose novel, Wonder Woman: Gods and Goddesses (1997, Prima Lifestyles, ISBN 0-7615-0483-4)

His late-1990s Marvel work has been controversial. The most prominent example, according to the fan press,[citation needed] is Spider-Man: Chapter One, in which Byrne sought to revive interest in the Spider-Man character by retelling his earliest adventures, changing some key aspects, and declaring that the new version had supplanted the original stories as official Spider-Man canon. In late 1998, Byrne also took over as writer of the flagship series, The Amazing Spider-Man, at the end of the series with issue #440, by which time Marvel had decided to relaunch the book. The "last" issue of Amazing Spider-Man was #441 (Nov. 1998), with Marvel initiating The Amazing Spider-Man with a new issue #1 (Jan. 1999) with Howard Mackie as writer and Byrne as penciler. Byrne penciled issues #1-18 (from 1999–2000) and wrote #13–14.

Marvel hired Byrne in 1999 for a second volume of the series featuring The Incredible Hulk, re-titled Hulk, with Ron Garney penciling. Byrne wrote of his plans for the first year, but as with his previous tenure on the character back in 1986, creative differences led to his departure before the year was over. Byrne wrote the first seven issues, as well as that series’ summer annual. From 1999–2001, Byrne wrote and drew the flashback series X-Men: The Hidden Years. The series lasted 22 issues. Despite relatively low sales, Byrne maintained the comic was still profitable and believed the cancellation to be unexplained. This disagreement factored in his decision to no longer work for Marvel Comics.[12]

Post-2000 works have involved characters and events in time periods mostly skipped over by other comics (Marvel: The Lost Generation), or alternate timelines (DC’s Superman & Batman: Generations); a common feature is to have characters who actually age during the course of the series, which is uncommon for characters in ongoing comics. His 2000s work has all been for DC Comics: JLA (#94–99, the "Tenth Circle" story arc), Doom Patrol, Blood of the Demon, and a brief return stint drawing Superman (with writer Gail Simone) in Action Comics #827–835. Afterward, Simone and Byrne reteamed to launch The All-New Atom series in 2006, with Byrne pencilling the first three issues. Publisher IDW announced[citation needed] in September 2007 that Byrne is working on the final issue of the miniseries Star Trek Alien Spotlight, scheduled to be published in February 2008, and FX, written by Wayne Osborne, scheduled to be published in March 2008. A five-issue arc on JLA Classified with writer Roger Stern begins in January 2008.

[edit] Controversies

Over the years, Byrne has gained a reputation as a controversial figure, and has noted this himself, stating that "as the people who have figured me out have said, I just don’t suffer fools gladly".[13] Gail Simone, who worked with Byrne on The All New Atom (2006), described Byrne as "very opinionated", although she qualified her statement, noting Byrne’s talent and assessing his personality as integral to his abilities: "I think John Byrne is brilliant and his forceful personality is part of that".[14] Byrne’s opinions can lead to disputes, and commentators, particularly Rich Johnston, have noted disputes with Peter David,[15] Jim Shooter, Joe Quesada, Mark Evanier, Marv Wolfman[16] and Erik Larsen.[17] Byrne’s opinionated nature has also been evinced by The Comics Journal. In 1982, during a panel discussion at the Dallas Fantasy Fair, Byrne made unflattering comments about Roy Thomas. After a transcript of the panel was published in The Comics Journal #75 (Sept. 1982), Thomas threatened a libel suit if Byrne did not apologize. In a letter printed in TCJ #82 (July 1983), Byrne retracted his statements, claiming he was only repeating information from Wolfman and Wein and wrote, "I acted only in the office of a parrot."[18]

In the 1980s, Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby lampooned him in Destroyer Duck, drawing him as a character called Cogburn, possessing a removable spine and existing only to serve as a cog in the mammoth corporation that owned him.[19] Erik Larsen created a villain in the 1990s for his Savage Dragon and Freak Force series, Johnny Redbeard/The Creator, who also parodies Byrne; a massive cranium with atrophied appendages, he can bestow superpowers indiscriminately.[20] However, Byrne is also regarded as an enthusiastic talker, and someone with a warm love of his chosen medium.[13] Tony Isabella has commented upon Byrne’s approachability when at comic conventions, describing him as "friendly, funny, and well-received by those who attended the show."[21]

The magazine Heroplay examined Byrne’s treatment of women in his comics, and concluded, "As dynamic as his art can be, and as ambitious as his storylines are, he just seems to have an axe to grind with the female of the species," and that he made women "either bitchy, flighty, or evil". [22]

[edit] The "Byrne Curse"

Byrne has often referenced his tendency to "predict" real-life events with his comic books, calling it the "Byrne Curse".[23] In a letter to Skeptic magazine, he noted a 1977 issue of Marvel Team-Up depicting a blackout in New York, with a real-life blackout occurring the month the issue went on sale, six months after he had drawn it; an issue of Uncanny X-Men depicting a major earthquake in Japan, which again occurred in real life the month the comic was released; and an issue of Wonder Woman in which the death of the superheroine, who is an Amazon princess named Diana, is presented on the cover as a newspaper front page with the headline "Princess Diana Dies". The issue went on sale on a Thursday, and Britain's Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in an accident two days later.[24]

[edit] Art style

Cover for Blood of the Demon #1, series written and drawn by Byrne for DC Comics.
Cover for Blood of the Demon #1, series written and drawn by Byrne for DC Comics.

Byrne has stated his major influences on his art style are Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, and Jean Giraud (best known as Moebius), as well as British comics artists Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy and cartoonist Giles. He later described himself as "a Frank Miller sponge", and told several interviewers of his desire to incorporate influences from Miller and Gene Colan into his style. He has also cited science fiction artists John Berkey and Syd Mead as contributors to his style. [citation needed]

Byrne’s original work has been noted as being rough, with his drawings emphasizing curves over straight lines. Byrne has himself admitted to straight lines being "his least favorite artistic element".[25]

Ron Goulart has called Byrne’s artwork "an eminently acceptable mix of bravura, complexity and storytelling clarity".[26]

In Scott McCloud’s book Understanding Comics, Byrne is charted along with other comics artists in the "Big Triangle".[27] McCloud’s placement of Byrne within it identifies his style as similar to Gilbert Hernandez and Jim Lee, making the point that Byrne’s line style is naturalistic without being overly detailed.

Byrne is, in 2006, an accomplished comic book creator, and is capable of producing virtually all aspects of a book, although he does still produce work in collaboration. The one exception is coloring, since Byrne is color-blind. He has problems distinguishing between some shades of green and brown and pencilled Iron Fist for a year believing the costume was brown. While he experimented with his own hand-developed lettering fonts in the early 1980s, he now utilizes a computer font based on the handwriting of the letterer Jack Morelli.[28]

Byrne's artistic style, his layouts and his storytelling have been sources of instruction and inspiration to many comics artists, including George Perez,[29] Jim Lee,[30] Todd McFarlane,[31] Bryan Hitch,[32] and Marcos Martín.[33]

[edit] Awards

Byrne received the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Penciller in 1986 and 1998, and the Squiddy Award for Favorite Penciller in 1993.

For his writing, he was nominated for the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Writer six times. For his work as an artist, he was nominated for the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Cover Artist five times. For his work as an inker he was nominated for the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Inker three times. For his work as a penciller, he was nominated for the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Penciller three times.

[edit] Selected bibliography

A complete bibliography of Byrne’s comics work is maintained at the Byrne Robotics Checklist.

[edit] Marvel Comics

[edit] DC Comics

  • Action Comics (writer/artist #584-600); (artist) #827-835; Annual 1 (writer); Annual 6 (writer/artist)
  • Adventures of Superman (Writer) #436-442, 444; Annual #2 (inker)
  • Batman/Captain America (one shot intercompany crossover, published by DC, writer/artist)
  • Blood of the Demon (writer/artist) #1-15
  • Doom Patrol #1-18 (writer/artist)
  • The Man of Steel (writer/artist) (6-issue Mini series)
  • Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale (one shot; script/artist, from a story by Larry Niven)
  • Jack Kirby’s Fourth World #1-20 (writer/artist)
  • JLA (Writer/Artist #94-99, with Chris Claremont)
  • Legends (Mini series) (pencils)
  • New Gods (vol. 4) #12-15 (writer/artist)
  • OMAC (4-issue miniseries)
  • Superman (vol. 2) (writer) #1-22; (Artist) #1-17, 19-22; 50 (Artist)
  • The All New Atom (artist) #1-3
  • World of Krypton #1-4 (Mini series) (writer & cover artist)
  • World of Metropolis #1-4 (Mini series) (writer & cover artist)
  • World of Smallville #1-4 (Mini series) (writer & cover artist)
  • Wonder Woman (Vol. 2) (Writer/Artist) #101-136

[edit] Dark Horse Comics

[edit] Novels

[edit] Webcomics

  • You Go, Ghoul! (2004)[34]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Superman: The Man of Steel #1, 1986
  2. ^ Byrne Robotics Forum: "Journey into Comics". URL accessed on December 2, 2005
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Michael Thomas, "John Byrne: The Hidden Answers", Comic Book Resources, August 22, 2000. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  4. ^ The John Byrne Gallery—"Images from John‘s College Days". URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  5. ^ John Byrne, "Too-Much-Reality Check", Slushfactory.com, January 29, 2003. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  6. ^ a b Byrne Robotics FAQ: Questions About Comic Book Projects. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  7. ^ Frank Plowright, ed. The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide. Aurum Press, 1997.
  8. ^ Qtd. in Christopher Mari, "John Byrne", Current Biography Yearbook 2000, pages 81-4. H.W. Wilson, Co.
  9. ^ Marcia Allass, "The Superheroes' Mr. Fix-It: John Byrne", Sequential Tart, vol. 2, issue 6, June 1999. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  10. ^ a b Peter Sanderson, Amazing Heroes #96, June 1986. Excerpted here.
  11. ^ Byrne Robotics FAQ: Questions About Aborted Storylines. URL accessed March 18, 2006.
  12. ^ Comic Book Resources, November 15, 2000. Accessed August 8, 2007.
  13. ^ a b Cooke,, Jon B.; Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2006). Modern Masters Volume 7: John Byrne, 1st ed., TwoMorrows Publishing, 77. ISBN 189390556X. 
  14. ^ MacQuarrie, Jim (July 27, 2006). CCI XTRA: Spotlight on Gail Simone. CBR News—The Comics Wire. Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ Rich Johnston, "Lying in the Gutters", Comic Book Resources, July 19, 2004. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  17. ^ Rich Johnston, "Lying in the Gutters", Comic Book Resources, July 27, 2003. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  18. ^ qtd. in Rodrigo Baeza, "Acting in the office of a parrot". URL accessed January 31, 2006.
  19. ^ Destroyer Duck, Eclipse Comics, 1981-83, issues #1-5; the letters page of #5 discusses the physical likeness and similarity of names, and acknowledges that the character is a response to comments Byrne made in the fan press.
  20. ^ Eric Evans, "What Kirby Wanted", foreword to Savage Dragon Companion #1 (Image Comics, July 2002), p. 5.
  21. ^ Isabella, Tony (December 16, 2004). Tony Isabella, Dec 16, 2004. Tony’s Online Tips. World Famous Comics. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
  22. ^ zan. Don’t Do It to Me Again!. Viewpoints. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  23. ^ Byrne Robotics: Byrnisms
  24. ^ eSkeptic (magazine's online newsletter), Jan. 5, 2005: "Science and the Search for Meaning", by Michael Shermer
  25. ^ John Byrne, Learn To Draw Comics, p. 46, Collins, 2001. ISBN 0-00-413411-7.
  26. ^ Ron Goulart, The Great Comic Book Artists, pg. 18. St Martin’s Press, 1986. ISBN 0-312-34557-7.
  27. ^ Scott McCloud, "The Big Triangle". URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  28. ^ Byrne Robotics FAQ: Creative Process. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.
  29. ^ Comics Feature #19, 1982. Excerpted here. URL accessed December 2, 2005.
  30. ^ Gelatometti: 3 Doors Down. URL accessed December 2, 2005
  31. ^ "Todd McFarlane Complete Biography", Spawn.com. URL accessed December 2, 2005.
  32. ^ Alexander Ness, "A Conversation with Bryan Hitch", Slushfactory.com, September 12, 2003.
  33. ^ Scott Beatty, "Behind the Scenes: Words and Pictures with Marcos Martín!" URL accessed December 2, 2005.
  34. ^ Byrne Robotics: Web Comics. URL accessed on December 2, 2005.

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Dave Cockrum
Uncanny X-Men artist
1977–1981
Succeeded by
Dave Cockrum
Preceded by
Keith Pollard
Fantastic Four artist
1979–1980
Succeeded by
Bill Sienkiewicz
Preceded by
Doug Moench (writer)
Bill Sienkiewicz(artist)
Fantastic Four writer and artist
1980–1986
Succeeded by
Roger Stern (writer)
John Buscema(artist)
Preceded by
Roger McKenzie
Captain America writer
1980
(with Roger Stern)
Succeeded by
Roger Stern
Preceded by
Bill Mantlo
Incredible Hulk writer
1985–1986
Succeeded by
Al Milgrom
Preceded by
Joe Casey
(Incredible) Hulk writer
1999
Succeeded by
Ron Garney & Jerry Ordway
Preceded by
Ralph Macchio
Avengers writer
1989–1990
Succeeded by
Fabian Nicieza (main stories)
Mark Gruenwald (back-up stories)
Preceded by
Dwayne McDuffie
Iron Man writer
1990–1992
Succeeded by
Len Kaminski
Preceded by
Rafael Kayanan
Amazing Spider-Man artist
1999–2000
Succeeded by
John Romita, Jr.
Preceded by
Chris Claremont
Uncanny X-Men writer
1991–1992
Succeeded by
Scott Lobdell
Preceded by
Chris Claremont
X-Men (vol. 2) writer
1992
Succeeded by
Jim Lee
Preceded by
William Messner-Loebs
Wonder Woman writer
1995–1998
Succeeded by
Christopher Priest
Persondata
NAME Byrne, John Lindley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Comic book artist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Walsall, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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