American cartoonist Sal Buscema, one of the last creators whose bold style helped define the aesthetic of Marvel comics in the 1970s, died last week at the age of 89. His storytelling and ability to depict superhero action and combat sequences captivated several generations of Marvel fans. Buscema was best known for his work in The spectacular Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, The Defenders or ROM, Space Knight. Some colleagues such as artist Sterling Clark reacted to the illustrator’s death: “When I think about my childhood and all the comics I read, Sal’s name seems to have appeared in practically all of them,” he published last Monday the 26th, when Buscema would have turned 90 years old.
Buscema started at Marvel in 1968, perhaps never having the consideration of others like Jack Kirby or his own brother John Buscema (1927–2002) — one of the geniuses of superhero comics — whose work he first inked on Dell comics in the early 1960s. Sal Buscema initially embellished his brother’s work at Marvel in Silver Stele y The Avengers. Shortly after, he began to draw the stories himself for some of the publisher’s most important titles. And eventually it became the chosen option to launch new series or to pair with new scriptwriters on existing titles due to the speed and reliability with which it worked.
Unlike Jon, who was known for portraying dramatic, muscular figures and complex scenes, Sal Buscema was more direct, something that worked in his favor during a period of creative ferment at Marvel in the mid-1970s. He stood out as the artist of the memorable stage Secret Empire the Steve Englehart and Captain America in between 1973 and 1974, in which the character investigated a violent conspiracy of white nationalists whose roots reached to the White House. In addition, he drew the strange saga Headmen by screenwriter Steve Gerber in The Defendersconsidered one of the most unique stories in mainstream comics.
Later in the decade, he teamed with screenwriter Gerry Conway for more than 100 issues of The Spectacular Spider-Manand with Bill Mantlo in the cult title ROM, the Space Knightbased on a licensed toy. He also created the first appearances of characters such as Starhawk and the Sinister Squadand was responsible for the first modern meeting of Marvel’s Golden Age team of heroes, The Invaders. He remained active throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, even as fan tastes shifted toward more elaborate and detailed art. He briefly moved to DC in the late ’90s, working on Superman, Batman y Green Arrowbefore returning to Marvel a few years later. He remained active professionally well into his eighties, often charming fans as a guest at local conventions.
Sal Buscema was “a rock,” according to the artist Erik Larsen, who, despite not having met the cartoonist in person, recognizes the “enormous impact” he had on The Defenders from Marvel, because Larsen worked briefly on the comic. “Sal was one of those people you turned to when someone else failed, he could put out a solid number over a long weekend and meet the deadline,” he added in his Facebook post. “He wasn’t a fan favorite, but he was one of those essential creators who made everything work, who made Marvel work…He had the artistic ability to save you and make that horse look less like an anorexic dog and more like a horse.” And Larsen ends with a reflection that many who enjoyed the comics will identify with: “I never met the man, and yet I knew him all my life.”
Buscema was born in Brooklyn in 1936, the youngest of four children. After attending art school, he served for a year in the United States Army as an artist and graphic designer before turning to commercial art and, eventually, comics. He married his wife Joanna in 1960, and together they had three sons: Joe, Tony and Mike.