Friday, March 22, 2013

Making a Splash: Our Avenging Pal Sal, Phase One

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Our Pal Sal Buscema was Ol' Groove's first fave comicbook artist. He was drawing the Mighty Avengers' mag when I first started getting that peerless publication (Avengers 68-72, 78, 85, 88-92), so he set the set the standard for what I thought the Avengers should look like. Whaddya say we take a look at at Sal's earliest splash pages? Can you handle the magnificence?

Yeah, this one's from a reprint...y'gotta do what y'gotta do, man!

I knew you could!
at

8 comments:

  1. Mike MikulovskyMarch 22, 2013 at 7:14 AM

    I'm with you Groovster! Sal is always over shadowed sadly by his big brother. The Great John Buscema, but Sal is to me just as great! Especially his early titles. When he had more time to do full pencils & had great inkers like Granger, Palmer & Janson!

    My first exposure to Sal's great art. Was on the Sub-Mariner I believe. Or maybe it was on the Avengers at the same time. His work on those Subby, Avengers & the first 20ish issues of the Defenders were just beautiful! Sal's inks on Barry Windsor Smith on the Avengers & Conan was great too. I just saw a mini-series drawn by Ron Frenz on eBay. Inked by Sal & it looked alot like his early art on Subby #34 & #35! It was a Hulk vs Avengers mini-series. I gotta get that series!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike MikulovskyMarch 22, 2013 at 7:40 AM

    Hey there!
    My fellow groovy ones! The mini-series I mentioned earlier. Was drawn by Ron Frenz & inked by Sal! It looks awesome like Sal's early 1970 art! It's four issues I believe & is called "Hulk Smash Avengers!" I'm definetely gonna have to get these issues! Great flash backs of my Golden age of my youth!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rich GignacMarch 22, 2013 at 3:39 PM

    Love Sal Buscema's artwork; especially his run on Capt.America & the Falcon...with Sal's Defenders & Marvel Team-up close behind !

    ReplyDelete
  4. nathaniel sullivanMarch 22, 2013 at 8:29 PM

    Love the site. Basically heroin for someone like me, but I imagine you know that. Many thanks for making it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 22, 2013 at 8:53 PM

    I gotta agree that Sal was underrated, and should be remembered not just for his great work on Cap, the Defenders and Subby, but also Marvel-Team Up and what I think was his signature title, the Hulk. I hope he knows how much his work was valued. A true titan of the Bronze Age of comics.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 22, 2013 at 10:11 PM

    More Sal Buscema please!

    - Mike from Trinidad & Tobago

    ReplyDelete
  7. Doc SavageMarch 23, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    Sal buscema turned in so much great work over such a long period that he tends to be overlooked, underrated, and treated like a workhorse. He was reliable and always turned in clear, quality storytelling. I would much rather have Sal Buscema as artist on a title than one of those fan-favorite flash-in-the-pans who shows off and then falls behind schedule.

    Here's to the underappreciated SalBuscema!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Richard HancockMarch 27, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    The "Did you hear the one about Scorpio?" issue of The Avengers contained some wonderful artwork and was one of my childhood favourites (I first saw it in black and white in a UK reprint collection).

    What happened to Sal's art later on? Was it just that he didn't have the time to do such a superb job? (Same thing seemed to happen with Dave Cockrum.)

    ReplyDelete