How big was John Byrne in 1986?

[daBronzeBomma]

The older I get, and the further in time we all get from The Revamp of 1986, the more insane it seems that one person would ever have so much power over the (at the time) #1 solo superhero in the world.

Maybe I'm missing something. I didn't start reading comics until after Byrne had already left, and knew nothing of him until years later. Now I know a fair deal about him (most of it disagreeable to me), but this part still doesn't make sense.

So just how big a deal WAS John Byrne in 1986 that he had such pull back then? Who could you compare Prime Byrne to now among current creators as a writer/penciller?

[sunofdarkchild]

A lot of what he did was actually editorially mandated. If he had full control Superman would still have been a brand new hero after the MoS mini ended, and not a veteran of several years. Getting rid of Clark's career as Superboy, Supergirl, Krypto, changing Luthor, and toning down his powers were also dictates from above.

Byrne had previously been one of the biggest stars at Marvel. He collaborated with Chris Claremont during his seminal X-Men run, including on the Dark Phoenix Saga. He also had an iconic run on Fantastic 4 which is called the "second golden age" for that franchise and created Alpha Flight.

[Kuwagaton]

I wasn't born back then, but it's pretty hard to say we have a modern equivalent. He had a number of solid projects but X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four were big deal runs and this guy could not only write and draw his stories (I suppose his art was the more popular thing), but twice a month and even thrice a month when pressed, in addition to a number of related projects.

But also, as accounts from then have attested, Superman really wasn't#1 at the time.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I was alive at the time and he was the KING of comics. All his characters looked better than everyone else. So much so that many were calling him the heir apparent to Jack Kirby. His art work was unreal. It looked very different than other artists at the time and the way he drew faces was so distinct. The X-Men became Marvel's premier superhero team and Wolverine became a superstar character. I don't think the Marvel Cinematic Universe would exist with out John Byrne's popularization of the X-Men and the way that lead to the X-Men movies and eventually the billion dollar juggernaut that we have now. I know they are 20th Century Fox, but they carried that X-Men/Marvel logo. I loved his run on the Fantastic Four and in some ways it is still second to Kirby Lee. When he came to Superman I expected for him to do for Supes what he did with the FF. With the FF he seemed so reverential to everything that came before and he put it in the most original light imaginable. Everything felt exciting and cutting edge. In the end, he didn't embrace everything that Superman had become, and his job was to pair things down. I loved the artwork but I will always look in Lucien's library for the complete run of Alan Moore and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez's 3 title, intertwined run on Action Comics, Superman, and DC Comics presents.

[Buried Alien]

Byrne's position in the 80s is probably comparable to Bendis's today. Come to think of it, they've been on somewhat of a similar career path: establish a big name at Marvel, then get hired by DC to revamp Superman for a new era.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[superduperman]

DC was determined to revamp Superman regardless. Keep in mind that Marvel was kicking DC's ass back then and a lot of big name characters, like Flash and Wonder Woman, were on the verge of cancellation. Things were so bad that at one point Marvel was actually offered DC but turned it down. A revamp was probably inevitable regardless. With or without Byrne. Byrne was just a good choice for an artist. And like someone else said, most of what he did was handed down from the top. For all intents and purposes, he was essentially just an artist for hire. In fact, some of his more outlandish ideas, like having Lara come with him to Earth, were shot down. I think he designed the look of Krypton but the rest, like getting rid of the SA stuff, was going to happen regardless.

Personally, my favorite revamp idea was to have the Earth 2 Superman replace mainstream Superman and his gray hair and wrinkles were just makeup. Of course that means that you couldn't focus on his past.

[Mace Dolex]

I was collecting Marvel's G.I.Joe and Transformers comic that I knew of Bryne only via the usual Stan's Soapbox or Marvel tidbit adverts that it wasn't until mid-90's I found some of his 1980's Marvel reprints (Hulk, Fantastic Four) but yeah upon remembering he was sort of a superstar in comics.

[madmodpoetgod]

I've always been super curious about the sales numbers of Byrne's Superman. I know that Man of the Steel#1 was the best selling comics its time but I would love to see some detailed numbers.

[Kuwagaton]

Same. Comichron has some nice data for big titles. I haven't found really anything on Man of Steel, the World Of titles, Legends, or Earth Stealers. The old back pages did report MoS#1 as the best selling Superman in 40 years by then. Byrne did the main titles from Sept 86 to Feb 88 on Action, Sept 87 to June 88 on Adventures, and Sept 86 to June 88 on Superman.

http://www.comichron.com/titlespotli...ioncomics.html

Http://www.comichron.com/titlespotlights/superman.html

[Zero Hunter]

Byrne was just constantly hitting it out of the park in the 80's. Every book he did was good. From his legendary runs on Uncanny X-Men and then Fantastic Four (still the 2nd best run of all time just behind Lee/Kirby) to other smaller runs like Wolverine, Alpha Flight, Namor, She Hulk, and countless issues of other titles here and there. I think he wrote and drew pretty much everything at least once when he was at Marvel. I just seemed like he could not miss.

To compare him to someone today it would have to be Bendis, but even then it is not even close. Byrne was the double threat of being and A list writer and an A list artist at the same time something that Bendis isn't. Plus when you look at Bendis he has had quite a few flops while at the height of his power when not using A list characters or being teamed with a list artits which is something Byrne never seemed to have until latter on after his peak. Byrne could make a character like She Hulk or Namor sell on his own while Bendis probably can't.

[daBronzeBomma]

Was really kinda hoping somebody would take me literally or (just be snarky) in the title and give out Byrne's actual height and weight from 3 decades ago

Yeah, I couldn't think of a modern equivalent either. None of the top writers are also great pencillers, and none of the great principles are also great writers.

Or at least, nothing close to what Byrne was back then.

Is there a widely- held top hybrid (writer/penciller) working for the Big Two right now?

[superduperman]

Byrne was just constantly hitting it out of the park in the 80's. Every book he did was good. From his legendary runs on Uncanny X-Men and then Fantastic Four (still the 2nd best run of all time just behind Lee/Kirby) to other smaller runs like Wolverine, Alpha Flight, Namor, She Hulk, and countless issues of other titles here and there. I think he wrote and drew pretty much everything at least once when he was at Marvel. I just seemed like he could not miss.

To compare him to someone today it would have to be Bendis, but even then it is not even close. Byrne was the double threat of being and A list writer and an A list artist at the same time something that Bendis isn't. Plus when you look at Bendis he has had quite a few flops while at the height of his power when not using A list characters or being teamed with a list artits which is something Byrne never seemed to have until latter on after his peak. Byrne could make a character like She Hulk or Namor sell on his own while Bendis probably can't.

Is that from the Avengers/JLA crossover?

[Zero Hunter]

Is that from the Avengers/JLA crossover?

I think it is just a pin up he did. There are quite a few of them on Goggle.

[Zero Hunter]

[Zero Hunter]