How big was John Byrne in 1986?

[Zero Hunter]

[Kuwagaton]

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?

I think the closest might be Sean Murphy. Allred is a perennial floater who does magnificent work but doesn't capture the mainstream. Immonen did Superman and the Legion before he really made his name. I think he'd have had a good shot if he wrote what he drew of mainstream stories after Nextwave. Maybe if he comes out of retirement. Kaare Andrews, Jason Latour, and Aaron Kuder still have a chance of someday hitting their stride.

[Zero Hunter]

Walt Simonson is another double threat A level artist/writer.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I don't think Bendis is anywhere close to Byrne and I love Bendis. At his height, I would have, and might have bought a Namora or Sasquatch mini-series simply because Byrne drew it... I think Frank Miller is probably the closest to Byrne in terms of popularity. As far as modern day Superstar? I don't think there is a single artist that has that pull. Morrison Quitely, Brubaker Philips, Moon and Ba,,, Darywn Cooke, Paul Pope, I don't know who John Byrne's contemporary equivalent is right now, but if there is one, please let me know so I can catch up!

[Jim Kelly]

Byrne was never very big.

[superduperman]

THIS! I WANT THIS! Galactus vs. the Earth 2 JSA!

[Paradox_Nihil]

Byrne was the biggest star back then. I remember at least one award from Comics Buyers' Guide, for "the best artist" in 1984, ahead of Perez and others, and his performance in the writer category was very good as well. Those polls were voted on by the public, not journalists.

There is a series of books, from TwoMorrows Publishing, called Modern Masters. Volume 7 is dedicated to Byrne, in the form of one big interview. They speak a whole chapter about Superman. According to Byrne, most (but not all) of the ideas were his own. The editors and the powers-that-be just agreed to them.

But once I heard something that has prompted me to think about it: as they said in one episode of the great 11 O'Clock Comics podcast, "John Byrne's Superman is basically Jack Kirby's Jimmy Olsen" (for the modern time, I would add). The same approach, the same characters. It would make sense because Byrne was a Kirby's acolyte in many ways.

[Koriand'r]

So when was the start of his fall? Did he get burned out on Superman or was it She-Hulk or Namor? I remember his creator owned series Babe being terrible right before he got Wonder Woman and his run there was only marginally successful.

[kingaliencracker]

So when was the start of his fall? Did he get burned out on Superman or was it She-Hulk or Namor? I remember his creator owned series Babe being terrible right before he got Wonder Woman and his run there was only marginally successful.

Well, I don't know exactly WHEN it happened but he pretty much burned many bridges with both major publishers and based on my experience with him on his message boards, I think he is a rather abrasive person with some...unusual viewpoints, to say the least.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I'd say Superman is where he lost the magic for me. I enjoyed Generations but it felt like they were dismantling the character I knew.

[Kuwagaton]

The creative experience on Superman is one he still regrets, but you might not say he was burned out during the earlier parts of Namor and She Hulk. Namor was essentially like a Marvel Superman and the effects added to his art were phenomenal.

Since those bridges are pretty well burned I always thought he might as well elaborate on what happened.

[Tony]

John Byrne is my all time favorite superhero artist. Love his writing as well. I was just a teen when he was rebooting Superman, I know the Shop owner said the book was selling a million copies and issue. No idea if that's true but it was a really really big seller.

It really felt like Byrne could do no wrong at that point. Loved his X-Men, FF, and however it's looked at in retrospect the Superman books really needed a revamp at the time. it revitalized the character regardless of how you view the no Superboy, needs a breathing devise on long space trips, etc...

It was all very exciting in the moment.

[Paradox_Nihil]

I was just a teen when he was rebooting Superman, I know the Shop owner said the book was selling a million copies and issue. No idea if that's true but it was a really really big seller.

Yes, Byrne said that the first issue of Man of Steel had been " the first comic in like a hundred years to have sold a million."

Regarding his "fall"... I don't know exactly, but i would bet on the 90s. He had his own series, Next Men, for Dark Horse, which I didn't read. But I did read his New Gods run and subsequent Jack Kirby's Fourth World (by John Byrne ), and the cracks were starting to show there.

[DCStu]

Couldn't tell you how big it was - but these are the first Superman comics I can remember reading. I can remember the issue of the revamp where he first meets Lois Lane, and I can also recall the comic establishing Lex Luthor as a corrupt businessman rather than an gangster.

I remember wondering why it was all so different to the old Christopher Reeve films. Of course, I didn't know anything about Crisis On Infinite Earths. I ended up learning all about that in the years since.

So from a personal perspective, Byrne's run is simply the first Superman I can remember reading.