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Fantastic Four #256, July 1983

John Byrne’s Fantastic Four earned its legendary status the right way. He took the keys to one of Marvel’s great books, respected the Kirby engine that powered it, and pushed it forward with smart, late-’70s storytelling.

This Negative Zone page feels like classic FF: clear storytelling, dangerous tech, and characters who sound like smart people under pressure. Reed is cool and precise. Sue keeps things grounded.

Drawn oversized, the page has room to breathe — big machines, strange worlds, and that unmistakable sense of scale. Nothing feels decorative. It feels built.

The kind of Fantastic Four that made opening a new issue every month feel like an event.

Superman #87, March 1994

Stuart Immonen — guest penciling in Dan Jurgen’s regular slot — has some fun with Bizarro, and the rest of the Superman cast in this two-part story from 1994.

This is only the second appearance of Bizarro in the “modern” superman era. John Byrne used the character in the Man of Steel mini-series (#5) and promptly destroyed him.

Spoiler alert: Lex Luthor resurrects the Superman cloning idea in this issue, and things don’t go much better. (Although I guess Bizarro lasts two issues instead of just one this time around, so there’s that.)

I definitely dig Immonen’s art — but if you thought Jurgens drew Mr. Kent with a big mane of hair, definitely check out Stuart’s version. Superman’s hair starts big in issue #87 and might even be fuller and longer by #88.

Definitely ready for a time-travel trip to the Hyborian age.

Happy Halloween —all month long!

**Superman was in his long hair phase in these days and artist Immonen was not messing around. (Pages from issue #87 and #88.)**

**John Byrne’s reboot of Superman brought Bizarro back for one issue in the original Man Of Steel mini-series, but he was toast by the end of the issue.**

Wonder Woman #104, December 1995

This is obviously a cool splash page from John Byrne’s (story, pencils and inks) run on Wonder Woman. Tremendous detail apparent here.

Less obvious without the published page nearby of course is the terrific coloring here by Patricia Mulvihill. She creates a clear background and foreground with minimal tone, adding depth and clarity to the art.

If you’re curious about plot, Darkseid and his legions have killed quite a few of Diana’s fellow warriors and wrecked Themyscira, but didn’t get what they wanted, so they split.

Good riddance, even if only temporary.

Kamandi #16, April 1974

I didn’t react well to Kamandi… at first.

I was a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes Franchise, and when I first saw the promo image (The Comics Reader, probably) for the cover of issue #1, I became miffed.

Why would Jack rip off POTA? Was the King finally out of original ideas?

Ah to be that young and foolish again. Kamandi quickly became a favorite. And little did I know that the Statue of Liberty “end of human civilization trope was already a SF trope by the time Rod Serling incorporated into his brilliant POTA screenplay. (See below.)

And, if you’re going to end human civilization with one breed of animals develop advanced intelligence, why not do it with all of them.

Heh.

That’s why the King is the King.

And, it gets better. Turns out Jack was incorporating some similar ideas he had previously used in a short story in Alarming Tales, 15 years prior to Kamandi. (Also, see below.)

So, what did I know? Not much, apparently. Like I said, to be that young and foolish again.

This page is the final issue Mike Royer inked, and the first that D Bruce Berry (working apprentice style) had a hand in. He took over solo the following issue. Tom Kraft of the Jack Kirby Museum believes both worked on this specific page.

Kamandi, apes and tigers — all on one page. What more could I ask for?

Now, or then.

Planet Of The Apes Statue of Liberty Scene

A post apocalyptic and buried (land or water) Statue of Liberty had appeared at least three times prior to the first POTA film. (I’m not exactly sure when the reprint of After The Rain first appeared, but the cover art is much stronger this time around.)

A destroyed Statue has appeared countless times since Planet of Apes.

Before and after comics; the dreadful Mighty Samson (1965) & John Byrne’s Doomsday + 1 (1975) cover that pays homage to Kirby and POTA.

Jack Kirby Alarming Tales pre-Kamandi Story — Kirby’s original tale (pun intended) of advanced animal species fighting. with each other in a post apocalyptic world first appeared in Harvey’s Alarming Tales #1 (1957.)

Iron Man #258.1, July 2013

Iron Man celebrates his 60th anniversary in 2023. (Actually, Tales of Suspense #39 was on the newsstands in December of 1962 with a cover of date of March 1963. But why quibble?)

What better way to honor Shellhead’s anniversary than with a dramatic —and iconic — 2013 title splash from Bob Layton’s (breakdowns by Dave Ross) “variant” story of the Armor Wars sequel.

Bob, with John Romita Jr. and David Michelinie created the original and memorable Armor Wars I in 1987, and a few years later was scheduled to be the solo writer and on the sequel. But… Valiant comics presented Bob an offer he couldn’t refuse, and he jumped ship at Marvel. John Byrne stepped in and wrote the already announced sequel, and then 23 years later, Layton — with Michelinie and Ross — had his chance again to do his own take.

Follow all that?

Don’t worry, if I got anything wrong, Bob will definitely let me know.

Happy Anniversary, Tony Stark.

Norm Rapmund Recreation of John Byrne Batman, July 2022

How to celebrate the 500th blog post — and a little more than three years of posting?: Here’s a beautiful Norm Rapmund recreation of a John Byrne Batman splash page (from the 1990 Batman 3-D graphic novel) that Norm started well before this blog was even conceived. (Probably 2017 or so.*)

The 500 milestone includes some “reruns” and a few “cheats,” but hey, 500 is still 500. And we have may slipped in frequency for the first time this past month, but there’s still more great art to come.

Stay tuned.

(*A story for another day.)

Byrne’s original 3D graphic novel and the black and white reprint from a Byrne DC collection 25 years later. One change that Norm made that I really like is that the Harvey Dent side of Two-Face’s face is a bit less evil — as it should be.

Action #592, September 1987

John Byrne provides a terrific page from about the halfway point in his re-boot run of Superman.

(And no mainstream character was more in need of a reboot in the mid-80s than Superman.)

John of course provided nearly everything here: Story, script, pencils and inks. Keith Williams adds the background inks on buildings and such.

Byrne? Superman in every panel? That’s a keeper.

Flash of Two Worlds, Commission, 2012

Today’s post concludes our special feature “The Flash of Two Worlds,” as well as our multi-part Flash series.

I look at this cool pinup of the two Flashes, and imagine a retro moment in original continuity when the two Flashes have already met, worked together, and appreciate the fact that in each of their respective multiverses, they are indeed the fastest man alive.

That said, I never asked John what he envisioned when he drew the piece. And, I don’t think I will. It’s easier to continue to imagine the backstory to fit in with my own vision of the “pre-Crisis” DC universe.

May the Speedforce be with you.

Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert #1, January 2011

NYCC, about six years ago: I had previously heard a lot about John Byrne’s house and all the various art and collectibles that made up some of the décor, but hadn’t had a chance to get up to the wilds of Connecticut to check it out.

This time I was determined.

So, one rainy day at the end of convention hours Chris Ryall and I trudged our way through monsoon-like rain (seriously, no exaggeration) to Grand Central Station, and headed up north.

After one missed connection (rain again), we eventually made it up to Byrne’s town.

We dried off during a nice meal with John at a local Chinese restaurant, and headed back to his house.

It was everything as described. Great collectibles and memorabilia, and some great art hanging in his studio by comic book legends John admired. (No surprise, lots of Jack Kirby.)

Chris had already a working relationship with John, and in fact had been to his house previously. But I had actually not seen Byrne since the early 90s, and he had no memory of our meeting, nor should he.

As many colleagues can share, John can be reserved at times. Regardless, he was gracious, and he definitely warmed up a bit as we discussed art in detail while I enjoyed the tour. (Or, he was just being polite to his publisher. Ha.)

At the end of the night, he pointed us to his flat files of art and told us to each take something. These files were a potpourri of recent projects, pieces he had yet to give to his art representative to sell for him.

Chris found a page from DC’s OMAC series that John was especially proud of. I was a bit more interested in something that we had published at IDW, and after some deep digging, I came up with this great Jurassic Park double-page spread from the mini-series John created for us.

He was delighted that I admired it, and I, of course, was delighted with his generosity. It is a great piece, and to date, I walk past it every day and smile.

Permanent collection, for certain.

Getting it back to California from New York wasn’t easy, but that’s a story for another day.

Thanks again, JB!

I love the way the covers link up, especially issues #1 and #2.

Spider-Man: Chapter One #11, September 1999

Concluding the 60th anniversary celebration of Ant-Man/Giant-Man.

John Byrne provides his own spin (that pun was intended) on Spider-Man’s early days with the “maxi-series” Spider-Man: Chapter One. This series created some controversy, as many fans believed the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko stories did not need a refresh. (Unlike say Byrne’s own Superman revamp years earlier, which was the right reboot at the right time. But… we digress.)

This fun page from issue #11 guest stars Giant-Man and Wasp in a revamping of Spider-Man’s very early Spidey crossover in Tales To Astonish #57. (How early was the original story? It’s the same month as Spider-Man #14, which also featured the Hulk. Spider-Man had a very busy month in the Marvel Universe, as Annual #1, featuring the Sinister Six, was also published at about the same time.)

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