I've noticed that when discussing comic book artists from the Silver Age on up, very little mention is ever made of Rich Buckler.  IMHO he was a great artist who never seemed to "phone in" his work.  I'm only familiar with his DC work because I haven't read a M***** comic since 1983 (except for the Spider-Man wedding issue), but his short run on the All-Star Squadron, his work on the DC Treasury Edition of "Superman v. Shazam", and of course this li'l gem:

Are standouts.  Please show Mr. Buckler some love.

I have always loved his work.  I especially like the fact that he created Deathlok long before there were any Terminators or Robocop!  He is a great artist and storyteller but his work just didn't stand out enough in mainstream comics for him to get any real recognition.  I read a recent interview with him in Back Issue magazine which I thought was very informative and insightful.  He will always be one of the greats in my book!

Wasn't he a notorious swiper?

I guess my thinking is old Rich isn't "Silver Age", and he's definitely underrated.

I recently asked JB if he'd ever had occassion to meet or work with Buckler, and he hadn't. Which I think is kind of a shame...the two men share some definite visual aesthetics.

I've heard Rich's a Surrealist painter now, and he has a website where he sells his work.

Here's a nice little interview with the man. I sure do wish he could be brought in for some special projects in comics. http://www.jlasatellite.com/2008/04/jla-satellite-interview- with-rich.html

"very little mention is ever made of Rich Buckler"

Well, mostly what is brought up is the fact that he was very adept at copying other people's styles. Didn't really have a very interesting style of his own, most of the time he was just swiping or imitating Neal Adams. I've read a few stories of his that I like, but never considered him one of the greats. I think one of George Perez' earliest jobs was as his assistant.

Copying other people's styles is one thing...I don't see a problem there.

Swiping is a whole 'nother matter. Anyone care to show examples and prove the point?

"Anyone care to show examples and prove the point?"

Also, prove the sky is blue. I'm not good at finding images on the net, but here's a quote from his one-time assistant George Perez, as well as a link to the interview for context.

"I'd go through his swipe file - batches of comics - looking for suitable swipes for the story he was doing."

http://vu.morrissey-solo.com/moz/perez/int/wiz7-94.htm

He is widely recognized as the king of swipers, and for that reason held in about as much esteem artistically as Colletta. I've seen many examples, but as I mentioned I'm not very good at finding suitable images on the net.