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Sheila Friedland
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 11 July 2022
Location: United States
Posts: 57
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| Posted: 29 September 2023 at 4:41pm | IP Logged | 1
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Would like to express what precisely it is I like about Mr. Byrne's work. I'd always recommend a Byrne comic to someone new to the medium. One or two panels in on the first page, and you're IN for the issue!
-his superheroes are realistic and naturalistic, but still look SUPER! All his art in general displays an aesthetic and character beauty that shows a mastery of anatomy, movement, perspective, background, etc.
-It all just *flows* so well. The storytelling and panel sequencing is so elegant and natural it makes the reading experience a pleasure. This does not simply come from rote work that calculates how to scientifically tell a clear story in comics, it is natural and elegant talent. It's all so *clean* and uncluttered; as opposed to current comics which often strike me as "dirty" in a sense; or too flashy.
-The stories likewise are also natural. There is no deconstruction. There is no re-construction. There is no self-conscious or pretentious device going on. The characters tell the story and it goes in a straightforward and sensical manner. This is not say all his stories are simple; quite the contrary. There may be weighty themes and plot turns, but it's all so understandable and accessible. Needless to say, there is no decompression. Each issue has a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. I'm never left scratching my head after a Byrne issue.
-There is no political or outside agenda to the stories. Most writers feel the need to insert their politics ad nauseum. If fact, I'd say they come to the medium with their politics first, and then take the characters as secondaries to squeeze into their ideology. Mr. Byrne always took the characters first and let them write themselves. Ironically, there was a time in the 80s where Byrne was considered a "conservative" writer. Absurd, but perhaps speculated as such because he simply did NOT insert *any* blatant political biases into his stories.
Edited by Sheila Friedland on 29 September 2023 at 4:55pm
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Steven Queen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 February 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 928
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| Posted: 29 September 2023 at 6:07pm | IP Logged | 2
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On point with all of those Sheila!
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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1361
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 9:27am | IP Logged | 3
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Nothing highlights JB's talent with words and pictures more than seeing the latest Alpha Flight offering from Marvel. It's decent enough art-wise, yet has none of the heart that I felt from JB's run. A real mismanagement of some great characters.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15935
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | 4
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JB's stories are always well thought out -- they always make sense and never "cheat" the reader. His characterisations are consistent and he takes pains to make sure he draws characters consistently (e.g. Wolverine is always noticeably broad and short, Johnny Storm is always slim) and the characters he draws almost always look like the best-realised versions of themselves.
And JB has a super power of drawing cause and effect all in one panel, which is great for super heroes. Someone can fire an energy blast, you can see the damage it does and the reaction of those around it all in one panel. That makes for great comics.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133226
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 2:57pm | IP Logged | 5
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And JB has a super power of drawing cause and effect all in one panel, which is great for super heroes. Someone can fire an energy blast, you can see the damage it does and the reaction of those around it all in one panel. That makes for great comics.••• Once upon a time, Howard Mackie told me that when he and Mark Gruenwald needed a shot of a character’s powers in action for OHOTMU, they’d check first to see if I had drawn that character. Taking advantage of how I put cause and effect in the same panel. Something I wasn’t really aware I did!
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Steve Coates
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 November 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 798
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | 6
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is his fealty to the characters and always putting them back in the sandbox.
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Doug Centers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5579
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 3:51pm | IP Logged | 7
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JB's uncanny ability to realize weight and mass on paper has always astounded me. Feet are firmly planted, giants "feel" heavy, muscles droop ever so.And talk about getting characters to the spirit of what the creators intended...
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James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7767
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 4:25pm | IP Logged | 8
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Posture.
JB can convey so much through the posture of his characters - they are not
cookie cutter, but each has their own language.
I first noticed thus as a wee lad, when he drew Moria, slumped forward in
her chair, vexed by the results of some tests.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133226
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| Posted: 30 September 2023 at 5:05pm | IP Logged | 9
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Jim Salicrup paid me a great compliment when he said my people even stood around in character. Something I WAS aware I was doing, so pleased to have it noticed.
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James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7767
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| Posted: 01 October 2023 at 4:51pm | IP Logged | 10
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It’s stuff like this that makes me say you are one of the greats. It’s like a
thing I noticed a long time ago about your Red Sonja - her thigh strap
causes an indentation in her thigh - such a little detail, but it adds sooooo
much.
& so few comic artists spent time on things like that - much greater Impact
than billions of pouches & speed lines.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133226
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| Posted: 01 October 2023 at 5:01pm | IP Logged | 11
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That indentation most likely owes a lot to a cartoon I saw in PLAYBOY. Some scientists are holding up an enormous lens. Seen thru it, their clothes have become invisible. Ha ha. Except, even a a youngster I was still me, and my first thought was the clothes being invisible would not remove their EFFECT. The woman’s breasts, for example, would be shaped most unnaturally by her bra. I’ve long been conscious of the creases and folds wearing clothes creates in our flesh.
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Jonathan A. Dowdell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 July 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 426
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| Posted: 01 October 2023 at 11:24pm | IP Logged | 12
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I always thought of Mr. Byrne’s story telling as “with every action, there is an equal (and sometimes) opposite reaction.” Almost nothing happened that didn’t impact a future story. An example — save Galactus, go on trial for saving Galactus.
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