The Comic Book Genius of John Byrne
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- John Byrne is a name synonymous with comic book greatness. From redefining X-Men with iconic arcs like "The Dark Phoenix Saga" to reinventing Marvel’s Fantastic Four and reshaping Superman’s legacy in The Man of Steel, Byrne’s impact on comics is unmatched.
In this video, we dive into the highlights of his legendary career, explore how his works fare in today’s marketplace, and uncover some hidden gems you might not know.
Join us as we celebrate one of the most influential creators in comics history on Creator Spotlight: John Byrne!
💬 Share your favorite John Byrne comics in the comments!
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#JohnByrne #XMen #FantasticFour #Superman #ComicBookLegend
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Loved his Fantastic Four, Superman and Xmen run from the 80's, love his artwork.
Both of the runs were great. I would include Superman: Man of Steel. Thanks for your comment!
Byrne and Claremont is the best X-Men run in comics and a top ten run of all time
I definitely agree with you.
Couldn't agree more. I wish they would team up again and do the Uncanny X-Men.
His run in the fantastic four and X-men (phoenix saga era ) were some of my favorite stories and comic artwork to this day .
His Superman was also great too. Love his work.
My all-time favorite comic book artist. Always loved Byrne's style and stories. His Alpha Flight, West Coast Avenger and X-men work is classic. Even followed him to DC during the Superman run. In the 80's, it was John Byrne.
He is definitely one of my favorite artists. I love his style. It’s perfect superhero art.
I loved his X-Men, and Iron Fist artwork. In my opinion his artwork in Alpha Flight, and Fantastic Four wasn't quite as good.
John Byrne on his forum: "INDIANA JONES was one of the Worst Experiences I’ve had as a comicbook professional. It started out well enough - I saw “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and came out of the theater with my brain abuzz with all kinds of story ideas for such a character, expecially set against the fascinating millieu of the 1930s. The first obstacle turned out to be (editor-in-chief Jim)Shooter (ser-prize!!) He didn’t want to do an Indiana Jones book. Thought it would have no sales appeal. It was Jim Salicrup who pointed out that more people had heard of Indiana Jones than of Any Marvel character. So the book got greenlighted, written and drawn by yours truly.
Then came the second hurdle. Obviously, one of the chief attractions of such a book would be the Saturday Morning Serial feel one could evoke - collosal, impossible cliffhangers at the end of every issue. Right? Well, not as far as Shooter was concerned. He was in his “one issue” mode at that time - all stories must be resolved in one issue (except the ones he wrote himself, of course!). I could do “cliffhangers”, he said, but only if I resolved them in The Same Issue. Some cliffhanger, huh?
Ahh… but this was only the Beginning! Next came the liason with LucasFilm, a woman who clearly understood nothing about the way comics were produced, and who had no inclination to learn. It went like this: I wrote the plot, submitted it to LucasFilm for approval. It was approved. Drew the pictures, likewise submitted, likewise approved. Wrote the script, submitted it - she asked for plot changes. Er, no, we said - that was two steps ago. No, she said, want plot changes!! And when the first issue was finally complete, she decided she liked the plot I’d submitted months earlier for the third issue even better, and wanted that to be the first issue. We talked her out of that one. After two issues of this insanity, I gave up the ghost.
There was no way to work if each step could be overturned by someone who did not understand the process. (This did not change after I left, by the way. Tom DeFalco later told me that when Marvel did the adaptation of the second movie, each step was approved as above, then one week before the book was to go to the printers, she called up and asked for a different penciler!!!!) Okay… . so I whined a little bit."
Thanks for sharing this story about the making of Indiana Jones comic. It’s so funny how much we want more movie adaptations in comic form. I think on how Star Wars comics are so different than the latest movies and tv projects and think why is it no one is actually using this. They just want to character and not the backstories in what makes the characters cool. The 80s in general was mostly hollow with the exception of some outliers like Watchmen and Dark Knight. If you allow the creators to create then you will get amazing stories to talk about for years to come. Instead we get stories about the would be amazing stories. With that said, thanks for sharing and the comments. Hope you enjoyed the video.
Great vid. Trip down memory lane. I have all of those books up until the Peter Parker one. I was a collector in the late 70's - '84ish as a teen. For most, it was all about the X-Men but anything Byrne did was also something I was going after. Luckily, Byrne was such a hot artist that Overstreet noted anything he did -even covers. He and Shooter were the two main guests at one of the Los Angeles conventions around '81. Byrne was doing commissions which were $20 for one character and $35 for two and between drawings he and Shooter would sign books. They'd sign up to 5 per person at a time so a lot of us had stacks (for Byrne). But, conventions were really mellow back then as it was 100% comic geeks (myself included) so you could hang out around his table all day and the two were super nice. Signatures were all on the inside credits page back then and my favorite signature was by Shooter were he wrote in my X-Men 137 "and she shall stay dead -Shooter". lol.
That lasted all but a few years. 😂 great story. I used to love getting sketches and signatures for free back then. It’s a lot different now. Thanks for sharing
My idol, my mentor. Pure talent.
Absolutely. 👍 thanks for watching
Great replay, Izzy! I love seeing all that John Byrne goodness!
Thank you. Lots of works but worth it.
Great video on John Byrne. Rhodes becameWar Machine
You are correct. This is undervalued book
Met him at a convention several years ago. He signed my set of "Man of Steel" and seemed like a decent guy in person.
As I mentioned in a previous comment, I did meet him but don’t recall the interaction. I like to think he is an overall good guy.
Byrne has long been one of my favorite creators of superhero comics. I never pass up an opportunity to read a book either drawn or written by him. Rhodey was Iron Man briefly while Stark was in recovery and eventually became War Machine when Tony built a suit especially for him. Rhodey has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. Absolutely a major character as far as I'm concerned as well.
He's a great creator. Thanks for watching
I definitely bought a"Untold Legend of the Batman," off the shelf because of Byrne. I wasn't even collecting DC at the time. 🤷🏽
Unbelievably they are rereleasing the book this week.
Fantastic video and super informative as a John Bryne fan and Uber collector! I have most of the books you listed except for the first two which I hope to remedy. Quick point on the Iron Fist 6 - I believe the term is foreshortening - perspective drawing of the form (learned from my “How to Draw the Marvel Way” art book lol)…Keep the content coming!
Wow. Now you’re a fan. Thanks for your input.
Thanks for a great list~~~I'm also a "Byrne" victim...
If you're doing another video of his books maybe add these on your list.
1) Next Men (One issue was the first Hellboy)
2) Galactus vs Darkseid
3) The Last Galactus Story (Epic Comics)
4) Hulk (very short run)
5) Starbrand
There were many books I had to leave out simply because of the volume. I have other creators to get to before I can return to Byrne but I will definitely include those for a second round
I mean the first Hellboy mini with mignola was fantastic.
I decided that should be save for Mignola more than Byrne.
Ok, now so Michael Golden; his work inspired so many legends in the medium
Another great influential artist. Definitely will cover him soon
Im wearing a New Era cap with the art of Uncanny Xman 144# as I watch this.Exceptional content
That’s cool. And thank you
You know, i do not like his comments over the years but i definitely love his run on fantastic four, uncanny xmen with Claremont, his iron fist is as good as gil Kanes,(love em both btw) and Nextmen for darkhorse. Love that book ad far as his art overall in that series. Look, i don't fault him sometimes i mean he did give us a good she hulk also his ff run is great. That doesn't mean i condone what he said about being a company man etc. but as far as those examples i gave....top tier talent imho.
I know what you mean. I goal in this segment is to showcase his books and provide their value. He definitely had a great career and I absolutely love his body of work. Thanks for tuning in.
A lot of people don't know this but at one point, Marvel was gonna actually buy out DC. I don't remember the entire specifics of the situation, but i was told Byrne was drawing Superman and Wonder Woman to be part of Marvel and that's where we got those Superman issues. Did anyone hear about this? 🤔
I did hear that story. On the flip side, DC was also considering purchasing Marvel during the 90s when Marvel claimed bankruptcy. Glad it didn’t happen. I prefer having them separate with some crossovers.
Thing left the FF and had Shulkie replace him because on Battleworld in the original Secret Wars he could change back to being a human Ben Grimm. He stayed on Battleworld before returning to Earth..
Thanks for sharing that. 40 years ago. Wow. Can’t remember everything.
@@IzzyVerseNYCThat's a major storyline.
I have most of these Byrne books. Vision Quest has a movie trailer. It might be released this year.
Vision has been a highlight in the MCU. Looking forward to seeing it. Thanks
I don't know where you are buying your comics from, but most of the books here in NM are selling for way more on ebay, especially 9.8.
These book and the figures are from CovrPrice FMV. eBay prices fluctuate and are not a reliable source for what the price of the book. Also, pay attention to what is the average grade as well. Thanks for you comment. I hope this helps.
1:18:01 That's Wolverine 17, not issue 18.
Oh wow. Thanks for catching that.
X-Men #129 is also the 1st appearance of Sebastian Shaw.
I mentioned that briefly. Thanks for sharing
@@IzzyVerseNYC My bad. Apparently I missed that part. I've heard that Byrne can be very difficult to work with which is why he and Claremont stopped working on the X-Men together. I've met Claremont twice and I enjoyed his conversations. I would love to meet Byrne but at this point I doubt that it will happen.
Byrne and Claremont clashed because Byrne would change story beats that Claremont gave him. The scripts were marvel style, which meant the writer would give plot ideas while the artist interpreted the story and build a comic from it. The writer would then create dialogue from the results. So when Claremont saw the pages he noticed the changes that he didn’t do or asked for. Thus they argued about that. So Marvel removed Byrne from X-Men and gave him free range on FF. They knew how of an important talent he was and they didn’t want to lose him to DC. It eventually happened when he did Superman.
1:27:00...wrong again Byrne DID have a run on Captain America....he did the Baron Blood story line and the Cap For President stories
He may have and it was not noted online. Thanks for catching it. I recall him on a major run with Captain America since it not as praised as the other runs.
57:25...Fantastic Four # 286 came out in 1986...not 1984
I’m sure it was a typo I don’t always get them. It’s a lot of work and usually go back to fix it.
Hey just to let you know as a comic book dealer, any good dealer goes through every single book. The reason they might be cheap is due to just how many books we might have in stock at the time.
I understand I have friends that are dealers. And I get it. Thanks for your input and thanks for being a responsible dealer. Much love to the LCS and dealers
Batman/ Captain America is in the DC/ Marvel omnibus
Cool thanks
Did someone say John Byrne?!?
Iron Fist #8 is also the 1st appearance of John Byrne in comics.
Are you referring to John drawing himself into the book. I need to check that out.
@@IzzyVerseNYC Yes. Byrne inserted himself many times into comics. In Iron Fist #8, one of the victims of the mugging stopped by Iron Fist is John Byrne. The character even uses his artistic ability to help the detective by drawing the gangs emblem.
That’s really cool. Thanks for sharing that.
For Marvel, yes. He did considerable work for Charlton comics before breaking in at Marvel.
Rhodey = Iron Fist? In what universe?
I say Rhodey is a B Lister but is greater than most. Iron Fist is a B lister too but they are both important to the general 616 universe.
He and Claremont are great examples in my life for never meeting your heroes.
Love their work just wish they could appreciate the fans a bit more.
I’ve met them both. I don’t recall my interaction with Byrne since that was long while ago. But I recently talked to Claremont and interviewed him. That video will be up soon. He was a great person. But I know and heard stories, I just never experienced them. Thanks for your comment
DoFP is both the best and worst X-Men story of all time. Worst because it gave a ton of hacks carte blanche to do their own time/dimension travel stories that introduced a ton of not-needed characters. It killed the family vibe the X-Men were known for.
Often imitated but never duplicated. Thanks for your comment
What about Elsewhen? I love the artwork!
Usually the parts people say he's a "Mean" about are true statements. Like how Byrne talks about the first thing Hollywood does when it makes a comic book movie. It throws the comic book in the trash. Nowadays They Spit On It, Throw it in the Trash, Step On It, Burn It, Bandage it Up and Offer it for Streaming.
Meaning Byrne Knows His Stuff.
You are more true about that. I wish we had more a good blend of story adaptations similar to how a novel is adapted unless that novel is written by Stephen King. Thanks for your comment
And does know his stuff.
Slab that MTU 53 and you don’t get to see that awesome X-Men splash page. Kinda defeats the purpose of getting it for Byrne’s first X-Men. 🤷♂️
Well. Can’t always get the images. Maybe for the next one. Thanks for your comment
@ I wasn’t criticizing your slides, I was saying if you buy that book encased you don’t actually get to see Byrnes first X-Men. I enjoyed the video. Good discussion.
@ I see your point. So true
I like what he did with Lex Lufor as well.
Yeah it was a great update to a dated character
17:58....so many flubs....James Rhodes became Iron man then War machine.....he was NEVER Iron Fist
It was a verbal error on me. I meant to say Iron Man and not Iron Fist. Out discussion was based on him eventually becoming War Machine
Batman & Captain America Elseworlds are connected to the Superman & Batman Generation mini series not Amalgam Comics..
I honestly don't remember that. I know that DC and Marvel did work after Amalgam but it wasn't much. Thanks
Harada = Hamada
not sure what you mean.
@@IzzyVerseNYC if you read Byrne Harbringer from valiant the bad guy was named Harada and he was a parody of Dc editor Walter Hamada
@ thanks for the clarification
I'm confused, this wasn't about what he did, his art, you didn't show it really, in fact some of the books he worked on, he only did the interior, so why show the cover of those?
As an example: E-MAN… Joe Staton did the cover and the main feature, John did the back up ROG 2000 , perhaps read up on that here… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rog-2000
and must I mention Next Men? or Space 1999, his covers alone is worth a mention… or what about Doomsday+1? which was where I discovered his art before he headed over to Marvel.
All you really did is talk about the value of the comics he did… you didnt actually showcase why his work was important , or any of his inside sequential work…
Sorry…
Sorry for the confusion the purpose behind this feature is go through his library of work he had a part in. We look at the fair market value of each title to allow people to seek out his work. Due to the restrictions of the time I have (this is prerecorded from a live stream) I cannot go over everything and felt most people are aware of Next Men. I try to grab the early works and show the cover of the books so people can go on the hunt. The intention is to go find the books. They are out there and they are in many cases very inexpensive and affordable. Thank you for your feedback and I do appreciate your honesty.