As a high-school kid, I’d fly up from Naples to New York City in the summers to do what I could at the comic-book publishers there. DC and Marvel were the biggies. DC was at 575 Lexington Avenue, and they wouldn’t give me the time of day; they were corporate. Marvel, over at 635 Madison Avenue, was more welcoming.
The wonderful man who took me under his wing, for some reason, was John Buscema. He was big, bearded and a bit scary at first to a green kid. And, man was I green. Within a few minutes, though, I realized that Mr. Buscema, in spite of his being a “real” comics artist– and one of the very best– was also a sweetheart and remembered what being green felt like. I worshiped him. I don’t know if he usually worked at the Marvel office, or was just there hanging out, but I was glad he was around!
He didn’t give me a lot to do and what I did do I probably did to excess. I bought an electric eraser and some various eraser sticks for it and reported in every day. I remember cringing whenever I saw a Jack Kirby page ready for erasing after being inked. Mr. Kirby drew with the softest pencil imaginable on a plate-finish board and it was all a smudgy grey-graphite mess for me to clean up!
The prime memory I have of that time was the day artist Gil Kane came to the “Marvel Bullpen,” which wasn’t a bullpen at all. I worked in a crowded closet using a cardboard box for a drawing table. Mr. Kane sat at one of the real drafting tables in the bigger room and started roughing out something in pencil. I sneaked over to watch, and was stunned. Kane could draw faster than I could think. It shattered me. I slunk back to my little closet and burst into tears. Here’s one of Kane’s rough sketches found on the Web:
Mr. Buscema found me and sat me down for a lecture: “Jimmy, we get paid by the page, not by the hour; no salary in this business. Gil’s fast and good because he’s smart and talented, but also because he’s been doing this for 25 years. Don’t over-react; you’ll get there.”
But I knew in my heart that no; I would never get there. I didn’t want it bad enough. As I went back to Newark that evening I knew my comic-book career was over before it really started. But I also knew that I had gained a friend who was a rare person; a giant with a giant heart.
John Buscema was called the Michelangelo of comics and take a look at some of his work to see why. His anatomy’s as good as Kubert’s and his ability to frame a scene is almost scary. He also had some of Jack Kirby’s ability to convey power and force:
A wonderful man; best known today, I guess, for his work on the early Silver Surfer and Conan the Barbarian.
The wonderful coloring on this Buscema Conan drawing is by a fellow in Morocco who goes by the name of bekkouri, and he did a stunning job:
And I still have my old electric eraser:
Aug 16, 2012 @ 21:36:39
Buscema’s “Conan” work always floored me, and still does. I really enjoy your style of sharing these things! 🙂
Aug 16, 2012 @ 21:39:18
Why, thank you very much! I’m glad your enjoying your visits!
–Jim
Jul 29, 2013 @ 16:16:52
Jim, what year did this take place. You use the relative scale “a high-school kid”, but most of us don’t know you well enough for that to mean anything. In advance, thanks for posting this otherwise wonderful memoir.
PS: I lost my electric eraser decades ago, but still use my Ames guide.
Jul 29, 2013 @ 16:21:10
Hey, David–
This was in either 1968 or 1969. Hope that helps!
And those Ames Guides are probably coveted by collectors; they’d think my old electric eraser is probably an ancient Dremel tool.
–Jim
Aug 11, 2013 @ 01:34:27
Jim,
What a wonderful story—-the link was sent to me by one of my dad’s fan–my dad was John Buscema. I can’t begin to tell you how this touched my heart—my father was one of the most compassionate, generous men I have ever known. It brought back so many wonderful memories that I hold close to my heart. I remember in school, the kids that were into comics were in awe that John Buscema was my dad—the first time I ever attended a convention with my dad, I saw people rushing towards him for an autograph—I couldn’t believe it! My dad was that popular–OMG! He was just dad to us—some dads were electricians, or plumber, or teachers—-my dad drew comics—we never thought anything of it!
Just before my dad’s passing, he received so many letters from people like yourself, writing to tell him how much he touched their lives and what an inspiration he was to them—it was truly unbelievable. He was overcome with emotion and felt truly blessed to have received each and every letter.
Thank you again for your wonderful story—I know he is up above smiling down as he is reading this!
All the best,
Dianne Buscema-Gerogianis
P.S.—I hope you followed your dream!
Aug 11, 2013 @ 01:48:10
Hi, Dianne–
Thanks for the kind words! Your dad was not only the best of the Marvel artists, in my opinion and that of many others, but he was a very perceptive, empathetic and kind person. He was so nice to me and I’ll never forget that.
As for following my dream, I’ve been in the graphics industry for many years and was actually able to work with Marvel again in the early days of computer-generated coloring. Your dad wasn’t there when I was at the Marvel offices, but he was still discussed and admired by the Marvel staff.
Best regards–
–Jim
Aug 11, 2013 @ 02:05:18
Thank you for your reply, Jim. I also worked for Marvel, many years ago—I too was a colorist and worked under Glynnis Wein—Marve’s wife–small world! My daughter, Stephanie Buscema is following her grandfather’s footsteps and currently does work for Marvel, DC and Disney. Thank you again for your kind words about my dad!