They may (fairly or unfairly) get a bad rep from the majority of comic book fandom, but this thread of the Byrne Board’s favorite little-known comics demonstrates that they really do have some good taste there. I’m surprised by the amount of love for old school British comics like the Commando digests and original Slaine strips from 2000AD:
Mick McMahon needs to be worshipped as a god by anyone who values the comic book as a narrative
medium.Slaine caused me — as a 13 year old boy — to entirely re-evaluate my complete concept of what
constitutes “good” comic book art. There is no single frame of his Slaine work that doesn’t thrill me,
and ‘Sky Chariots’ is quite possibly the best sustained piece of comic art this country has ever seen.For those of you who never had the experience of 2000ad’s golden age, there was also Kevin O’Neill,
and Brendan McCarthy and Ian Gibson …Forgive me, but I feel that the American industry embraced Bolland, Gibbons, Davis, et al but neglected
our brightest talents.My life is richer for these guys.
Also mentioned in the thread: Ragmop, Leave It To Chance and The 3 Rocketeers, by Jack Kirby and Al Williamson…
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I posted on that thread.
I’ve read comics from all over the world. Not just loads of US and brit comics, but also tons of manga (in translations, I don’t know japanese and prefer the older stuff than the current “kewl” manga like Naruto), the popular italian comics (Bonelli, etc.) and the erudite ones (like Corto Maltese), argentinian comics (Oesterheld rules!) and grew up reading the french-belgian comics (Tintin, Asteris and al.), possibly the greatest comics in the world (IMHO!). So I clearly know a lot about comics.
And I love John Byrne comics and think he has a grip on super-hero comics much better than almost anyone else working on them. I don’t see why would anyone assume that a Byrne fan wouldn’t read great comics. John Byrne does great comics too!
Best,
Hunter (Pedro Bouça)
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
The more I look at the Byrne board, the more I become convinced that the only real problem with it is Byrne himself.
I mean, with rare and notable exceptions, they’re more polite and positive about the medium than a lot of other cynical fuckers (myself included), and while I might question their taste on occasion, in particular their enthusiasm for Byrne’s current work (which I find lacking), the only thing I find actively dismaying about them is their willingness to put up with Byrne when he’s denigrating to them.
It’s like watching an otherwise pleasant, inoffensive person stay with someone who’s verbally and emotionally abusive.