obituaries – In My Not So Humble Opinion

Remembering comic book artist Charles Barnett III

I was very sorry to hear that artist Charles Barnett III had passed away on April 1st at the too young age of 65. Barnett worked in the comic book industry throughout the 1990s as an inker, and I was a fan of his work. He had a very Bronze Age (i.e. 1970s and early 1980s) sort of style to his inking that gave a very nice finish to the various pencilers he worked over. I guess I would sort of liken Barnett’s style to that of the legendary Joe Sinnott, who gave a very smooth polish to the various pencilers he was paired with.

I previously mentioned Captain America #423 on this blog, but I’m going to share the splash page from it again here. Roy Thomas penned a story that revealed the first encounter between Cap and Namor the Sub-Mariner during World War II, and it was very effectively illustrated by M.C. Wyman & Barnett. I enjoyed Barnett’s inking over Wyman, and their collaboration sort of resulted in a John Buscema-type of style. Over on Facebook, commenting on this issue, editor Mike Rockwitz said “I had fun working on this.”

Another occasion on which Wyman and Barnett were paired was Captain America Annual #12 in 1993, the cover of which is posed below. And, yes, Cap IS fighting against a man dressed as a rooster. This was the Summer in which both Marvel and DC, desperate to prove that they could create hot new characters without the recently-departed Image founders, pumped out a whole bunch of new creations in their Annuals. Of course, the majority of these characters soon vanished into obscurity. Among the more oddball concepts was the Battling Bantam. I feel like Wyman & Barnett did their best to bring to life such a crazy concept, and it’s a nice cover.

Barnett worked with classic Marvel artist Herb Trimpe on a few occasions. As I’ve explored before, in the 1990s Trimpe, in order to continue working, began drawing in a style that attempted to emulate the work of some of the then red-hot Image artists. The results were, unfortunately, sometimes exaggerated & confusing pages. However, I feel like when Barnett was paired with Trimpe, it helped to dampen down some of the rough edges of this new style. Barnett inked Trimpe on the first half of Avengers Annual #21 in 1992, and as seen below, it’s quite nice work.

Barnett also inked penciler Larry Alexander at Marvel. Now, truthfully, I always found Alexander’s work to be just too quiet for superhero comics. However, I really did like how he looked when inked by Barnett, who again gave it a very nice polish. The two were paired on a four part story featuring Code Blue, the NYPD special force designed to combat superpower menaces who were introduced by Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz in the pages of Thor. I don’t know if the Code Blue story was originally intended to run as its own miniseries, but it was published as a flip book in Thunderstrike #13-16 in 1994. It was written by Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier. This scene from Thunderstrike #14 sees Thor fighting the Wrecker, and it’s very nicely illustrated.

In addition to his work at Marvel, Barnett also did inking for DC Comics. In 1994 he worked on a Star Trek: The Next Generation miniseries, and on Viper, a four issue miniseries based on the sci-fi action adventure TV series created by Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo. Looking at the Grand Comics Database, I see that Barnett also inked a number of issues of Elfquest for Warp Graphics.

I really wish Barnett’s career in comics had lasted longer, because I definitely enjoyed the work he did over various pencilers, giving them all a nicely polished, traditional look. Unfortunately, I imagine that as mainstream comics became more & more slick & stylized, the type of inking he specialized in probably fell out of favor with editors & publishers.

I was fortunate enough to meet Barnett on several occasions at comic cons. He always came across as a good, friendly person. I obtained a few con sketches from him. The best of these was a really nice Batman he drew for me, which you can see above.

My condolences to Charles Barnett III’s family and friends for their loss. Speaking of a fan of his work, I can say that he will definitely be missed.

Sal Buscema: 1936 to 2026

I was very sorry to hear that longtime comic book artist Sal Buscema had passed away on January 24th, just two days short of his 90th birthday. As I have written on several occasions on this blog, “Our Pal Sal,” as he was affectionately referred to by his fans, was one of my all-time favorite comic book creators.

Sal Buscema was born on January 26, 1936 in New York City. Sal was the younger brother of acclaimed comic book artist John Buscema. Enduring some harsh yet undoubtedly effective critiques from big brother John, Sal entered the comic book field in 1968, working for Marvel Comics, where he would remain for the majority of his career.

Buscema initially intended to focus on inking as his speciality, and among his earliest jobs was embellishing the pencils of his brother on the Silver Surfer series for several issues. However, Buscema soon transitioned into penciling, replacing his brother as the artist on Avengers in 1969. Avengers was undoubtedly a baptism of fire for Buscema, as it was a team book with multiple characters, requiring clear storytelling so that the action was not confused or cluttered. Buscema immediately rose to the occasion, turning in dynamic pages that were easy to read, a quality that would remain a hallmark of his for the entirety of his career.

Throughout the next three decades Buscema had lengthy runs on a number of Marvel titles, among them Captain America, Defenders, Incredible Hulk, Rom Spaceknight and Spectacular Spider-Man. Buscema was also called upon to provide fill-ins for numerous late books during the 1970s. Described as a workhorse, he never missed a deadline.

As I’ve previously recounted, it was via his work on Incredible Hulk that my seven-year-old self first discovered Buscema’s work in 1983, and I immediately became a fan. His pencils on Incredible Hulk #285 were powerful and dynamic, making a huge impression on my young mind.

I did not really get into comic books regularly until 1989, when I was 13 years old. By that point in time Buscema was doing full artwork, pencils & inks, on Spectacular Spider-Man. Paired up first with writer Gerry Conway and then with J.M. DeMatteis, Buscema did some of the very best work of his career on Spectacular, and it was a title that I followed regularly.

DeMatteis’ writing on Spectacular Spider-Man culminated in the epic issue #200 (May 1993) which saw the tragic death of Peter Parker’s longtime friend Harry Osborn at the end of the issue. DeMatteis was so impressed by the power of Buscema’s artwork & storytelling that he chose to have the two pages appear completely dialogue-free, allowing Buscema’s pictures to carry the emotional scene all on their own. I cannot think of a greater testament to Buscema’s work than that.

As the 1990s rolled around, I frequently attended comic cons, and I was able to pick up a lot of Buscema’s earlier work on Captain America and Rom Spaceknight, two other titles on which he had excelled.

After the comic book market crashed in the mid-1990s and Marvel filed for bankruptcy, Buscema went to work for DC Comics for a few years, working on a variety of titles there. On some he was providing layouts for up-and-coming artists, on others he was doing inking, and on a few stories he did full artwork. The jobs where Buscema got to illustrate Batman were, in my opinion, especially good. One of my favorites was “The Prison” in The Batman Chronicles #8 (Spring 1997) which was penciled by Buscema and written & inked by John Stanisci.

Entering the 21st Century, Buscema mostly retired from penciling, concentrating mostly on inking. He was paired with penciler Ron Frenz on a lengthy run of Spider-Girl at Marvel, among other projects.

Buscema also worked frequently with artist Guy Dorian Sr. on a variety of books. These included a short return to Rom Spaceknight, which was now being published by IDW. The work of Dorian & Buscema on Rom for IDW was definitely of a high quality, and they made an effective art team. The two continued to work together right up until Buscema’s passing.

I was fortunate enough to meet Buscema on a couple of occasions. I used to have a few pages of artwork that he did, but I regrettably had to sell them years ago to pay the bills. But I am happy that I still have the two convention sketches that I obtained from him. One was of the Green Goblin, and it can be viewed in my Spider-Man sketches blog post. The other sketch is of Captain America, and it can be seen below.

As I’ve written before, for an extremely in-depth look at Sal Buscema’s career, I highly recommend picking up the excellent book Sal Buscema: Comics’ Fast & Furious Artist, written by Jim Amash & Eric Nolen-Weathington, from TwoMorrows Publishing. The print edition is unfortunately sold out, but it is still available digitally.

In a career that lasted nearly six decades, Sal Buscema produced a huge and, more important, highly impressive body of work. I regard him as one of the finest craftsmen in mainstream comic books. In certain respects he was underrated, as he was one of those good, solid, reliable artists who the industry was heavily dependent upon for many decades. I’ll always be a fan of his work.

Remembering Gil Gerard, TV’s Buck Rogers

“The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America’s deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William “Buck” Rogers, are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth… 500 years later.”

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a television series that was broadcast from September 20, 1979 to April 16, 1981. It was based on the Buck Rogers adventure newspaper strip, which in turn was adapted from the 1928 science fiction novella Armageddon 2419 A.D. written by Philip Francis Nowlan.

I was a bit too young to watch Buck Rogers in the 25th Century during its original broadcast run, but it was in reruns throughout the early 1980s, which is where my young self caught it. A few years back I re-watched the majority of the episodes, and I have to say, despite a certain campiness and a heavy disco aesthetic, it still holds up, with several episodes having quality writing.

I’m of the firm opinion that a major reason why Buck Rogers in the 25th Century worked was due to its leading man, Gil Gerard, who sadly passed away on December 16th from cancer. Gerard’s death prompted me to reflect on his work on the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century series.

In the television series, Buck Rogers returns to a post-apocalyptic Earth after five centuries in suspended animation. A man very much out of his time, Buck was invested with a certain somber gravitas. Gerard was at times called upon to play scenes in which Buck reflected upon his state of being, and he really pulled off the serious contemplation of a man who now found himself in this strange new world, with everyone and everything he knew long dead & buried.

But the show certainly wasn’t all doom & gloom. Buck was possessed of a wry sense of humor, and Gerard really played that aspect of the character well, too, giving his character a winning smile and a twinkle of the eye.

In other words, Gerard portrayed Buck with just the right balance of seriousness and humor. It was a winning combination, making him a charismatic action hero who you wanted to root for.

Gerard also had a definite chemistry with his co-star Erin Gray, who portrayed the tough-as-nails Colonel Wilma Deering. The show portrayed Buck and Wilma as more than friends but not quite lovers, and Gerard and Gray played their scenes together really well. They made a fantastic team.

Looking back at Gerard’s work on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, I feel it’s a bit of a shame that he did not have a bigger career. I think he was a much better actor than some might have given him credit for. Still, he was an iconic sci-fi hero for a generation, which isn’t anything to laugh at. Gerard will definitely be missed.

Terence Stamp: 1938 to 2025

British actor Terence Stamp passed away on August 17th. He was 87 years old. Stamp had a prolific, acclaimed career in film beginning in the early 1960s. Although, like most of my generation (I was born in 1976), I was really much more familiar with his later work.

Stamp’s early career in the 1960s saw him as a leading man, though by the end of the decade work had unexpectedly dried up. Dispirited, he traveled the world for the time, eventually landing in India, where he spent several years. It was there in 1976 that he received a telegram that he described as a life-changing experience. It was an offer to play the role of the villainous General Zod in the first two Superman movies, directed by Richard Donner.

As a longtime superhero fan, I have often had mixed feelings about Superman and Superman II. But I definitely regard Stamp’s portrayal of the authoritarian Zod as one of the highlights of those two ambitious yet flawed movies. I’ve always regarded Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor as just too slight & comedic to truly be a threat to Christopher Reeve’s Superman. In contrast, Stamp’s Zod, with his icy stare, deep voice & commanding presence, was a truly menacing figure.

Prior to the first two Superman movies, General Zod had been a minor figure in the comic books. It was Stamp’s portrayal of Zod that made the villain a cultural icon, and it’s not at all surprising that the comic book version was eventually revamped to match his cinematic counterpart.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2015, Stamp reflected on the revitalization of his career courtesy of the Superman movies:

“During that time away from the screen, I had transmuted myself. I no longer saw myself as a leading man. What had happened inside of me enabled me to take the role, and not feel embarrassed or depressed about playing the villain. I just decided I was a character actor now and I can do anything.”

Following on from Superman and Superman II, Stamp would work regularly for the next four decades.

Among the later roles in Stamp’s career, a few stand out for me. In 1994 he portrayed sardonic middle aged transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger in Stephan Elliott’s road comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It was a role that Stamp was initially hesitant to accept. As he explained in 2013:

“I was incredibly frightened about it – it’s not anything I have ever done, but I happened to be having an afternoon tea with a fellow actress who was a very wise woman, and she was flicking through my script and told me to do it. She said this isn’t a career move, it’s a growth move.”

In 1999 Stamp appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as Chancellor Valorum. Now, unlike some people, I actually enjoyed the Star Wars prequels. However, I do have a few criticisms of them, and one of my main ones concerns Valorum. The character really has nothing to do, and Stamp is wasted in the role. I found it mystifying that George Lucas would cast an actor of Stamp’s stature & gravitas in such a minor part. Whatever the case, Stamp did not enjoy working with Lucas, and described the whole experience as “boring.”

Fortunately for Stamp, he appeared in a much better role in that same year. In Steven Soderbergh’s crime drama The Limey, Stamp portrayed Wilson, a working class English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to investigate the mysterious death of his daughter. Stamp invested Wilson with intensity & menace, yet also gave the character a somber, introspective side. It’s one of my favorite performances by the actor, and The Limey is generally regarded as one of the best movies of his career.

Stamp continued to work until 2021. His final film was Last Night in Soho, directed by Edgar Wright. In a tribute to Stamp, Wright stated on Instagram:

“Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back.”

Jim Shooter: 1951 to 2025

Longtime comic book writer & editor Jim Shooter passed away on June 30th. He was 73 years old.

Shooter’s career in comic books began in 1965, when he was all of 13 years old. He came from an impoverished background, and entered the field to help supplement his family’s meager income. Shooter submitted, unsolicited, stories to DC Comics editor Mort Weisinger for the “Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes” feature in Adventure Comics. Weisinger purchased a number of stories from Shooter, initially being unaware of just how young his new writer actually was!

One of the strengths that Shooter brought with him, in addition to his fertile imagination, was that he knew how real teenagers think and act. He helped bring a certain authenticity to the super-powered teens of the 30th Century. Shooter also created numerous characters & concepts that became long-running mainstays of the Legion series.

After graduating from college, Shooter went into advertising for a short period of time. However, he returned to the comic book field in the mid-1970s. Shooter initially returned to the Legion of Super-Heroes, who now had their own title; however as he would later explained did not have a good working relationship with then-editor Murray Boltinoff, and so in 1975 accepted an offer from Marvel Comics for a position as an editor.

By 1978 Shooter had become Marvel’s editor-in-chief, a role he would keep until 1987. Shooter’s nearly decade-long tenure as editor-in-chief would prove to be both triumphant and tumultuous.

Throughout the 1970s there had been several people in the editor-in-chief role, and as such Shooter’s lengthy tenure brought a much-needed stability to the company. In addition, while Marvel in the 1970s had witnessed a blossoming of unconventional creativity, it had also seen a plague of blown deadlines, late books & unscheduled reprints. Shooter, with his firm, some would say uncompromising, management style, managed to, if you’ll excuse the expression, get the trains running on time.

Several acclaimed, bestselling titles were published by Marvel during Shooter’s tenure as editor-in-chief. X-Men by Chris Claremont & John Byrne, Fantastic Four by Byrne, Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson and Thor by Walter Simonson immediately come to mind as highlights from the first half of the 1980s.

Significantly, Shooter helped implement pay raises, benefits and royalties for Marvel’s freelancers. Shooter also helped to launch Marvel’s Epic line which, overseen by Archie Goodwin, published a number of well-regarded creator-owned series.

However, due to his uncompromising view of precisely how comic books should be produced, Shooter also managed to alienate a number of creators during his tenure. He was widely considered to be an inflexible micromanager.

It’s sometimes commented that Shooter’s management style was learned via his own experiences working for DC’s Mort Weisinger, a man who ruled his editorial fiefdom with an iron first and who was infamous for the verbal & emotional abuse that he rained down on his freelancers. Shooter himself was reported to have commented on more than one occasion that if you thought he was a difficult boss, well, you should have seen what it was like to work for someone like Weisinger.

During his time at Marvel, Shooter did some writing. He had a well-regarded run on Avengers in the late 1970s, for much of which he was teamed with burgeoning superstar artist George Perez. And in 1984 Shooter wrote the 12 issue limited series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, which saw the mysterious godlike Beyonder transport a group of Earth’s heroes and villains to the alien “Battleworld” for an epic fight to the death. Secret Wars was drawn by Mike Zeck, John Beatty & Bob Layton.

Despite the success that Marvel experienced during the first several years of Shooter’s tenute as editor-in-chief, by the mid-1980s the wheels were starting to come off the bus. His initiative to create the New Universe imprint of books was widely seen as a failure, and his Secret Wars II sequel crossover, although it sold well, was regarded as but a pale shadow of the first, more successful limited series.

Shooter was fired from Marvel in April 1987.

Bouncing back from this setback, after a failed attempt to purchase Marvel, in 1989 Shooter helped to form Valiant Comics. Soon after licensing the Gold Key characters Magnus, Robot Fighter and Solar, Man of the Atom, Shooter and his collaborators used these two as the basis for launching an ambitious superhero universe that saw the introduction of original characters such as Eternal Warrior, Shadowman and X-O Manowar.

Many of the early Valiant superhero books were highly entertaining and well-crafted. Unfortunately, by late 1992 Shooter was ousted from the company that he had helped to bring to such lofty heights in such a short time.

Undaunted, Shooter founded Defiant Comics in 1993. Although Defiant showed promise, it was quickly hit by a nuisance lawsuit from Marvel which drained it of valuable capital, and the company folded after a little more than a year. Shooter then founded Broadway Comics in 1995, but that company, too, only lasted a short time.

For the rest of his career Shooter would work as a freelancer. Most notably, in 2007 he returned to Legion of Super-Heroes for an ambitious storyline, although disappointingly he was fired by DC Comics before he could bring it to its conclusion. In 2009 Shooter returned to the Gold Key characters of Magnus and Doctor Solar, as well as Turok, who all were now being licensed by Dark Horse Comics.

If there’s one word that I’ve seen used to describe Shooter in the obituaries & remembrances published over the past week, it’s this one: complex. From my position as a reader, a fan with an interest in the history of the medium & industry, that feels entirely accurate. Shooter was a complex person, a very talented individual who accomplished some great things, but who also had some rather serious failings. But I suppose that’s true of a great many of us, that we are complex, flawed individuals.

I was fortunate enough to meet Shooter on a few occasions over the years when he was a guest at conventions. Each time he came across as somewhat formal but nevertheless polite & engaging. From other posts on social media, I’ve seen that he was indeed one of those creators who made time for his fans. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to meet him, and to let him know that I enjoyed his work.

Peter David: 1956 to 2025

Longtime comic book writer Peter David passed away on May 24th after a lengthy illness. He was 68 years old. I was definitely a fan of his work, and was very sorry to hear of his death. I wanted to put together a short tribute to David and his work.

David entered comic books via the direct sales side of the business, but he always had an interest in writing. One of his earliest assignments was on Incredible Hulk. As he explained in an interview several years ago, he became the writer of the series through an unusual set of circumstances:

“[Marvel editor] Bob Harras couldn’t find anyone else to write it. That is literally accurate. At the time there was some hostility toward my writing from the editorial department because I worked in direct sales, and they felt that someone in direct sales had no business being involved in the creative side.”

David’s first issue of Incredible Hulk was #328 in late 1986, and he became the series regular writer with issue #331 in early 1987. He remained on the series for 12 years, with his last issue, #467, coming out in mid-1998. During that decade-plus run, David completely revitalized the series. He took the subplot that Bill Mantlo had previous established of Bruce Banner being the victim of childhood abuse and delved deeply into the psychology of the Hulk, revealing that the character suffered from multiple personality disorder, explaining the character’s various unstable iterations, ultimately merging all of the Hulk’s aspects into a single being.

During his run on Incredible Hulk, David worked with several very talented artists. Among them were Todd McFarlane, Jeff Purves, Dale Keown, Gary Frank, Liam Sharp, Angel Medina, Mike Deodato Jr. and Adam Kubert.

David actually intended to remain on Incredible Hulk much longer, but as his run had progressed, he came to experience greater and greater levels of editorial interference, and he reluctantly departed from the title.

Although Incredible Hulk was one of the cornerstones of David’s career, it was certainly not his only milestone. At Marvel Comics he also revamped X-Factor with a brand-new line-up of characters, and with penciler Rick Leonardi he created Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the future in the pages of Spider-Man 2099.

Over at DC Comics, David applied his touch to another moribund character. Working with pencilers Marty Egeland and Jim Calafiore, he successfully updated Aquaman for the 1990s, giving the character long hair & a beard and replacing his left hand with a harpoon. Some longtime fans derided these changes, but the fact is that for the first time in many years Aquaman became a must-read series. It was one that I definitely enjoyed. David also had long, successful runs of Supergirl and Young Justice at DC.

David’s writing style was very distinctive. He could tell stories that were poignant & tragic, that delved deeply into the psychology of his characters. Yet he was also possessed of a very strong sense of humor, and there was a comedic element that ran through all of his works.

David’s humor really came to the forefront with Soulsearchers and Company, published by Claypool Comics. Running for 82 bi-montly issues from 1993 to 2007, Soulsearchers and Company was set in Mystic Grove, Connecticut, aka “Fear City,” and featured the misadventures of a ragtag group of supernatural investigators. David co-plotted the series with editor Richard Howell, and a succession of talented artists worked on the series, among them Amanda Conner, Dave Cockrum, Al Bigley, Gordon Purcell, and Joe Staton. Conner, paired with inker Steve Leialoha, drew all 82 covers for the series.

I definitely feel that Soulsearchers and Company is something of an undiscovered gem, one that allowed David to really stretch his comedic sensibilities and turn in some genuinely hysterical stories. If you’re a fan of David’s work and have never read Soulsearchers and Company, I strongly urge you to seek out the series.

David was also closely associated with the Star Trek franchise, working on the comic book series from DC Comics, as well as writing several novels. I always enjoyed David’s contributions to the Star Trek mythos. One of his most noteworthy novels for the franchise was The Next Generation novel Vendetta, which was published in 1991. Vendetta pitted the Borg against the planet-killing weapon from the original series “The Doomsday Machine.”

At the time that Vendetta came out, it was subject to a certain amount of controversy, as it featured a female member of the Borg, something that Star Trek continuity cop Richard Arnold, (a longtime thorn in David’s side) argued was impossible, because supposedly there were no female Borg. This was just a few years before the introduction of Seven of Nine and the Borg Queen, so history would prove David to be correct after all.

David was also involved with Babylon 5, writing two episodes of the television series, novelizing two more episodes, and writing the canonical sequel trilogy Legions of Fire from an outline provided by B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.

I was fortunate enough to meet Peter David on a few occasions at comic book conventions and store signings. He was one of those creators who always seemed to make time for his many fans. It’s a real tragedy that he experienced so much medical & financial hardship in his final years. He will definitely be missed.

Doctor Who writer David A. McIntee: 1968 to 2024

British science fiction writer David A. McIntee passed away on December 15th at the much too young age of 55. McIntee was a frequent contributor to the Doctor Who range of novels, publishing 12 books between 1993 and 2004.

McIntee was a longtime sci-fi fan. As he told the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers in 2022:

“I honestly couldn’t choose between Doctor Who and Star Trek. They’re totally on equal footing. They’re the shows — the permanent background — that I grew up with and was so influenced by.”

McIntee’s first Doctor Who novel was White Darkness, which was based on an unproduced story he had submitted to the TV show a few years earlier. Set in Haiti during the First World War, White Darkness brought elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror stories into the Doctor Who universe.

Three of McIntee’s Doctor Who novels – First Frontier (1994), The Dark Path (1997), and The Face of the Enemy (1998) – featured the Doctor’s arch nemesis the Master. Interviewed in 2008 by Unreality SF, McIntee explained his interest in the Doctor’s adversary:

“He’s just cool! Also, villains are more interesting to write – you can mess around and make a villain do something good or likeable without ruining him (because the audience will wonder what he’s up to, or whatever) – whereas you can’t have a hero do random evil without fundamentally changing him and the audience’s view of him.”

McIntee also wrote two Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish, Excelis Rising (2002) starring Colin Baker & Anthony Stewart Head and Unregenerate! (2005) starring Sylvester McCoy & Bonnie Langford.

In addition to his work on the Doctor Who universe, McIntee penned the Space: 1999 novel Born for Adversity (2010) and the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Indistinguishable From Magic (2011). He also wrote several non-fiction books about various science fiction properties.

I enjoyed McIntee’s work on the Doctor Who range. When the news of his passing came out earlier this week, a number of individuals who knew him, either through his writing or personally, expressed their sadness at his death. It is clear that he was well-regarded, both as a writer and as a person.

Brian Postman: 1958 to 2024

Comic book artist Brian Postman passed away on May 9th at the age 65. Postman had a brief career in mainstream comics in the early 1980s, penciling a handful of jobs for Marvel Comics, most notably Captain America Annual #7 (1983), Spider-Woman #47 to #50 (Dec 1982 to June 1983) and Marvel Team-Up #139 featuring Spider-Man and Nick Fury (March 1984).

Postman’s work was not flashy, but he had a good, solid style and a clear sense of storytelling to his pencils, and paired up with a quality inker his work was effective. Regrettably, he appears to have had trouble making a living in comic books, and following his brief stint at Marvel he went into storyboarding for a number of years.

As I understand it, later in life Postman did return to comics, drawing horror stories for a number of small independent publishers. It was apparent that even though he was unable to forge a career in the industry, he still loved the medium of comic books, and would return to it in whatever limited capacity he was able to.

Postman was active on social media, and he was available for commissions. Since he had penciled the last four issues of Spider-Woman, I realized he would be a good choice to do a drawing of Jessica Drew in my Avengers Assemble theme sketchbook. Brian really outdid himself, illustrating a dynamic rendition of Spider-Woman, and adding a couple of extra Avengers, namely the Hulk and Captain America, in the background. I had hoped to get another Avengers sketch from him, this time of Tigra, who appeared on the cover of Spider-Woman #49, but regrettably I never got around to asking him.

Postman came across as a good person who loved to draw. I didn’t want his passing to go unnoticed, which is why I decided to put together a brief tribute to the man. Here are a few examples of his artwork.

Captain America Annual #7 written by Peter Gillis, penciled by Brian Postman, inked by Kim DeMulder, lettered by Diana Albers and colored by Bob Sharen, published by Marvel Comics in 1983

Spider-Woman #49 cover penciled by Brian Postman and inked by Sam de la Rosa, published by Marvel Comics in April 1983

Marvel Team-Up #139, written by Cary Burkett, penciled by Brian Postman, inked by Mike Esposito, lettered by Diana Albers and colored by George Roussos, published by Marvel Comics in March 1984

M.D. Bright: 1955 to 2024

I wanted to post a few brief thoughts concerning comic book artist Mark Bright, also known as M.D. Bright, who passed away on March 27th.

Bright entered the comic book industry in the late 1970s. He worked on a variety of series in the first half of the 1980s, most notably the Falcon miniseries written by Jim Owsley that was published by Marvel in 1983. Bright and Owsley would work together again during the final year of Power Man and Iron Fist in 1985, and would reunite periodically throughout the next two decades.

Iron Man #225 cover penciled by M.D. Mright and inked by Bob Layton, published by Marvel Comics in December 1987

Bright became the regular penciler on Iron Man at Marvel beginning with issue #200 in late 1985. He remained on the series for two and a half years. During his stint on the book, the acclaimed team of co-plotter & scripter David Michelinie and co-plotter & inker Bob Layton, who had previously revolutionized Iron Man in the late 1970s, returned to the series. Michelinie, Layton & Bright worked together on the now-classic “Armor Wars” storyline that ran in issues #225 to #231, which saw an increasingly-fanatical Tony Stark going rogue and attempting to destroy all traces of his armor technology. During his Iron Man run, Bright penciled the Spider-Man vs. Wolverine special written by Owsley.

In 1988 Bright became the artist on the Hawkeye feature in the Solo Avengers split book. He also began working for DC Comics on a variety of assignments, among them the Green Lantern feature in Action Comics Weekly written by Owsley, while also penciling several issues of G.I. Joe for Marvel.

Action Comics Weekly #621 co-plotted & scripted by Jim Owsley, co-plotted & penciled by M.D. Bright, inked by Jose Marzan Jr., lettered by Albert DeGuzman and colored by Anthony Tollin, published by DC Comics in October 1988

In late 1989 DC published the six issue Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, a post-Crisis retelling of Hal Jordan’s origin. Emerald Dawn led into a new ongoing Green Lantern series, and Bright alternated with Pat Broderick and Joe Staton on penciling duties while also drawing the Emerald Dawn II miniseries.

In 1993 Bright became one of the creators to work at the Milestone Media imprint, where he penciled the Icon series written by Dwayne McDuffie. Bright was the artist on nearly every issue of the entire 42 issue run of Icon.

G.I. Joe #92 written by Larry Hama, penciled by M.D. Bright, inked by Randy Emberlin, lettered by Rick Parker and colored by Bob Sharen, published by Marvel Comics in November 1989

Owsley, now known as Christopher Priest, once again teamed up with Bright in 1997, this time at Acclaim / Valiant Comics, on the superhero buddy comedy Quantum and Woody. Although it was plagued by sales problems, suffering both a year-long hiatus and then cancellation, Quantum and Woody was nevertheless well received, becoming something of a beloved cult classic. Bright would also draw several issues of Priest’s very well-regarded Black Panther run published under the Marvel Knights imprint.

One of Bright’s last jobs in comic books was Bill Jemas’ ill-fated six-issue satiric Marville miniseries. Following this, Bright moved into storyboarding, working on commercials, television and movies.

Quantum and Woody #1, co-plotted & scripted by Christopher Priest, co-plotted & penciled by M.D. Bright, inked by Greg Adams, lettered by Dave Lanphear & Comicraft and colored by Atomic Paintbrush, published by Acclaim / Valiant Comics in June 1997

I always considered Bright to be one of those good, solid, professional artists who make up the backbone of the comic book industry. He had a clear style, effective storytelling, and could always be counted on to meet a deadline. I found his depictions of Iron Man, the Falcon, Hawkeye, the G.I. Joe team and the Green Lantern Corps to all be appealing.

I never read Icon, since as I’ve previously recounted I unfortunately passed on the majority of the Milestone titles when I was in high school. I did read a few issues of Quantum and Woody, but I never really got into it. Nevertheless I recognize that both those series were beloved by their audiences, and I imagine Bright’s quality work played a role in that. He will definitely be missed.

Jose Delbo: 1933 to 2024

Argentine-born comic book artist Jose Delbo passed away on February 5th at the age of 90. While I would not say that I was a huge fan of his work, I nevertheless regarded him as a good, solid, underrated artist, one of the individuals who formed the backbone of the American comic book industry for decades. Therefore, I wanted to put together a brief tribute to the man and his work.

Billy the Kid #58, written by Joe Gill, penciled & inked by Jose Delbo and lettered by Ray Burzon, published by Charlton Comics in November 1966

Delbo’s earliest professional work was for various Westerns published by Charlton Comics in the mid-1960s, including a lengthy run on Billy the Kid that commenced with issue #57 in September 1966. This was soon followed by TV tie-in books for Dell. A prolific artist, Delbo worked regularly for both publishers throughout the second half of the 1960s and into the 1970s. Delbo also drew several issues of Turok, Son of Stone for Western during the 1970s.

Update: For an extended look at Delbo’s work on the Billy the Kid series please check out Jose Delbo and Billy the Kid’s Long, Dusty Trail on the Who’s Out There blog.

In 1969 Delbo began receiving work with DC Comics on their supernatural anthology series The Witching Hour. Further assignments from DC came in the early 1970s.

Wonder Woman #253 cover penciled by Jose Delbo and inked by Dick Giordano, published by DC Comics in March 1979

Delbo became the penciler on Wonder Woman at DC with issue #222, cover-dated Feb-March 1976. He had an almost-uninterrupted run on the series for the next six years, with his final issue being #286, cover-dated Dec 1981. Many, myself included, consider Delbo to be the definitive Wonder Woman artist of the Bronze Age of comic books.

Delbo penciled the Batgirl back-up series in Detective Comics during the early 1980s. On several of these installments he was paired with inker Joe Giella. Delbo’s solid storytelling and ability to draw beautiful women combined with Giella’s slick ink line made these back-up stories visually appealing.

Detective Comics #493 written by Cary Burkett, penciled by Jose Delbo, inked by Joe Giella, lettered by Todd Klein and colored by Adrienne Roy, published by DC Comics in August 1980

Delbo remained at DC until the mid-1980, following which he found work at Marvel Comics. There he was assigned various animated tie-in series such as Thundercats, Inhumanoids, Heathcliff, Madballs and, most especially, Transformers.

On that last series Delbo really rose to the occasion, as the assignment required him to often render dozens of different Transformers in both the robot and vehicle modes, and to depict clear action sequences with all of these complex figures. I really think Delbo’s work on the Transformers comic book is an especially underrated part of his lengthy career.

Transformers #42 written by Bob Budiansky, pencil breakdowns by Jose Delbo, finishes by Dave Hunt & Don Hudson, letters by Bill Oakley and colors by Net Yomtov, published by Marvel Comics in July 1988

In 1991 Delbo was also given the assignment to pencil the rather ludicrous Marvel series NFL SuperPro, a job that he nevertheless approached with his usual professionalism. At Marvel he also drew the four issue miniseries Brute Force written by Simon Furman which featured a team of armored anthropomorphic animals fighting to preserve the environment.

During the 1990s Delbo did work for Valiant Comics and Tekno Comics / Big Entertainment. At the later publisher the pairing of George Perez on layouts and Delbo on finished pencils took place in the pages of I-BOTS #3 (Jan 1996). I found that to be an interesting collaboration, as it saw the Wonder Woman artists of two eras working together. (I looked at I-BOTS, including Delbo’s contributions, in a previous blog post.)

Armorines #8 written by Rob Johnson, penciled by Jose Delbo, inked by John Dixon, lettered by Santiago Vazquez and colored by Erik Lusk & Sheree Boyd, published by Valiant Comics in February 1995

Delbo was an instructor at The Kubert School from 1990 until 2005. Following his passing, a number of his former students took to social media to share their fond memories of him as a teacher & mentor.

In the last years of his life Delbo was involved in the creation of NFT artwork. I honestly think NFTs are a scam, but considering Delbo was in his late 80s following a career as a freelancer, I do not begrudge him for taking the work, and I hope he made some decent money from the endeavor.

As I mentioned on a couple of occasions, I regard Jose Delbo as an underrated artist. Hopefully this blog post will help to shine some light on his lengthy, prolific career and the quality work he did throughout it.