Product Description: The next volume of the Modern Masters series celebrates the life and work of one of todayÂ’s top artists, John Byrne! From the death of Phoenix to the rebirth of Superman, Byrne is one of the most influential comic book artists working in the business. On the X-Men, he penciled the greatest stories in the history of the title and helped propel the X-Men to their current household-name status. His work as writer and artist of Fantastic Four returned the group to prominence within the Marvel Universe. And his reboot of the Superman mythology brought national attention to the comic book industry. Modern Masters Volume 7: John Byrne features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare and unpublished art, as well as a large sketchbook section. Experience this look at his incredible body of work on such titles as Captain America, Alpha Flight, She-Hulk, Superman/Batman: Generations, and his creator-owned Next Men, and itÂ’s easy to see that John Byrne deserves the title Modern Master.
BEST... COMIC BOOK ARTIST... EVER!!! Modern Masters is a series of books that feature interviews and artwork from the greatest "masters" of comic book art. Volume 7 is dedicated to John Byrne. Now, when I was kid, there was nothing I loved more than comic books. I was a Marvel guy, and I especially liked Spider-Man. Then one day, for some reason, I picked up an issue of Iron Fist and I was compelled to buy it. It was issue #12 and had never read Iron Fist before, but he was fighting Captain America on the cover, and I loved a good super hero throw down, so I decided to give it a look. For some reason I bought it, there was something about that book that I liked, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it at the time. I later realized that what I loved so much about that comic wasn't the fight between Cap and Iron Fist... it was the ART! That was the first time that I ever really bothered to check and see who drew the comic book I was reading. That artist was, of course, John Byrne. After that I bought anything that Mr. Byrne drew... Marvel Team-Up, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Superman, etc., etc.. To me, anything that John Byrne touched, turned to gold. He was, and remains, arguably the greatest comic book artist of all time. Jack Kirby is a legend, but John Byrne was comic's first rock star. Everyone I knew that read comics, loved Byrne. One of the things that made him so great was that he was one of the first artists to draw every character the way they should be drawn as individuals. Most other artists (John Romita, John Buscema, etc.) seemed to have a "standard" body for all the characters they drew, so that Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and so on, all had the same height and build. But not Byrne. When he drew his characters each one had a distinct body type. For example, his Spider-Man was thin and agile looking, his Captain America was tall and muscular, his Daredevil was somewhere in between the two, etc. Basically the man changed the standard of comic art forever, and in a small way this book helps commemorate some of his contributions to the medium. So, if you are a fan of John Byrne, or a fan of great comic art, you will like this book. Buy it!!! It's not even that expensive. It's a great deal. Buy it now!
Byrned...and loving it! This book, like the others in this fine, fine series of paperbacks, is chock-full of excellent artwork, and there's an intriguing and informative interview with the writer/artist who has made his mark on such comic book stalwarts as Iron Fist, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Superman, the She-Hulk, and Wonder Woman, among many, many others. The Fantastic Four cover alone is worth the price of admission.
One of my Top 3 favorites in the series... Right now, the 2 best resources for Byrne information & insights are: his official Internet site, and this here MM interview.
This is incredibly well-done! So many memorable quotes & insights, I can hardly do it any justice. It's truly one-stop shopping on all things Byrne: his thoughts on his career, coworkers & other creators, editors, projects (why they did or didn't work and the behind-the-scenes info), favorite things in life, childhood, early career, present & future, and even on the creative process. *EVERYTHING* is touched on here, with various clips of artwork in black & white to support much of the material. Some Modern Masters volumes include color work; this is exclusively black & white: sometimes pencil; sometimes ink. It's nice that artwork is included in such a great amount: it truly adds detail to the words exchanged. A must-have interview for Byrne fans!
-A quick breakdown- -Part 1- covers his childhood up to his time in art school. -Part 2- breaking into the industry & his days at Marvel. My favorite! See also Alpha Flight Classic, Vol. 1 (Uncanny X-Men). And Incredible Hulk Visionaries - John Byrne. -Part 3- it's all about DC & Superman. Beginning with Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1. -Part 4- return to Marvel & then Independents, up to DC today. -Part 5- storytelling & the creative process. -Part 6- various John Byrne takes... -and finally, a 33-page black & white gallery of 100% art (since artwork is also displayed throughout the entire interview).
My other current favorites in the series include Modern Masters Volume 2: George Perez, and Modern Masters, Vol. 5: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Modern Masters). Yet they keep on releasing great interviews!
P.S. And be sure to check out The Art of John Byrne (Marvel Masters); it's highly recommended!
An Incredible Bargain This book is exactly what I'd hoped for... every single page is completely packed with John Byrne interviews (rather than others talking *about* John Byrne) and drawings. No ups, no extras. I'm sure a more expensive format would better showcase Byrne's artwork, but for me, this book is perfect. Now, bring on the Neal Adams version (as long as he's not allowed to talk about the planet swelling).
'Bout time. It's great to finally have another trade retrospective of John Byrne's work; the last was "The Art of John Byrne: Volume 1" back in the mythical year of 1980. For those of you who have become parents since then, you'll be happy to know that this new book is for all ages -- and what a book.
It's unfortunate that nowadays "fanboys" like to kick around artists/creators they deem uncool (that is, men who don't draw R-rated, semi-nude women and over-muscled grotesques), and Byrne has suffered his share of this negativity. Those coming upon his work for the first time in this book have every right to be puzzled by this as his work in the last few years (using the "full pencil" technique) is as stunning as anything he's ever done. Make sure you check for the pre-inked image of Superman carrying Lois Lane over the Great Wall of China at sunrise (or sunset?) for an example of this.
The interviews that comprise the book are candid, honest and engaging. Jon B. Cooke does a good job asking questions that lead to detailed answers. I could wax rhapsodic all day over the images as they comprise his entire career; it's a special kick seeing all these characters from Alpha Flight to the Next Men in the pages of book; it's a family reunion, of sorts.
My only complaint is the lack of any color galleries, but this is no way detracts from the book and it's cool enough that we do get a brand new color cover image of the Fantastic Four, a team Byrne wrote and drew in a now legendary run in the 1980s. Buy it, read it, enjoy it, re-read it, share it, then buy another copy; this is my favorite entry in the Modern Masters series so far.
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