Posted in: Avengers, Comics, Spider-Man, X-Men | Tagged: defenders, hulk, rip, rom, sal buscema

Sal Buscema, Co-Creator Of Rom & The Defenders Has Died, Aged 89

Sal Buscema, Marvel Comics co-creator of the world of Rom, The Defenders, Lady Deathstrike, Jean DeWolff and Starhawk has died at the age of 89

Comic book creator Sterling Clark just shared the news that comic book creator Sal Buscema, famed for his work on Hulk, Rom, Defenders, Spectacular Spider-Man, New Mutants and more, died last Friday at the age of 89, noting that today would have been his 90th birthday. He learned the news from his widow, Joanna Buscema, and posted the following to social media.

Wow.
I just received word today from Mrs. Joanna Buscema that Sal Buscema passed away last Friday.
He was 89.
Today, he would've turned 90.
When I think back on my childhood and all of the comic books that I read, Sal's name seems to have appeared in just about all of them. I didn't just read the books that he illustrated, I studied them.
Every nuance in his pencils and his inks I saw and tried to mimic. He was definitely one of the greats during those years at Marvel, when handling more than three titles a month was not just a requirement but a necessity. Sal's art had a direct impact on my own, along with his older brother John, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Romita Sr and Ron Frenz.
Ron, God bless him, was the person responsible for Sal and I meeting some time ago and for that I'll be forever grateful. Sal was a very nice, kind and generous person who I am happy to have known and who took note of my skills enough to mentor me. The wonderful conversations we had will always be cherished.
My condolences to his wife Joan, the Buscema family and to all of us fans who grew up with and love his amazing art.
I'll have more posts later.
– SC

Sal, or Silvio Buscema, was born on the 26th of January, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. Younger brother of comic book artist John Buscema, Sal began his comics career inking his brother's pages in the fifties, later working in advertising and government illustration before joining Marvel full-time in 1968, earning the Bullpen nickname "Our Pal Sal". He gained a reputation for speed under pressure, including drawing the Incredible Hulk for ten years between 1975 and 1985, when the TV show was running. He then drew an eight-year and a 100-issue run on The Spectacular Spider-Man through the eighties and nineties, as well as working on New Mutants, Captain America, The Defenders, Rom: Spaceknight, The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, and many others, often inking his own work. He also worked on Amazing Spider-Girl in the 2000s with writer Tom DeFalco. Over the years, he co-created characters including The Defenders, the world of Rom the Space Knight, Lady Deathstrike, Jean DeWolff, The U-Foers, Ursa Major, Diamondhead, Squadron Sinister, Valkyrie, Grandmaster, Hyperion, Starhawk, Sabra, Thunderball, and the Time Variance Authority. He won the Inkpot Award (2003), the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award (2013), and the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award from the Inkwell Awards in 2021. TwoMorrows published Sal Buscema: Comics' Fast & Furious Artist. In recent years, he returned to IDW's Rom universe, as well as The Heroes Union from Binge Books and The R.I.G.H.T. Project on Kickstarter.

Bleeding Cool's thoughts are with the friends and family of Sal Buscema, 1936-2026.

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