John Byrne was born on July 6, 1950. He’s the only celebrity I ever stalked. Actually, I just knew he lived in Brooklyn Heights and saw him enter a house on the street where I was working. I didn’t want to bother him so I just stared at him.
I think I creeped him out.
Anyway, I’ve celebrated him quite a bit on this site because the 1970s and 1980s Marvel is my favorite comic book era–and that’s when he was at the top of his powers.
But I’ve never done a Top 10 devoted to him.
Now’s the time.
MY TEN FAVORITE JOHN BYRNE COMIC BOOK RUNS OF ALL TIME!
10. Marvel Team Up (Marvel) (art only).
John Byrne illustrated some of the greatest issues ever of the Spider-Man team-up mag, many of which were written by Chris Claremont! Among these issues was #100, which featured the debut of Karma–the first lesbian, Asian mutant hero.
9. The Avengers #181-191 (Marvel) (art only).
This run featured some of my favorite issues of all time, including the epic two-parter against Grey Gargoyle.
The best part was getting to see Byrne draw so many major Marvel characters–relatively early in his career.
8. Alpha Flight (Marvel) (writer/artist).
John created Canada’s first superteam, and the early issues of this series were truly groundbreaking.
And the cover for #12, which featured a startling death of a major character, has been copied over and over again.
7. The Incredible Hulk #314-319 (Marvel) (writer/artist).
I’m pretty sure this run was the first time Hulk and Banner were separated.
6. Captain America #247-255 (Marvel) (art only).
Written by the great Roger Stern.
5. Hellboy: Seed of Destruction (Dark Horse) (writer only).
Yeah, the very first Hellboy comic was not written by Mike Mignola. That script was all John, baby. And it served as the basis for most of the first Hellboy movie–one of the best comic book movies of all time.
4. Man of Steel (DC) (writer/artist). In the 1980s, John Byrne single-handedly reinvented Superman and turned him into someone not only relevant but worthy of his heritage as the first superhero of all time.
3. The Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel) (writer/artist).
Nothing short of groundbreaking.
2. Uncanny X-Men (Marvel) (plotter/artist).
Byrne’s run with Claremont from #108-143 is what made the X-Men what they are today, and stands as possibly the best run in comics of all time. He’s definitely one of the best X-Men artists ever.
1. The Fantastic Four (Marvel) (writer/artist).
After a brief stint as just the artist for Marv Wolfman, Byrne took this series to heights it hadn’t reached since the days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Buy the omnibus, or find some other way to read #232-293, if you want to read some of the best comics of all time. I’ve written a ton about the Fantastic Four, so if you want to know what you’re missing, check out the posts on those issues.
Especially this one.