John Byrne

John Byrne is a British author of cartoons born with Walsall close to West Bromwich (England) the July 6th 1950. Its career in the world of the Comic S led it to take in hand most popular Super-héros of the publications Marvel Comics or cd. Comics, like creating its own characters.

Biography

From the United Kingdom in Canada

Born in the United Kingdom in 1950, John Byrne follows his family in 1958 when it leaves to settle with the Canada. It continues studies with the Alberta College off Art of Calgary to the beginning of the year 1970 but, dissatisfied of teaching, it gives up it later two years.

In 1975, John Byrne begins his career from draftsman for Charlton Comics with the series Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch .

The Marvel years

Very quickly, Marvel Comics engages it in 1976, to work on Iron Fist with Chris Claremont as well as other series like the Champions or Marvel TEAM-Up . Thus one entrusts to him the drawing of the X-men new grinding, always with Claremont. This series will become one of popular of the time and the duet Byrne/Claremont functions very well: each one brings its ideas to the scenario, the choice of the characters and the intrigue. Thus, for the saga of the Black Phoenix, while Claremont with the idea of the Club of Damnés , Byrne invents the character of “Jason Wyngarde” (the Brain).

The influence of Byrne is large on the level of the adventures of X-Men. If Serval is a Canadian superhéros and that the team of X-Men is sent in this country for several episodes vis-a-vis Division Alpha, it is surely because Byrne wishes that its country play a part in the adventures of its heroes.

During several years, the two men connect the adventures of the team of the mutants with talent. Byrne is then recognized by the fans and the profession like one of the best draftsmen of its generation. Others superhéros are drawn or even scenarized by Byrne after the X-Men : the Avengers , Captain America , Division Fantastic Alpha and especially Four that it will follow during six years and that it will carry out, for much, on the same level of quality as the X-Men .

Of cd. with Dark Horse

In 1986, John Byrne cannot refuse a unique opportunity for a draftsman of comics: cd. Comics proposes to him to take in hand Superman! It thus leaves Marvel and is harnessed with the task. Its work lasts two years and makes it possible cd. Comics to reconquer the public of Superman and to give it to the last style.

With the beginning of the year 1990, John Byrne joined Dark Horse, a company much less important than Marvel or cd. but which promises to him to leave free course to its imagination. It can assemble of all parts the series which are due to him in Ainsi heart is born Next Men then Danger Unlimited and finally Babe. The sales of its series are decreasing, the public adhering less and less to the choices of the author.

Return to Marvel

Byrne thus begins again in hand Wonder Woman for the account of cd. but after a few years far from Marvel this one proposes a challenge impossible to him to refuse: Spider-Man, the hero emblematic of the house! However, this time is not such a great success on the level of the sales and the level of the reception of the public only for Superman. One reproaches the author for too much calling into question the past of the man spider in the series Spider-Man: Chapter One .

It should be waited until 1999 so that Byrne finds the heroes who revealed it with the public: it signs the series “X-Men: The Hidden Years”. These adventures are located between the end of the first series and the beginning of new X-Men. Success is again with go and makes it possible Byrne to work two years on the series. Much more at ease with these well-known characters, Byrne takes freedoms on the level style and takes as a starting point Neal Adams to replace the rectangular boxes by boxes of all the forms.

Dissensions with Marvel (the sales are blown and the choices scenaristic of Byrne are called into question by the direction) however oblige Byrne has to leave and the series stops. It should be said that X-Men became a very important frankness for Marvel and the derived series multiply. The first adaptation of X-Men to the cinema is a success. That pushes Marvel to vacuum-clean its publications to benefit from the new potential public.

More recently

Cd. Comics thus accommodates once again the author to take again “Superman/Batman: Generations” and to work on other projects such as JLA with his/her former companion Chris Claremont, another legend of the comics, The Demon , Doom Patrol , Action Comics ,…

Discusses

If Byrne is recognized in a quasi unanimous way for its work on X-Men and Fantastic Four (which is regularly republished besides), it is disputed and often disavowed for many its other resumptions of characters. Having been greeted to have ressuscity Fantastic Furnace then Superman, it forged a reputation of scenario writer able to make reappear a series. But its two short passages on Hulk, its work on West Coast Avengers are hardly appreciated and were not republished. Spider-Man: Chapter One which rewrites the beginnings of Spider-Man was disavowed by the editor who does not mention origin rewritten by Byrne in the other series on the character. It had annoyed besides Kurt Busiek who had been very respectful to him original stories of Lee and Ditko in Untold Tales off Spider-Man. Its work more disputed, even if he is greeted by certain and often republishes, is its redefinition (with Marv Wolman) of Superman. Byrne erased the near total of the history of the character and in particular its past as Superboy. Even if Byrne admitted later that it was an error, its decision has affected the continuity of other series cd. (Legion off Super-Heroes in particular) and forced the authors has multiple revisions of continuity which muddled universe cd. whereas the goal of Crisis one Earths Infinity was to clarify it. Mark Waid, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison expressed the opinion that while seeking to get rid of many elements of last of Superman, one had also thrown what made the charm of it. Moreover the successive authors gradually brought back the character so that it was before Byrne does not take it in hand.

Principal series

Sources

  • http://www.byrnerobotics.com/: official site
  • a biography on Kingdom X-Men (version filed by Internet Files)

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