JOHN BYRNE

Frank Cho: ‘PUCK’, early art. Click to view larger image.

The topic of art influences came up recently in one of my friend’s chats. I brought up John Byrne as one of my earliest and unlikeliest influences. Love him or hate him, John Byrne was a dominant art force for those who grew up in the 1980s, just like Neal Adams was a decade before. Everything John Byrne touched in the 1980s was gold, instant best seller. He was in an elite class of comic creators who can single-handedly move the needle of comic book success.

I was first exposed to John Byrne’s art when I was in the 5th grade and I was instantly hooked, like many comic readers of my generation. There was something organic, shiny, hyper-detailed and fun about his artwork. I came on the John Byrne wagon a little late. I completely missed his incredible run on Uncanny X-Men with Terry Austin. I came onboard during his stellar Fantastic Four run few years later. My very first comic book I bought with my own money was Fantastic Four #250 where the Skrulls disguised as X-Men battled the Fantastic Four. I could still remember vividly when the Thing punched the bus off of himself. I thought John Byrne’s Fantastic Four run at times rivaled Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s legendary run.

Although my art is very classical and sensual in style now, when I was a kid first exposed to comics, Byrne was a heavy influence on me. Here’s my childhood art from 6th grade, when I was devouring all things John Byrne, especially his Alpha Flight and Fantastic Four comics. Like all budding artists, I imitated artists I really admired and loved. As I was exposed to more and more comic book artists I appreciated – Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, John Buscema, Don Newton, etc, I pulled their influences into my art. Eventually as I matured as an artist, all the styles blended together and my own style grew out of that stew.

And somewhere in that mixture, there’s a little bit of John Byrne.

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FRANK CHO

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