Comic Feud History: John Byrne and Joe Quesada?

[@brianervin7643]

I met John Byrne once. It was in Edmond, OK in 1994. I was a senior in high school, and I just happened to go into a comic store one Saturday afternoon, and there he was, sitting at a table, holding court. Apparently, he was friends with the owner, was passing through town for whatever reason, so he decided to bless this store with his presence. It was a great time, listening to him dish all this inside info on the comic industry, but it was also clear that Byrne himself was a bit of an egoist, and my experience with him is every bit consistent with what was said here. Don't get me wrong -- I love the guy. But, he's a megalomaniac.

[@richardturner302]

He,s JOHN BYRNE

[@keiljones2902]

Byrne Robotics, Byrne's message board, is like if Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now started a comic book message forum

[@davidrettenmaier3272]

Perch, did you know that Marvel DID offer work again to John Byrne? Byrne revealed that around 2009-2010 time period, Marvel Comics offered him a return to his Fantastic Four run. And Joe Quesada was still editor-in-chief at the time and must have green lit the book. It was when we were getting X-MEN FOREVER by Chris Claremont and Byrne's book would have been like that. Called FANTASTIC FOUR-EVER and Byrne could pick up right where he left off from his classic run which ended in 1986. Byrne even drew the splash page of the first issue. Byrne says he got excited, wrote out a year of plots, thought about it for a few days......and then came to his senses and told Marvel that NO, he would not return until Joe Quesada left Marvel (Or regime change, as JB calls it). So we almost got Byrne's return to FF if not for JQ.

[@ComicsPerch]

I had heard that, but I also heard fierce denial to Byrne’s account from Marvel, so I was hesitant to bring it up. I never could find my way to the truth of things...

[@panthergod]

..So Joe Quesada OFFERS HIM A JOB TO DO FF, but it's still his fault..? And HE insulted Quasada's dying Mother? Lmao.

[@LeveeCampVideo]

@@panthergod Quesada didn't offer him an FF job. One of the editors contacted Byrne and asked Byrne if he was opened to working with Marvel. Byrne said sure. That editor, not Quesada offered him a book like X-Men Forever, FF Forever. Byrne came up with a title and drew a splash page. The contract wasn't a good one, so Byrne declined. Byrne's issues with Quesada was he kept backtracking. Even when Byrne did a FF poster for Breast Cancer awareness. Quesada tried to kill it, then approved it a couple of days later with a press release.

[@albinothunderbuns1997]

We need more of these types of stories -- aspiring creators should know what the circus is like before they try to join. I've been around very creative people my whole life, I've been one my whole life, and I have no problem saying that on a good day most of us are weird. On a bad day, some are flat-out nuts. I've been scouting talent just over a year for my publishing company, and if any aspiring creators read this, here's some free advice: it's worth your time to research the people you think you want to work with. I've discovered stuff about some creators that I never would've believed if I didn't witness it for myself.

[@DialetoNerd]

Amazing video, more of this perch

[@tbone156]

John Byrne is one of my favorite artists/storytellers. I miss his work in Marvel. He is a legend to me.

[@reginaldforthright805]

Byrne one of the greatest ever. Quesada a pretender.

[@originalkmiller]

Byrne is one of my favorite artists, and a damn good writer. His message board was bizarre. He was able to take the nicest comment and misinterpret it, freak out, go on a tirade, and ban the person complimenting him. Just weird. But if you put him against today's creators, he doesn't seem that crazy anymore. Meaner, perhaps. But just barely.

[@andrewold3791]

Yeah, exactly. And there was a ratchet that only went in one direction. Anything good you said he expected, any time you said something like, "hey man, it's not really cool to cheer Steve Irwin's death" well that was it.

[@andrewold3791]

Yet, I'm nuts about the guy's work. It's awesome

[@IloveOtherPplsMsry]

One of my favorite John Byrne stories is when he thought editorial was out to get him, so to shit test them he turned in a Hulk book that was nothing but splash pages. If they rejected it, that was confirmation for him that they were. They did reject it.

[@KRhetor]

That story was later published in Marvel Fanfare (it's the one where Hammer and Anvil get offed by Scourge).

[@LeveeCampVideo]

It wasn't rejected. Byrne told Shooter everything he planned to do on the Hulk. Once Byrne got on the Hulk, Shooter was browbeating Denny O'Neil the entire time. Byrne sent in the All Splash Page issue and Denny O'Neil saying Byrne didn't tell O'Neil before he did it. So Denny didn't reject it, or else the artwork would have went back to Byrne. Denny shelved it. Byrne seeing how shell shocked Denny was, left the Hulk. Then once Byrne left, Shooter had no issue publishing the Issue in Marvel Fanfare... Only problem was that the sales bump the Hulk enjoying with Byrne, turned into a nose dive. Denny was deemed incompetent by Shooter and fired him later... Shooter said the same thing about Mike Carlin.

[@kevintanza6968]

Perch, I think you know by now that I do some work as a freelance writer and I have been fortunate enough of doing it in multiple industries, such as the music business, football (or soccer, as you Americans call it), Literature and obviously comics. And the comic book industry is the only one where I have seen a lot of crazy people. Hell, I write about heavy metal bands and a lot of them are not that crazy. I think it's due to the fact that the people into comics kinda fit into the stereotype of nerdy loners. I don't say that in an offensive manner as I kind of went through that myself when I was a kid. And I think they have spent most of their lives writing, drawing or reading, whether it's for pure enjoyment or to improve their craft. And you obviously don't develop a lot of social skills that way. So when they manage to work on Batman, Superman or the X-Men and have a taste of success they fail to understand and handle it in a proper manner. It always happens when they make it big in the industry. The closest that I have seen something similar is when soccer players join the big teams in Europe, make big money and develop big egos, but even then there is a high demand to perform and there is constant pressure to deliver, which keeps them a bit humble. I think Byrne is an absolute genius and along with Walt Simonson, Frank Miller, George Perez and Jack Kirby the best artist/writer in the industry, but he is definitely insane and has a huge ego. Insanity and ego a lot of times come together. And like I said, I think it's due to a lack of social skills because working as a writer or artist in comics involves a lot of time alone and I don't think that has a healthy impact on your mindset.

[@earlsmith7428]

Good thoughts Kevin. Never thought there were be more sane people in heavy metal bands than in comic books.

[@doommega]

THIS> GUY>KEVIN is TALKING!

[@reginaldforthright805]

Byrne is unquestionably a genius draughtsman, but sadly the others are not. Perez is a skilled journeyman. Miller is a decent scripter with an eye for layout, but drawing? - no. Simonson and Kirby are just bad, let’s be honest.

[@SamGuthrie1977]

Perch, Byrne's my favorite comic artist of all time, and one of my top writers. The thing is, I never wanted to meet him though. I'd heard all the stories, and they always tell you to never meet your heroes anyway. Plus, I'd seen how weird and unstable he is just by lurking on the Byrne Robotics forum back in the day. I really liked X-Men Hidden Years. I think his Next Men at Dark Horse is great and super underrated too. His Superman remains the definitive version in my mind. His Uncanny with Claremont along with his FF runs are, to me, the pinnacle of superhero comics. His Cap, Hulk, and Wonder Woman runs are really good too; I always felt like he "got" these characters better than almost anyone. And you've talked about his She-Hulk work too -- they're fun comics with great art. I even like stuff that no one else does, when his art kinda hit a low point in the late 90's -- like his Spider-Man and Superman/Batman Generations because the stories were still engaging and well-told. That said -- yeah, I think the dude is legit crazy. I mean, if you have a beef with someone, that's fine -- but you NEVER go after someone's family or make comments about someone's parents or kids. That's a garbage move. Although I do think Bendis would make an excellent camp councilor. Anything to get him to stop writing superhero comics. hahaha

[@PhillipCummingsUSA]

It is good to meet your heroes so that you realize that these people are merely human and nothing any more special than you are.

[@JP-hs6ii]

You would have been dreadfully disappointed if you did.

[@allieversaid]

SamGuthrie1977 I remember how I felt my first time n Hollywood. I asked Dad where? He said around you. This dump? I thought. Better off believing it was something else.

[@InfamyOrDeath-__-]

If I met him at a convention I’d go nuts with him, start shouting abuse just to set him off, that would be hilarious.

[@KRhetor]

I feel the exact same way. Byrne is both my favorite writer and favorite artist for the same reasons: the level of depth, realism and attention to detail is unsurpassed. Unfortunately, he's also further evidence of the correlation between genius and emotional instability.

[@danielreichstein1868]

This really cleared up so much! It seems to me that this is the case of a talented artist who burned too many bridges to come back. X-Men the Hidden Years was the first comic I ever collected, I reread it over the summer and it still holds up. Much like Steve Ditko, it’s hard to remove John Byrne’s contributions from Marvel’s history and the consequence is that we the fans notice his absence. Great video!

[@israelvaldez26]

I have never had the fortune or misfortune of meeting the man, but I can tell you that his work as a writer and artist has been some of the best in comics since I have been reading comics. Great and interesting video!

[@patbollin]

Thanks for the video. Very interesting and informative. On a side note: To want to work in comics in the first place takes a special kind of passion and/or obsession. You pour your mind, body, and soul into it for years before you might get lucky enough to meet the right people to get your foot in the door. Then the really hard work starts. You'll work 12, 14, maybe 16 hours a day alone at a desk/table to hold on to whatever projects get thrown your way while being paid enough to live in your mom's basement/garage OR have 6 roommates in a crappy apartment. All the while discovering that even though you are expected to be highly professional and timely, the people you deal with hardly ever act in a professional manor themselves (Don't get me wrong, I've met some great people in higher positions in comics, but there are a lot of shit heads too). I could go on, but isn't that enough? OF COURSE COMIC ARTISTS GO NUTS!!! I've known several incredibly talented people get used up by the industry for years, and end up leaving for a completely different career. Hell, the great MIke Wieringo had a heart attack at age 45 after writing on his blog for a a few years about how the industry, deadlines, etc were stressing him out beyond his limits. The industry needs an overhaul. Rant over.

[@Rometiklan]

When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of Byrne's. To this day, I can still see Byrne's influence on my own art. Back in the day, before the internet, I heard rumblings about Byrne's feuds with other creators like Kirby. Maybe Byrne wrote, penciled, inked, and lettered his own books because no one wanted to work with him. If I ran Marvel, I think I would hire him but I might instantly regret it. He's a loose cannon but he's a "high risk, high reward" kind of hire. You know sooner or later, he's going to feud with someone, but he would probably turn out some good books for me in the meantime.

[@LeveeCampVideo]

Byrne was not banned from Marvel. After the Hidden Years, Byrne was asked to do a couple of projects which he turned down. Byrne was also a freelancers so during Superman, Byrne worked on Star Brand. He never slithered back to Marvel, unless you think Kirby slithered back to Marvel too.

[@diegosez4285]

Actually,Kirby did after office politics,editorial control issues and poor sales figures soured him on DC. I was so excited for his return! And then.. I was not.

[@LeveeCampVideo]

@@diegosez4285 Kirby returned with a big contract to Marvel. That was why everyone in the Marvel office was upset that he was bulletproof from low sales and getting a new number 1s to write and edit (as per John Romita). Marvel didn't kick Kirby out in the 70s either. He left for animation and Marvel let him finish his contract with the Fantastic Four Storyboards and the Silver Surfer Graphic Novel. Marvel wanted to give Kirby a new contract, but the controversy of the 88 original art pages from the 50s and 60s came up. Kirby rightfully declined, fight to get those pages without having to sign a new release.

[@earlsmith7428]

Wish we had input like these on tv and soap opera writers and some of their stories. That would be interesting as well.

[@CFCMahomet]

Jim Shooter created a lot of tension within Marvel during his tenure, but that tension (like in a great rock band) created an amazing body of work during the 1980’s. Ultimately that tension could not be contained and it turned into division (like a great rock band). John Byrne may be banned from Marvel, but ultimately that has hurt Marvel more than it has helped. He would have been instrumental in both the work on the upcoming FF film and the She-Hulk series. He may be hard to work with, but he understands the characters.

[@comicjutsu]

Nice vid that answers several questions I've had about Byrne and Marvel. Thanks for posting.

[@1971thedoctor]

Great video, I didn’t even know about this feud. I liked X-men the hidden years, it was the book that made me look for older X books.

[@earlsmith7428]

Byrne always had his own take on the characters, which alienated his fellow writers. He came up with a way to bring back Jean Grey, when Claremont possibly had his plans for the character with/or Madelyn Pryor. He rewrote Superman's history, which possibly alienated some of the other Man of Steel writers who may not have felt the same way he did about some of the long established Kryptonian tropes. It's possibly he burned bridges with both companies.

[@goldenstatewarriors9418]

Byrne didnt come up with the way to bring back Jean Grey. Kurt Busiek had the idea for a long time for the Phoenix to be a separate entity than Jean Grey. They executed Busiek's idea to bring back Jean Grey to launch X-Factor with the original X-Men. Claremont was not happy about X-Factor, until they replaced Bob Layton with Louise Simonson, which calmed him down.

[@Red-Devil884]

Peter David DID what Byrne accussed him of. That is a fact, even David admited it on his blog, you can go over there and read it. The thing is that he didnt know it would cause the spoilers because he asked his editor if he could “promote” Byrne’s work in a meeting (not a convention)

[@SonofCapwolf]

Circa Alpha Flight, Peter David was only working at Marvel's for their sales and marketing department - that's how he supposedly got his hands on Alpha Flight.

[@derekselsvold4352]

John Byrne work from the '80s (1980's to make it clear for all the youngsters) was LEGENDARY! With the diversity of titles he worked on, and the creativity displayed, during that time period makes him that legend. There is a love/hate relationship with his work, but there is no denying that the man wasn't great.

[@Kmov830]

I think Cocrum was just bitchin' because Byrne got the lions share of the work and put the X-men on the map. This era of X-men stories, hands down is the best run on the comic bar none!!!! No other writer/artist team has done better work than Claremont and Byrne!

[@dougg1075]

I took notice of the dudes work in about 1978 or so when I was ten and living in a world of poverty . My older brother who was eight years older, had a bunch of comics and loved art, turned me on to him. Something in his art clicked in my young mind and I was completely hooked on his style. I basically only bought his stuff and John Buscema’s. Im an artist today because of him. I’m a little disappointed of him as a person and the way he relishes his hand chosen yes men fans. At one time he was very special.

[@vasp99]

Did that purge account for the cancelation of Byrnes First Line series because I was fascinated by that one.

[@sethkumar3037]

Byrne is a particularly prickly fellow with many having had issue over time.

[@sethkumar3037]

My father loved Cochran's work

[@thegamersgalaxy2855]

Should be a book release: Byrned Bridges: The John Byrne story!

[@BradRedacted]

You neglected to mention that Byrne returned to marvel in 88-89ish, he didn’t just return in the late 90s. John had a namor run in the 90s along with a short stint writing x-men again.

[@lloydgreen980]

John Byrne was one of the best artist I seen at Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse and inspire mE as a creator and artist in my early years. I wish him the best.

[@____2080_____]

John Byrne back then, during his heyday and as his work has stood the test of time… Is one of the top artists the medium has ever had. Full stop!

[@____2080_____]

Joe Quesada. Who?

[@____2080_____]

I wouldn’t put it past the boys at Marvel that they’re turning Galactus into a whipping boy is something they’re doing to get back at the once golden boy artist of the industry

[@davidmullen6011]

Looking back on his fabulous career it is clear that something around the time of 1989 changed him drastically, the ambition wasn't there as he entered the 1990s, after all those huge successes and choice books of the 1980s he deliberately moved away to second or third tier characters like Namor, OMAC, She-Hulk, and his own Next Men. And while he did these extremely well (they have stood the test of time!) it was always puzzling to me that when the Liefeld/Jim Lee/ Todd McFarlane clique left for Image he didn't fill that sudden vacuum at Marvel - he should have been the go-to man for Marvel, he could and should have chosen his book to work on, and yet it never happened. The glory days were gone. And that isn't Marvel's fault as far as I am aware, it was Byrne's lack of desire to work at that level again. He himself seems to blame his experience at DC, on Superman, but I have never been convinced of that. Was this around the time when he divorced his Wife I wonder? It is that sort of personal catastrophe that does change a personality. I don't believe he has the same writing gift he once had today, but as an artist and storyteller he is still at the forefront of the genre, and if Marvel could let the grudge go and put him to work I can well imagine a huge response!

[@sirperybLakeney]

Byrne returned to Marvel much quicker than that -in '89. He did West Coast Avengers, She-Hulk and Namor when he came back.

[@garryjones1075]

The comic book industry and comic book readers lose when organizational politics keep some of the best creative talents from contributing. A feud that looks like it's going to last forever...that's a damn shame.

[@sethkumar3037]

Never heard too much bad about Quesada, One Day More aside

[@bretts8070]

Honest question... is there a comics pro John Byrne HASN'T feuded with? I remember growing up reading the ongoing saga of Byrne/Larsen in the Savage Dragon letters pages.

[@ComicsPerch]

Likely the newer folks. But that’s only because they haven’t connected yet. We can all long for the Simone/Byrne feud of 2021.

[@SamGuthrie1977]

Back in the days before the internet, I remember Byrne going after the Image guys in the letters column of Next Men. The letters column in that book was as entertaining as the comic itself. It was his first real soapbox to let the crazy flow.

[@bretts8070]

@@SamGuthrie1977 It's funny, I think that's what I was reading Larsen's response to in his own pages. I also vaguely recall a dispute with PAD. Then again, PAD can be a bit of a rude grouser in his own right. And Waid is clearly off his rocker. Slott isn't what I'd call stable, though he's been better the past year or so (or so I'm told, I left Twitter).... EVS has monetized being a douchebag and surrounded himself with an army of like-minded sycophants.... Maybe there really is some correlation between comics creators and either mental health issues or Napoleonic egos from being in what is considered by outsiders to be a fringe/niche profession?

[@bretts8070]

And I haven't even touched on "larger" personalities such as loudly opinionated Dennis Barger (sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing) on the retail side, or slimy rat Rich Johnston and his smear merchant rag he sometimes calls "news" and sometimes not depending on what is convenient at the time...

[@SamGuthrie1977]

@@bretts8070 Yeah, you nailed it. I think really talented creative people, the ones bordering on genius -- they're actually crazy in their own way. They certainly don't seem to show a lot of common sense, social skills, or emotional restraint. And like you alluded to, I think it gets worse when they surround themselves with butt-kissing sycophants in a social media echo chamber of their own greatness where they can do no wrong. Their fans are constantly agreeing with their comments, stroking their egos, and reinforcing their behavior -- just feeding the beast.

[@PhillipCummingsUSA]

Byrne is the best example of enjoying the art and ignoring the person. Q should bring him back. How long ago was these comments? 10-20 years ago? Its business and your mother has nothing to do with Marvel. Be the bigger man, make the fans happy, and make some money.

[@PhantomHarlock78]

Wha I dont understand is the Quesada rule vs Cebulski rule. While in DC was centered around one guy, in Dan Didio.

[@UelCarter]

I remember the byrne/chase fued too. He's always got some problem.

[@greatstoneplanet]

Marvel Comics should be about making money. Of course, if Byrne's "wacky antics" are interrupting productivity by making people miserable, again, they need to do what's best for the business. I'm curious how the current crop of writers would deal with crazy ol' Mr Byrne (particularly in the X summer camp).

[@KGBookkeeping]

Great knowledge about the industry here; very well done

[@DelightLovesMovies]

I inherited my dad's comic book collection and John Byrne's Fantastic Four is one of my favorites.

[@skyebonaventure]

I wasn't a fan of what Byrne did with Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, or the Vision. (Who am I forgetting?) He didn't even finish his last storyline in the Fantastic Four. He bailed on She-Hulk pretty early on, too. "West Coast Avengers" was a way cooler name than "Avengers West Coast." But he just haaad to change it. His later artwork was an acquired taste. On the plus side, He did power-up Invisible Girl and give us comics' first gay superhero. Byrne is still one of the greats.

[@____2080_____]

From the rumors about I’ve heard over the years, John has ruffle many feathers. Like you stated at the close of the video, however, I would hire him in a way to do work similar to the one shots that DC tend to do in there else world kinds of series.

[@TREADCOMICS]

The Peter David / John Byrne story was allegedly Alpha Flight issue 12 from ‘84... Peter David was working in sales at the time... story goes David is passing out photocopies of the scene where Guardian dies... to increase orders... Byrne sees and freaks out jumps up to find David and falls over his own chair... the promptly leaves convention... again... allegedly and in 1984... hilarious if true

[@PhillipCummingsUSA]

That is a great story.

[@nancybeckett890]

Byrne was responsible for creating the finest Post-Kirby Marvel superhero comic books ever done. It's tragic that great artists like Beethoven, Van Gogh, and yes, even John Byrne, suffer from wounded, swollen egos. But those egos were created by the same mental disease that drove them to rise above the mediocrity they witnessed in the world around them.

[@Vittorio-xl4dv]

Sono da sempre stato molto interessato al lavoro di Byrne, ha sempre rispettato i personaggi ed esaltato tutte le loro caratteristiche originali . Un vero punto di riferimento per chiunque voglia informarsi sui personaggi ... Purtroppo il suo modo di relazionarsi è da sempre il suo immenso limite che lo isola di fatto dal potersi aggiornare culturalmente

[@willin]

Hey wait, didn't John do a big interview that was on Marvel's KZbin channel a while ago?

[@KevinRyan-MouthAlmighty]

Everytime I've dealt with Byrne, he's been a gentleman. As for the Peter David story, get your facts straight...at the time of the story of David handing out Xeroxed pages of Alpha Flight #12, David was Marvel's Assistant Director of Sales under Carol Kalish and absolutely had advanced access to the pages...and has confirmed he did hand them out to retailers.

[@ComicsPerch]

It’s not that he did this, it was Byrne’s assertion that David did it purposefully to tank the book... which nobody seriously believes.

[@KevinRyan-MouthAlmighty]

No, that is NOT Byrne's assertion. What Byrne said was..."David did his best deer-in-the-headlights impression, and said it was his "job" to promote the books. "BY GIVING AWAY THE ENDINGS??" By this time I was pretty much on the verge of having a stroke. To prevent myself throttling the little sh*t I left the room, in the process stumbling and falling over a chair." Peter David's version is "the material in question was handed to me by Denny O'Neil, the book's editor when I-in my capacity as sales manager at the time-was going around collecting material to put into the package. And when I said to him, "Are you sure you want me to include this in the material?" Denny replied, "Sure, what's the harm?"" So, no, David was not a writer at the time, and he got the pages from Editor Denny O'Neil..He handed them out to retailers to get them to buy copies, it really doesn't matter whether it was a convention retailers event or just a sales meeting, but either way, O'Neil had no business handing out those pages....it was unprofessional and Byrne had every right to be pissed as hell....seriously, get your facts straight...there's a LOT you get wrong here. Byrne - the same as Mark Waid?? Really? Waid is under federal lawsuit for tortious interference for blackmailing Antarctic Press and threatened to beat a guy up if he saw him at a convention...Byrne just states his opinion.

[@Supremmo]

They should just let the past be the past and bring John Byrne back. Make him an Editor and Chief in addition to a writer and artist and let him write what he wants. He'll get rid of all of the SJW nonsense.

[@roguetrooper5288]

John Byrne is the GREATEST artist of all time, there's NO comparison!

[@TREADCOMICS]

Love this channel

[@ComicsPerch]

Thank you!

[@DWNicolo]

You want to think people get better as they get older, sometimes the opposite happens.

[@carrion_man3700]

Byrne is a nut. He's not Ernest T. Bass crazy, but definitely a legit eccentric. And he's one of my favorite comic creators of all time! I can overlook a lot for a finished product like his Fantastic Four run. So, yes, I'd love to see a return of Byrne to Fantastic Four. That title hasn't been for a long while. (I think the Hickman run is overrated) Hell, I'd like to see him at DC to help fix Superman, too!

[@danebarrett237]

Longtime Byrne Victim. Followed him since Rog 2000. I'd bring him back tomorrow and give his whatever book he wanted.

[@comicguy9611]

He's a great artist, but if there's smoke, there was or almost had a fire. There's lots of stories about him as a person who had issues with many people.

[@bogleg59]

Bringing him back to anything mainstream would only end in disappointment. Dropping the FF with one issue to go showed the contempt he has for his fans/followers.

[@jamminjohn]

Byrne went back to Marvel in the late 80's with The West Coast Avengers after Superman.

[@alfredMonty]

If John Byrne showed up at my work and I was ordered to work with him, I'd quit on the spot.

[@JohnAPrescott]

In a heartbeat...dont even have to think about it.

[@ginoames]

This is interesting. I had wondered why in this day and age of variant covers there were never any JB covers. Sounds like JB's ego got himself removed from the guest list.

[@ricklegendary2990]

I still love Dave Cockrams Xmens work. It was what gave the all new all different x men thier start. I miss the psycho wolverine.

[@timkretzer]

Hey, Perch... Whatever happened, if anything, with the not-too-long-ago discussions Byrne and Cebulski were having about Byrne possibly coming back to do some projects after Cebulski had seen Byrne's recent What-If type of X-Men stories he’d been doing on his own site?

[@ComicsPerch]

They seemed to go on hold during the X-Relaunches. There are still very strong opposing views within Marvel around ever working with Byrne again.

[@Red-Devil884]

Mainly Dan Slott and Joe Quesada (but he is gone now, so who knows)@@ComicsPerch

[@oscarmartin685]

As of Oct 2022 If I was Marvel I would hire John Byrne back. I'm not sure rather Joe Q is at Marvel or DC, if he is in Marvel John owe him an apology due to poking fun of his mother's death. Now I would ask John what 4 titles would he like to work on but, he has to do a Alpha Flight lost years and his inkers would be Alan Davis.... Top two greatest artist of all time.

[@dougg1075]

Yes I would hire him back. He’s a legend

[@dannyc8876]

Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby...they also got cranky in the old days.

[@panthergod]

..stop it.

[@chezratte1357]

I would bring him back since a lot of current writers have been worse for the company than Byrne.

[@LarryKingUndead]

Burning effigies, fighting with people, celebrating the deaths of peoples mothers, Byrne would fit right in with part of the "comics" community on Twitter and KZbin. But that said, if I was running Marvel, I'd hire Byrne, as long as he does the job, he can by a curmudgeon on his own time, but once he starts slipping deadlines, or sales start to drop, he's gone.

[@bretts8070]

Oh yeah, Byrne and Waid would be two peas in a pod.

[@LarryKingUndead]

@@bretts8070 Not just Waid, non-industry types as well, comics pros don't have exclusive on terrible behavior.

[@bretts8070]

@@LarryKingUndead I condemn the SJW keyboard tyrants alongside the CG shitshow EVS circle-jerk, as well. Though I feel like the comics community is a microcosm along with every other cultural 'silo' and the internet at large in increasingly hostile and nasty vitriol.

[@LarryKingUndead]

@@bretts8070 It can be full of nasty vitriol, but the internet is a tool like any other, you can use a shovel to dig a ditch for crops to have water, or use the shovel as a weapon to take someone's head off, the shovel isn't good or evil it just is. Online those tribal elements of the comics community can be exacerbated if a person's not careful, I do try to be mindful of what I'm doing, without compromising my core. Where I get to love the comics I love, or dislike those I wish something some others just can't seem to deal with. But in the end, the world keeps on spinning.

[@bretts8070]

@@LarryKingUndead I also blame social media format, especially Twitter, for being designed to feed outrage. As it is, I'm in a couple small drama-free comics fan discords, buying the comics I like (if a lot less these days), and happily never ever going back to Twitter, hahaha.

[@humanencountersthelawsofth87]

Why are people down on the current FF run?

[@ComicsPerch]

I think it hasn't had it's "big" moment yet. If the comic can deliver a true major moment it will turn around... but a lot of the storylines have felt small. It's a bit of a perception problem.

[@ianfleetwood8804]

Seems strange that history has repeated itself 20 years later. Quesada is brought in and trim the x titles back. Now with him as chief creator officer, there are tons of x books, tons of avengers or related books, so to me Quesada is no better the xyz e-i-c. As for byrne, I love his art, I love is main stream superhero work, and would pick up any title he touched. Back in the 80'scwhen byrne went to dc, it was like a coupe, a main catch, a big like dc getting bends. Sadly Byrne can do more than bendis, has more talent and isn't afraid to speak out. Shame so many writers/artists of today have no gumption to challenge something and break the mold. Bendis just tows the line and foes what is happening in the world of today, Bryne would ignore it, he would upset a few people, but his followers would still pick up hi work

[@aglcomics]

If any comics creator hates Byrne is due to jealousy! Haha! Love John Byrne!!! AGL

[@angelmanfredy]

Byrne had issues with everyone. His work was fantastic but his social skills (or personal issues) hurt everyone. Luckily Marvel and DC got a lot of good work out of him before he sabotaged himself.

[@tomcallmusic4295]

Did you get somebody to do your audio? It's sounding better as the life of the channel goes on.

[@davidestes6381]

Love the Crazy Scale, full on Alan Moore 😂

[@Khultan]

John Byrne joked about someone with cancer?!?!?

[@federiconardo6658]

Why isn't DC hiring Byrne? He made some important work there too.

[@lotsalube]

Maybe because he broke the #1 rule: superman doesn't kill( he killed general zod & co.).

[@lastavenger8532]

am a big john byrne but if the rumours about joking about quesada mom are truth i got to lose some respect for him......................... but he's spot on about bendis being a crappy writer though

[@PhillipCummingsUSA]

These guys are all terrible to each other and then cry about disrespect towards themselves. The only thing that sucks is these things didnt stay private.

[@21swords76]

lastavenger85 at the time bendis did some good work. But looking back at it, Byrne was ahead of his time and saw bendis’ downfall coming a mile away.

[@bekbayram3877]

Thats not comics John byrne

[@davidestes6381]

God yes, I would hire Byrne for the Fantastic Four!!!

[@anthonywoodham3311]

Yes please bring him back.

[@KayVeeEye]

John Byrne was my first favorite artist, and is still in my Top 10. Him, Chris Claremont and the X-men got me through a lot of stuff; by all accounts, both of them think they are the smartest men in the room, but on their X-men run , I thought they brought out the best and toned down the worst in each other .Byrne would reel Claremont in, and Claremont would breathe some energy into their co-writing. And I hate to say it , but with few exceptions , I've found out sometimes you don't want to meet your comic book heroes. :) Haven't met Byrne yet( although I want to ), but I've met Claremont, and he struck me as very stand offish.

[@KRhetor]

I've met Chris Claremont, and he's a very nice, soft-spoken man. He and Byrne were like water and oil, and someone set fire to the oil.

[@Shaggy-839two]

The greatest writer/artist.

[@waelse1]

Sounds like Byrne should do independent work at Image or even IGG, too crazy to play well with others. Enjoyed the story, thanks.

[@lotsalube]

Thought he did with his NEXT MEN @ dark horse & a few series @ IDW.

[@mynardomacaraig2697]

Byrne may have burned his bridges with Marvel and DC but why isn't he working with the indies? Do they hate him there too?

[@lt2143]

No, he came back to Marvel in the late 80's, not 90's.

[@kenvance5456]

BRING BYRNE BACK!!!

[@KidxChaos01]

Bro had Batman dating his great grand daughter.

[@DCUOMultiverse]

I know that this is an older video..... but I watch a lot of videos..... so I often watch older stuff most of the time. ;) As for John Byrne.... yes he is crazy. I once wrote a blog about Byrne being the King of the 80s... being the best of the best back then..... but he saw that as your old stuff is better and he was a bit salty about it. :( What can you do. But your argument for Peter David does not really work. David was part of Marvel's Marketing department at the time.... he was not a writer going around giving photocopies. Maybe David was trying to promote the book and was trying to boost sales with photocopies revealing the big surprise in Alpha Flight?? Or maybe was he giving Byrne the moving finger??? Only David really knows. But the argument that a writer would not be giving photocopies at a convention is off the mark. ;)

[@mistermister3122]

Like most immensely intelligent and talented people, John Byrne is batshit crazy. I still I’ve his work and he’s one of the biggest influences of my comics childhood.

[@pjbrown4736]

X-MEN Elsewhen, Marvel, now.

[@keng.2468]

John Byrne is such an amazing talent, but it's too bad he has such a cantankerous nature. If only Marvel would reconsider utilizing his skills, but it's hard to work with a talent who doesn't want to play ball in the system.

[@Urizen61]

How many people does John Byrne like? How many people actually like John Byrne?

[@alanbrown4445]

You cant beat the old school artist in my mind the best ever artists of all time are jack kirby, john buscema, john byrne and john romita senior !!!!

[@TheSpinnerRack]

Wow... the telephone game of the Peter David ruined the Alpha Flight reveal has changed the story. Peter David was a sales guy at first and he said he had xerox copies of Alpha Flight pages... So your version of that story is off. How did the story change? Peter David said he had Xerox pages of Alpha Flight on Byrne's web page. Some of your timeline is way off. Byrne and Quesada had a cordial relationship before the cancelation. The issue wasn't that Quesada canceled the Hidden Years. The issue was Quesada told Byrne that the Hidden Years was not in danger of being canceled.

[@TheSpinnerRack]

Byrne wasn't banned from Marvel. Byrne was the one to cut ties with Marvel. There were two titles Marvel wanted Byrne to do post Hidden Years, one led to the beef. The other one, Byrne was close to doing it (Fantastic Fourever), but declined with no attack on Marvel.

[@Kmov830]

Hire him? In a fucking heart beat! And I’d have home take over the X-Men!

[@JamesJonahJameson-MM]

Vision Quest is my favorite story ever. e.V.e.R… even if he is jerk. I still love his stories.

[@TheNomadicCat]

Who's Marvel really hurting John Bryne or the readers???

[@DanielleA2023]

This post would be so much better if it contained a factual summary of events and actions to enable an analysis of why subsequent actions occurred.. see the Comic Tropes channel for e.g.

[@HisEntropicHighness]

I stand with John Byrne.

[@ItachiUchiha-ut6xj]

Johnny Byrne is a fucking legend!

[@scottleespence752]

He also did Marvel: The Lost Years, which did have it's weaknesses, but I thought it was a great concept. And yes, Bendis is a crappy writer, and more people need to call this out.