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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 31, 2021 17:44:42 GMT -5
Jim Starlin and John Byrne are living legends in the comics world. They are more or less contemporaries in their careers. Byrne started working at Charlton Comics in 1974 doing Doomsday +1, Space 1999 while Starlin was hired by Roy Thomas to do some inking and drawing corrections and started on some Iron Man books. They both went on to have major careers writing and Drawing their own books for multiple companies . Bryne is the more prolific of the two because of his speed at drawing pages. These are the highlights of his comic work : X-men Fantastic Four Alpha Flight Superman West Coast Avengers Hulk He went on to do his own creator owned properties Next Men Jim Starlin made his legend on Captain Marvel The creation Of Thanos Warlock Master of Kung Fu Avengers The Creation Of Mongul The Ground breaking Death of Captain Marvel His return to Marvel in the mid 80's led to the Silver Surfer series and the smash hit Infinity gauntlet series He had his own creator owned series as well with Dreadstar Of course they both have many more writing and art credits , so which one wins in a head to head comparison ?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2021 18:04:40 GMT -5
Two of my absolute favorites from a sheer creative output standpoint (Byrne though gets far fewer points on personality for me). I feel like this should have been a harder choice, but honestly I didn't hesitate picking Starlin. Starlin is the better penciler to me (I liked Byrne best teamed with Austin on X-Men). Probably closer to a tie on writing. Starlin is steadier for me, Byrne had some brilliant moments (early FF run) and other times got really weird.
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Post by arfetto on Jul 31, 2021 18:05:41 GMT -5
I like many comics Byrne was involved in, but if I had to choose I will choose Starlin because his cosmic stuff is what really got me into Marvel comics. Without Starlin, my interest in cosmic or superhero comic book stuff might not even exist (well, most likely I would have come across another writer or artist to get me into them, but in this timeline he was the creator that led me down this path haha). There are points in Byrne's career that I rank high, though.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Jul 31, 2021 18:15:23 GMT -5
Byrne, hands down. His FF is still my favorite run on a comic series, and I was always delighted to see him on other books whether he was writing or drawing.
If you want a Thanos story, and lots of them over and over again, Starlin is your best bet though.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 31, 2021 18:20:15 GMT -5
I have to go with Starlin. He created more characters that have " legs" like Thanos, Gamora, Drax to name the major ones. Byrne was great in the 70's early 80's but maybe he stayed too late at the dance. I chose Dreadstar over Byrnes JBNM for creator owned books and Starlin is still a draw to buy a book whereas Bryne can't get work anymore.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Jul 31, 2021 18:27:00 GMT -5
I have to go with Starlin. He created more characters that have " legs" like Thanos, Gamora, Drax to name the major ones. I have never thought of Gamora or Drax as “major characters.” But I agree Byrne was always better at writing other people’s creations rather than creating his own.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2021 18:44:28 GMT -5
Subtract Byrne's contributions from the MU and it's relatively the same place with nothing major lost. Subtract Starlin's contributions from the MU and it is a vastly different entity. Most of Byrne's major contributions to the MU were while co-plotting X-Men, but most of the major elements of his run (essentially the Phoenix Saga) were already beginning to be in play while it was Claremont & Cockrum collaborating, so they might have played out differently, but they would have been present. Starlin's contributions, such as the Soul Gems, radically redefined the Marvel cosmic universe and what has become an essential part of the fabric of the MU (and the MCU) would not be there. So in terms of legacy, Starlin was a creative force in the MU and Byrne was a talented laborer. So, Starlin by a wide margin.
-M
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jul 31, 2021 18:56:33 GMT -5
I don't much care for either, to be honest.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 31, 2021 19:00:14 GMT -5
I don't much care for either, to be honest. I should have included Charles Biro.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 31, 2021 19:36:31 GMT -5
I can't decide, honestly.
I'd say I view Byrne as the better craftsman and Starlin as the better creator, overall, but both men are way up in the pantheon and had a huge impact on me.
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Post by majestic on Jul 31, 2021 19:51:18 GMT -5
Byrne for me. He "revitalized" so many titles that for me are reads that I still enjoy today. He made the FF great and his Namor series made me love the character in modern times. Starlin is amazing with his concepts and art but I was never a fan of cosmic Marvel titles.
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Post by commond on Jul 31, 2021 19:57:20 GMT -5
I was a huge John Byrne fan growing up, and I'm not high on Starlin's cosmic stuff, but I voted for Starlin for two reasons: firstly, not Byrne story has ever moved me as much as The Death of Captain Marvel, and secondly, Dreadstar was a better creator-owned title than Next Men. Byrne had better runs on ongoing titles (eg. Uncanny X-Men & Fantastic Four), but after Superman, he fell into this repeat cycle where he'd jump on a book, revamp everything with hiss and a roar, then grow bored or argue with the editor, and quit the book. If he had stayed longer on books like Alpha Flight and Namor, and even Next Men, then I think he'd be the clear winner. The last run of his that I read was Wonder Woman. I was still interested in his art at the time, but it was another failed attempt at recapturing the Superman magic.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 31, 2021 20:27:41 GMT -5
Should be a tie button? Starlin is the far stronger creator IMO. Byrne the better craftsman IMO. Starlin by far contributed more with defining recreations of Mar-Vell and Warlock and crafting unique stories for involving MU characters in cosmic level battles. Starlin created characters are still being utilized today where Byrne's creations are missing in action.
Byrne was superb with finding new twists in already existing characters while Starlin put new characterization on low selling mid-tier heroes making them long lived classics. Along with the creation of very memorable secondary stars and providing an outstanding creation with the Infinity stories focausing upon the heart and soul of Thanos the villain, the pain of the death of Mar-Vell to Vanth's failure in saving his Universe there is more to stand out and "remember" from what Starlin has placed in comics. Byrne has some iconic moments but much of his overall story line product is less than stellar.
And Jim Starlin was my 1st MUST FIND for back issues with his runs on Captain Marvel and Warlock which took me down the deep rabbit hole of comic book collecting.
So big Jim for the win.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 31, 2021 20:34:58 GMT -5
As writers, I'd rather read a Starlin book than a Byrne one. As artists, I'd read a Starlin book at any time; with Byrne, it would be, mainly the 70s and 80s, with a little bit of the 90s. Starlin, to me, had greater depth of character and concept and had more to say. Byrne could do a great superhero yarn, but you'd be back to the status quo when it was over, quite often. Byrne paired with Claremont or Stern is a good mix. Starlin is best on his own, than collaborating.
I like both creators works and I dislike some of their later material; but, Starlin is my choice, for a combination of factors, including The Death of Captain Marvel, the whole Metamorphosis Odyssey and Dreadstar epic and the satirical and philosophical edge to his work, in general.
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Post by badwolf on Jul 31, 2021 20:43:50 GMT -5
Byrne by far.
I've never sought out a book because Starlin did it.
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