Thanks @Hex - it was REALLY fun. I feel the same way about a few runs that I read month to month as a kid- namely Miller & O'Neil's Daredevil, Simonson's Thor, and the criminally underrated Conan the Barbarian run written by Jim Owsley (later to become Christopher Priest). Those were the runs I took my allowance money to the spinner racks and bought, so they're sentimental as well as critical favorites of mine.
Those books were good times every month. I felt the same way about a lot of the Byrne stuff. It was great to mainline the Byrne issues. I couldn't wait month to month (or even week to week) to read next issues, although I briefly considered slowing down the reading to make the experience more like it would have been had I read the run as a kid.
I think I enjoy Byrne's FF more overall, but I'm tempted to seek out the 5-6 issues of Incredible Hulk that Byrne did after leaving Alpha Flight just to see what he did on Hulk.. obviously his tenure on the book was very short and I remember reading that there were creative concerns which led him to leave Hulk. Maybe I mean to say "leave Marvel" because he left FF at what appears to be the same time.
At the time, Byrne said that it was because they rejected his "all splash page" issue, which baffles me that he could create an entire comic "on spec" without checking in with his editor as to what he was going to do. He was clashing with editorial more and more as he went on...and DC offered him a form of creative control to pull him over for Superman.
I can't imagine why they would reject an all splash-page issue. Hell, in the '90s that would have been a selling point.
Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm
Wow- that's some cliffhanger to end a run on. I confess I want to know how the arc ends up.. although I'm sure I'll be let down by the execution if it's as jarring as has been suggested above.
So- I think my impressions haven't really changed from what I previously posted, but after this maiden voyage, I'm leaving a fan of both the FF and Byrne.. and Alpha Flight too along the way. To me- that's a job well done and a strong run well deserving of the praise it gets.
This warms my heart. I've always been a cheerleader for Byrne's run on the FF, and I'm really glad you got to experience it in one big go. Very happy to hear it lived up to the hype.
Even more happy to hear that you also found Alpha Flight along the way. I look back on that era of Marvel (and Byrne's time on FF and Alpha Flight especially) as a magical time in my comic reading history, a feeling that took years to find again.
PS. I wouldn't bother following Alpha Flight after Byrne left. There was the odd good issue here and there, but mostly it limped along until cancellation around #130. Bill Mantlo introduced some good concepts, and had a long run from #29-66. However I found it was hit and miss from issue to issue, and the tone changed dramatically from Byrne's run.
The quirky 2004 twelve issue series was fun (and I kind of dug the Clayton Henry artwork) The 2011 Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente attempt at a reboot was a good homage to Byrne's original vision for the team, but it didn't get any traction.
I think that era ruined me for comics, because to this day I still measure everything against it. I'm sure the fact that I was in my early teens means that anything I read back then was going to imprint on me pretty heavily, but when I re-read it now with a more critical eye it still holds up better than expected.
Some may accuse it of being formulaic, but I think the format of 1-2 part stories, with a page or two devoted to ongoing sub-plots each issue, and typically a couple panels or a page teasing next month's story, pretty much guaranteed that readers couldn't wait for the next issue to come out. Even the titles I enjoy today don't have that kind of effect on me.
"Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm"
I really liked the snow blind issue, but have always wondered how he pulled off convincing Marvel he should get paid for 3 pages of actual pictures
"Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm"
I really liked the snow blind issue, but have always wondered how he pulled off convincing Marvel he should get paid for 3 pages of actual pictures
...and there is no doubt that Byrne was getting PAID large. I don't have the actual figures (of course), but I recall estimating just how much Byrne was making during his glory days at Marvel while I was reading Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. I figured that for double dipping as both artist and writer for both FF and Alpha Flight, with his crazy royalty deal, he could have been easily pulling in close to 200 grand... a month. back in the 80s. No wonder so many people thought the "Snowblind" issue was pushing it too far.
I would love to know how much DC paid to have him "reboot" Superman.
"Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm"
I really liked the snow blind issue, but have always wondered how he pulled off convincing Marvel he should get paid for 3 pages of actual pictures
You have to remember it was a gimmick "Assistant Editor's Month" thing, so it was approved all the way up the chain. Marvel's editorial process seems to be VERY strange back then, with things like Jean Gray killing an inhabited planet not being something the Editor in Chief saw until the book was printed...
"Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm"
I really liked the snow blind issue, but have always wondered how he pulled off convincing Marvel he should get paid for 3 pages of actual pictures
You have to remember it was a gimmick "Assistant Editor's Month" thing, so it was approved all the way up the chain. Marvel's editorial process seems to be VERY strange back then, with things like Jean Gray killing an inhabited planet not being something the Editor in Chief saw until the book was printed...
I thought I'd read that there were some who still weren't too pleased with it. But that's probably one of those things that would be difficult to prove one way or the other. Either way, it's interesting that with all the crazy things that people did that month, Byrne's response was "Hey, why don't I just not draw several pages and claim it's a snowstorm?"
I thought it was amusing, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't some grumbling behind the scenes. Whether it was grumbling from someone whose opinions carried weight or not, or just standard employee complaining, who knows.
Comments
Those books were good times every month. I felt the same way about a lot of the Byrne stuff. It was great to mainline the Byrne issues. I couldn't wait month to month (or even week to week) to read next issues, although I briefly considered slowing down the reading to make the experience more like it would have been had I read the run as a kid.
Although, this was the same guy who had recently gotten away with an Alpha Flight issue containing several blank pages because the character was in a snowstorm I think that era ruined me for comics, because to this day I still measure everything against it. I'm sure the fact that I was in my early teens means that anything I read back then was going to imprint on me pretty heavily, but when I re-read it now with a more critical eye it still holds up better than expected.
Some may accuse it of being formulaic, but I think the format of 1-2 part stories, with a page or two devoted to ongoing sub-plots each issue, and typically a couple panels or a page teasing next month's story, pretty much guaranteed that readers couldn't wait for the next issue to come out. Even the titles I enjoy today don't have that kind of effect on me.
I really liked the snow blind issue, but have always wondered how he pulled off convincing Marvel he should get paid for 3 pages of actual pictures
I don't have the actual figures (of course), but I recall estimating just how much Byrne was making during his glory days at Marvel while I was reading Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. I figured that for double dipping as both artist and writer for both FF and Alpha Flight, with his crazy royalty deal, he could have been easily pulling in close to 200 grand... a month. back in the 80s. No wonder so many people thought the "Snowblind" issue was pushing it too far.
I would love to know how much DC paid to have him "reboot" Superman.
I didn't know that it was assistant editor month. It explains a lot
I thought it was amusing, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't some grumbling behind the scenes. Whether it was grumbling from someone whose opinions carried weight or not, or just standard employee complaining, who knows.