The John Buscema Sketchbook

Rating:
Summary: For art students interest in a career in illustration only
Review: As a long time comic reader and a big follower of the long career of Bohn Buscema I really looked forward to this book. I was disappointed. Not only was this not a great sketchbook showcase into the man's work but it was also a tepid interview. John deserved beter, deserves better. While there is some rare work in this collection you'll find thumbnails on eBay that are as interesting and for sale to own. John was an incredibly adept illustrator and comic artist who unfortunately married his work to the drawing of Conan. Conan is an otherwise vital character which through the years John almost ruined with an approach to drawing the Cimmerian warrior, thief, buccaneer and, eventually, king, with the same furry loincloth, brown tunic and broadsword that was such a pat image that it led to the casting of bodybuilder Schwartzenegger (sp?) to be be miscast in the lead role of the terrible films. John was often seen doing gorgeous doodles on the backs of comic pages he'd drawn that looked better than the finished work on the other side. This sketchbook has little of those gems and focuses on his lapsed career as an illustrator and his popular comic work. This was a terribly missed opportunity to show people not the staid, workaholic illustrator chained to a drawing table putting out work rather than creating compelling imagery. No the compelling images are still locked away somewhere. Some of his comic pages are truly gorgeous. This book showcased none of those. To be sure there are some good samples of John fluent lines and character studies as well as a few finished pieces in this volume. The shame is that it looks like the art used was the stuff he gave away as opposed to the gems he created and nurtured with loving brush strokes until they breathed, moved and danced across the panels. This man was a master in the field of sequential storytelling. This book only gives meager hints at the power, passion and grace that was the greater body of John's contributions to the medium. John deserved better. Here's hoping we get to see a volume truly dedicated to his talent at some point in time.

Rating:
Summary: What a neat collection of artistic flights of fancy...
Review: I am not a huge comicbook collector, though I have bought comics off and on. However, I just couldn't pass up this collection of sketches from the mind of one of comic's and illustration's well respected figures. I always appreciate sketches for they are the rawest and most direct manifestations of artistic creativity, as is such in this book. I recommend this book to all interested in drawing, comics, figurative works, etc. You wont be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Very Inspirational
Review: I happened to discover this book at a local comic book store. After flipping through the first couple pages I knew I had to get it. John Buscema is an amazing artist. His knowledge of the figure is uncanny. The drawings speak for themselves. This book seriously makes me want to take out a pencil and start sketching away. I highly recommend this book

Rating:
Summary: Very Inspirational
Review: I happened to discover this book at a local comic book store. After flipping through the first couple pages I knew I had to get it. John Buscema is an amazing artist. His knowledge of the figure is uncanny. The drawings speak for themselves. This book seriously makes me want to take out a pencil and start sketching away. I highly recommend this book