Byrne on Moore & Brits

[JayzusB.Christ]

apologies if someone has posted this before, but:

At the time there were protests...... but DC applied the age old rule of simply not printing those letters.

- John Byrne

Hmmmmm. A bit rich, perhaps.

[SuperSurfer]

Can't say I thought too much of Byrne's attempt on Dredd in the Sci-Fi Special of 1983 (I'm sure this has been discussed a million times already). He didn't capture the meaness and imposing presence of Dredd. Dredd looks more like a rookie. Typical Dredd quote on that last panel by Wagner / Grant: "Next year we use the riot foam before the game starts!"

[Leigh S]

that page has not a single background feature! I'm no John Byrne, but surely you'd feel obliged to sketch something in, if only not to make it so apparent you weren't bothering...?

[JayzusB.Christ]

wow, i never knew John 'Our Host (with capital letters on his own forum)' Byrne drew Dredd. in fact, i never heard of him till a couple of months ago.  but from what i can see, his attitude screams bitterness and envy towards alan moore, which is a bit ridiculous.

[SuperSurfer]

He sure did draw Dredd. Here's more:



Found it on Paul Rainey's Prog Slog.
http://progslog.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html

[TordelBack]

The Byrne Dredd appeared in what (I think) was my first Sci-Fi Special, and I liked it at the time, and to be honest I still do.  It takes every artist a while to get their eye in on Dredd, and that was a good show for a debut. 

Byrne's always been a good artist.  I loved his work on The Fantastic Four, and for proof that he still has it, check out his current Star Trek series.  It's just a shame he comes across as such a complete gobshite, displaying all the manners of a turd.

[Jim_Campbell]

The Byrne Dredd appeared in what (I think) was my first Sci-Fi Special, and I liked it at the time, and to be honest I still do.  It takes every artist a while to get their eye in on Dredd, and that was a good show for a debut. 

I agree, and a better stab at the character, and his world, than I've seen from any other American artist*. He's a fine artist, a superb draughtsman and an excellent storyteller ... but he does seem hellbent on coming across as the most miserable, curmudgeonly old bugger on the internet.

Cheers

Jim

* Didn't read many of the DC Dredds, so I stand to be corrected on that.

[Richmond Clements]

He's a fine artist, a superb draughtsman and an excellent storyteller

Indeed, which makes his attitude to, well, everything, even more of a tragedy. Imagine if he had all that talent and manners too! He could take over the world, instead of being content to squat in the corner of his dark internet cave and complain about all.

[Bolt-01]

I still love Byrnes artwork and would love to have a set of scans of the Dredd pages- I've no longer got the comic but I have a real fondness for it.

Though Leigh hit the nail on the head about his lack of backgrounds- it is something he is known for doing and something I find myself chiding SPressers for doing as well.

[Jim_Campbell]

I still love Byrnes artwork and would love to have a set of scans of the Dredd pages- I've no longer got the comic but I have a real fondness for it.

Though Leigh hit the nail on the head about his lack of backgrounds- it is something he is known for doing and something I find myself chiding SPressers for doing as well.

There are decent quality scans of the whole thing in the Gallery section of Byrne's site, Bolt ... you'll find Page 1 here.

Cheers!

Jim

[Matt Timson]

Most of his commissions (particularly the single figure poses) that he does these days make my eyes bleed.

And he's a cock.

[Bolt-01]

Cheers Jim.

[Eric Plumrose]

Indeed, which makes his attitude to, well, everything, even more of a tragedy. Imagine if he had all that talent and manners too! He could take over the world, instead of being content to squat in the corner of his dark internet cave and complain about all.

The facial fuzz is all that separates him from Marv Wolfman's version of Lex Luthor. No, not the one credited to THE TEEN TITANS' typester, the version Byrne rejected in favour of his own.

'Outside the Mainstream, on a high horse . . .'

Jay-B even had his own Lois Knowles, recently.

[Grant Goggans]

I noticed Byrne's remarkable lack of backgrounds in the 1980s a little earlier this year when Dark Horse reprinted his Indiana Jones comics.  I guess when you had to churn out 40 pages a month, something had to give, yeah?

http://hipsterdad.livejournal.com/589700.html

[Emperor]

The Byrne Dredd appeared in what (I think) was my first Sci-Fi Special, and I liked it at the time, and to be honest I still do.  It takes every artist a while to get their eye in on Dredd, and that was a good show for a debut.

Yes I was especially struck by that story and spent ages when on holiday trying to create a board game based on that sport - I put a lot of time in and I seem to recall it was all a bit rubbish in the end

Byrne's art on it is odd with hindsight - he clearly put a lot of time and effort in on some scenes but then clearly rushed through an awful lot of others (although I think it is interesting the way he just drew a line for the heads of the crowd in a couple of panels, as it helps keep the focus on the two main characters, who would have been lost otherwise). What strikes me as odd now looking at the story now (thanks to Jim for the link) is the way Dredd appears to be an alien on one page, despite doing a good job on an early page. He looks like a not quite human species that appeared in things like Star-Lord.