Posted in: Avengers, Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, Stan Lee | Tagged: rip, sal buscema
Marvel Comics’ tribute to Sal Buscema in today’s comic books
Article Summary
Marvel Comics honors Sal Buscema in all monthly issues following his passing at age 89 in January 2026.
Sal Buscema was renowned for dynamic, expressive art on Hulk, Spectacular Spider-Man, Rom, and The Defenders.
He co-created iconic Marvel characters like Valkyrie, Lady Deathstrike, Grandmaster, and the TVA.
Buscema’s prolific career spanned decades, earning industry awards and the nickname “Our Pal Sal.”
Comic book creator Sal Buscema, famed for his work on Hulk, Rom, Defenders, Spectacular Spider-Man, New Mutants and more, died in January just before his 90th birthday. Today, Marvel Comics publishes a tribute to the man in all their monthly titles.
“Marvel pauses to remember Sal Buscema, a foundational Marvel artist since 1969. Buscema was a prolific penciler and inker, working on nearly every Marvel character. His clear, dynamic storytelling was a feature of long, historic runs on Spectacular Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and Rom. Buscema was famed for drawing bombastic roundhouse punches that sent characters sprawling across the page, but he could also be capable of great subtlety and emotion in his character acting. “Our Pal Sal” will be missed by generations of Marvel fans.”
Sal, or Silvio Buscema, was born on the 26th of January, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. Younger brother of comic book artist John Buscema, Sal began his comics career inking his brother’s pages in the fifties, later working in advertising and government illustration before joining Marvel full-time in 1968, earning the Bullpen nickname “Our Pal Sal”. He gained a reputation for speed under pressure, including drawing the Incredible Hulk for ten years between 1975 and 1985, when the TV show was running. He then drew an eight-year and a 100-issue run on The Spectacular Spider-Man through the eighties and nineties, as well as working on New Mutants, Captain America, The Defenders, Rom: Spaceknight, The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, and many others, often inking his own work. He also worked on Amazing Spider-Girl in the 2000s with writer Tom DeFalco. Over the years, he co-created characters including The Defenders, the world of Rom the Space Knight, Lady Deathstrike, Jean DeWolff, The U-Foers, Ursa Major, Diamondhead, Squadron Sinister, Valkyrie, Grandmaster, Hyperion, Starhawk, Sabra, Thunderball, and the Time Variance Authority. He won the Inkpot Award (2003), the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award (2013), and the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award from the Inkwell Awards in 2021. TwoMorrows published Sal Buscema: Comics’ Fast & Furious Artist. In recent years, he returned to IDW’s Rom universe, as well as The Heroes Union from Binge Books and The R.I.G.H.T. Project on Kickstarter.
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