Artist Rich Buckler passed away on May 19th after a battle with cancer. Buckler was an artistic mainstay with both DC and Marvel, predominantly in the 1970s and 1980s. Buckler’s work included “Mighty Crusaders” for Archie, “Creepy” and “Eerie” for Warren, and just about every major property for Marvel and DC.
Buckler is possibly best known for co-creating, along with writer Doug Moench, the reanimated cyborg character Deathlok, who first appeared in Marvel’s “Astonishing Tales” #25 in 1974. While originally set in a post-apocalyptic 1990, Deathlok eventually migrated over to the ‘main’ Marvel universe. The character has undergone a number of identity changes since its creation, but has remained a part of Marvel’s universe for over 40 years.
In 1981, Buckler Jerry Ordway, and Roy Thomas co-created “All-Star Squadron” for DC Comics, telling tales on Earth-Two, set during World War II, and featured a rotating cast of characters that included members of the Freedom Fighters, Justice Society, Justice League, and Seven Soldiers.
Buckler will not only be remembered as an important large scale contributor to DC and Marvel, but for his resounding influence on other artists that came after him. Perhaps the most famous is George Perez, who broke into comics in 1973 as Buckler’s studio assistant and published his first professional work, a Deathlok-backup, in an issue of “Astonishing Tales.”
Buckler’s last published work was a story in Dynamite’s “Red Sonja” #1973, where he illustrated a story by his longtime collaborator Roy Thomas.
