Kurt Busiek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kurt Busiek |
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Busiek at the Stumptown Comics Fest 2012
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| Born | September 16, 1960 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Writer |
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Notable works
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Astro City The Avengers Thunderbolts Marvels Superman |
| Awards | See below |
Kurt Busiek (born September 16, 1960) is a famous American writer of comic books. He is known for creating popular series like Astro City. He also wrote for well-known comics such as Marvels, The Avengers, Thunderbolts, and Superman.
Contents
Early Life and Comics Discovery
Kurt Busiek was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in different towns around the Boston area. One of these towns was Lexington. There, he became friends with Scott McCloud, who also became a comic book creator.
When Kurt was young, his parents did not approve of comic books. So, he did not read them much. But around age 14, he picked up Daredevil #120. This comic was part of a big story with many connections to other series. Kurt loved learning about the history and links between different comics.
Throughout high school and college, Kurt and Scott practiced making their own comics. They also wrote for magazines about comics, like Comics Feature.
Kurt often had his letters published in comic book fan sections. He even came up with a theory about the Phoenix character. He believed Phoenix was a separate being who pretended to be Jean Grey. This idea meant Jean Grey had not really died. This theory was later used in the actual comics.
Kurt Busiek's Writing Career
During his last year of college, Kurt Busiek sent some sample scripts to Dick Giordano at DC Comics. He didn't sell any at first. But these scripts led to invitations to pitch other ideas to DC editors. This is how he got his first professional job. It was a short story in Green Lantern #162 in March 1983.
After writing a few issues of Power Man and Iron Fist, he became the regular writer for the series. He liked the fun style of the previous writer, Mary Jo Duffy. He tried to write in a similar lighthearted way. However, the editors did not like that style. They had removed Duffy for it, and they later fired Busiek for the same reason. This happened after he had written only six issues. In 1985, he wrote a Red Tornado limited series.
Big Successes in the 1990s
In 1993, Busiek worked with artist Alex Ross on the Marvels limited series. This comic was a huge hit. It became known as a masterpiece and inspired many other painted comics.
Busiek and Pat Olliffe started the Untold Tales of Spider-Man series in September 1995. Busiek also created the Thunderbolts. This was a group of super-villains pretending to be super-heroes. The first issue ended with a big surprise: the Thunderbolts were actually the Masters of Evil! Marvel kept this twist a secret very carefully.
In February 1998, he launched The Avengers volume 3 with artist George Pérez. He also started Iron Man volume 3 with artist Sean Chen. Busiek and Carlos Pacheco worked together on the Avengers Forever limited series in 1998–1999.
Continuing His Comic Book Journey
Busiek kept writing The Avengers until 2002. He worked with artists like Alan Davis and Kieron Dwyer. His time on the series ended with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek teamed up with Pérez again. They created the JLA/Avengers limited series.
Kurt Busiek has worked on many different comic titles. These include Arrowsmith, The Liberty Project, The Power Company, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, JLA, and his award-winning series Kurt Busiek's Astro City. During the 1990s, some of his projects, especially Astro City, were sometimes delayed due to health challenges.
In 2004, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics. In December 2005, he signed a special two-year contract with DC Comics. After DC's "Infinite Crisis" storyline, he worked with Geoff Johns. They created the "Up, Up and Away!" story. This eight-part story ran in both Superman comic titles.
Busiek also wrote the DC comic Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues #40–49. He became the main writer for the Superman series with issue #654 (Sept. 2006). Carlos Pacheco became the artist for the series. Busiek and Pacheco developed a long story about Arion fighting Superman.
Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity. This series starred Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Each issue had a main story by Busiek and art by Mark Bagley. It also had a backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza.
In 2011, Busiek teamed up with Alex Ross again for Kirby: Genesis. This was an eight-issue miniseries for Dynamite Entertainment. It was their first full collaboration since Marvels 17 years earlier. The series featured many characters created by Jack Kirby. Ross helped plan the story, designed characters, and oversaw the series. Busiek wrote the scripts.
In June 2013, Busiek relaunched his Astro City series. It became part of DC's Vertigo line. Busiek said that Astro City was always for more thoughtful readers, which suited Vertigo. The ongoing Astro City series finished with issue #52 in 2018.
In April 2022, Kurt Busiek was one of many comic creators who helped with a special book. It was called Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds. The money from this book went to help Ukrainian refugees. Busiek and Brent Anderson created a new Astro City story for the book.
Awards and Recognition
Kurt Busiek has won many awards for his comic book work.
- He won the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998.
- He also won the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999.
- In 1994, his series Marvels won the Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. It also won the Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
- Marvels #4 won the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story in 1995.
- In 1996, his series Astro City won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series.
- He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner Award three years in a row (1996 to 1998) for Astro City.
- He won it again in 2004 for Conan: The Legend #0.
- Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998. He also won the Best Serialized Story award in 1998.
- Astro City received the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award. It also won the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
- Busiek was named Favorite Writer by Comics Buyer's Guide in 1998 and 1999.
- In 2010, he received the Inkpot Award.
Personal Life
Kurt Busiek is married to Ann Busiek. In one of his comics, Marvels #3, artist Alex Ross drew Kurt and Ann as New Yorkers reacting to a big event.
In June 2022, Kurt Busiek shared that a new series, Arrowsmith: Beyond Borders, would be delayed. This was due to ongoing health challenges. He mentioned he was looking for a hospital program to help him.
