Shadow and Flame with Magik

J.M. DeMatteis wrote about celebrating Sal Buscema’s would be 90th birthday.

Sal Buscema turns 90 today. There's hardly a Marvel character Sal hasn't left his mark on, from Cap to the Hulk, Avengers to Thor. Working with Sal for two years on Spectacular Spider-Man remains a highlight of my career. And the best part? He's not just a great artist, he's a truly good guy.

— J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T18:01:01.783Z

I had to write, as I always do when Sal Buscema comes up, I have to share how he’s my favorite Spider-Artist. When I close my eyes, and think, Spider-Man, I see a Sal Buscema Spider-Man.

Then I started seeing posts about how Sal Buscema died before his birthday, and I had to make sure I didn’t misread that original post.

Just a few hours after celebrating Sal B's birthday, I got the news that Sal has passed away. An enormous loss for our industry and for all of us who knew and worked with him. Safe journeys, Sal. We'll miss you.

— J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis.bsky.social) 2026-01-26T23:33:14.267Z

I just feel devastated that we no longer have this legend, and truly wonderful man.

JM DeMatteis wrote such a nice tribute :

https://www.jmdematteis.com/2026/01/remembering-sal.html

I got the first image from this website :

https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2026/01/26/sal-buscema-rip/

He had so many great runs :

He even had a brief New Mutants run :

Shame he didn’t do the covers for most of these, but that’s okay.

He also co-created ROM, the Space Knight

Which means he also co-created my least favorite character, Hybrid.

from ROM 18.

I had way too many comics, and had to whittle my collection down, but I’m happy I still have quite a few Sal Buscema comics.

now, more than ever, I really want that Spectacular Spider-Man omnibus

I should just check eBay every payday. By far, my favorite Spider-Run of all time.

Sal Buscema drew such a great Spider-Man!

For the podcast, I was going to cover Wonder Man V3 5, but I need to bump that and feature a Sal Buscema comic.

Either New Mutants V1 15, or ROM 17.

Sal Buscema, you will never be forgotten, and always loved!