John Byrne’s time at Marvel was storied. From Fantastic Four to Amazing Spider-Man, the Canadian author was a titan at the publisher, covering basically any major franchise you could name and then some. Though controversial as a person, Byrne’s work is quite good for the most part, even with plenty of blemishes, such as Doom Patrol. When someone has written this many iconic titles in their time, it’s easy to forget where they started; In John Byrne’s case, he began comics as an artist. In fact, on many of Byrne’s most beloved books—and Alpha Flight—he was both writer and penciller.

Drawing casual comics in college and working at Charlton for a bit, Byrne eventually was included in a 1974 fan art gallery for Marvel and found himself employed by the giant only three years later. Starting on books like The Champions, Marvel Preview, and Marvel Team-Up—in which he drew the X-Men for the first time—his work wasn’t nearly what it became. In 1977, he and inker Terry Austin would move over to a different title, in which everything would change for Byrne’s career as well as the X-Men franchise.

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