Page turners: The Buscema Power Punch!

Sal Buscema has always been one of my favorite comic book artists. His art was always energetic and filled with figures taking up heroic power poses their faces caught in wide eyed and open mouth shock with their fists gripped tightly in frustration. However, of all his many wonderfully illustrated panels my favourite was always the legendary trademarked Buscema “power punch” where the hero would send the villain flying upside down his mouth open in a pained scream hurtling straight off the page towards the reader.

Of course Sal wasn't restricted to simply drawing testosterone filled brawling males and was more than capable of illustrating stunning looking (albeit fantasy) females such as the Valkyrie as featured on the splash page of Defenders issue 5 (1973). Despite the inclusion of what I would assume is an uncomfortable to wear and move in metal pointy bra the Valkyrie was always able to hold her own in the Buscema power punch stakes.