Rich Buckler was an American comics artist born on February 6, 1949, who built one of the most versatile careers in mainstream comics before his death on May 19, 2017. He broke into the industry in the late 1960s and over the following decades worked across virtually every major character at both Marvel and DC, accumulating credits as artist, inker, colorist, letterer, and writer across more than six hundred issues.
Nova #1 (1976)
He is perhaps best remembered for two things: a celebrated run on Marvel's Fantastic Four during the mid-1970s, and the creation of Deathlok, a dystopian cyborg soldier who debuted in Astonishing Tales #25. Deathlok represented something genuinely new for superhero comics at the time — a morally conflicted, post-apocalyptic figure that anticipated themes the wider genre would revisit for decades.
Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (1975)
Beyond those signature contributions, Buckler was a remarkably prolific cover artist, lending his draftsmanship to titles ranging from Superman to The Saga of the Sub-Mariner and various international editions of Spider-Man. His ability to render dynamic action with clarity made him a reliable presence on stands throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His active publishing record extended, through reprints and related credits, well past his death — a quiet testament to just how much ground he covered during his long time in the field.
