He's one of those artists that I didn't see much of his work unfortunately; like you kirby101 ... I've friends told me that he's a terrific guy at the Cons and loves to share his work with others of what I was told about him.

His first Panther's rage issue will always be a favourite of mine. Rich was a talented artist who may not have gained a-list status like the Adams or Byrnes of this world, but was always extremely welcome on the credits of any new comic-book. He will be sorely missed, and he passed away much too soon.

I already posted some comments in the RIP thread; but, i think he was unfairly maligned as a swipe artist. Wally Wood said Never draw what you can swipe, never swipe what you can trace, never trace what you can photocopy, never photocopy what you can cut and paste. I doubt there are many artists out there who haven't borrowed from something before, knowingly or subconsciously. Buckler did it alot in his younger days; but, he developed his own style, even if it did lean heavily on Kirby and Adams. I could say the same about many artsist. I love Paul Gulacy, but, he has Steranko written all over his work. Ron Frenz is draped in Kirby, Phil Jiminez's work looks like George Perez was at his shoulder, etc...

Bucklers work on Deathlok showed something beyond that, as did Panther's Rage (Billy Graham did the interiors though, with Buckler on the cover of Jungle Action #12). He did some spectacular covers at DC, in the 70s, which were a darn sight better than some of the interiors. he did a great Superman vs Shazam tabloid comic, with Gerry Conway.



Adams-ish, yes, but still his own work. This was one of my favorite covers he did, for Archie's Mighty Crusaders #2



This cover to Freedom Fighters #9 had me wanting to read it for years, before I got a copy (the unofficial crossover with the Invaders)



This bit of nonsense was from Solson's trashy but delightfully stupid Reagan's Raiders:



Deathlok made an unsanctioned appearance in the first issue, which always had me wondering how Buckler got away with that, without a lawsuit. Then again, who bought any of these Solson books? Okay, I did buy that first issue; but, for pennies!

I've never been a big Buckler fan--all those swipes annoyed the crap out of me--but I'm always sorry when someone from that generation of comics creators passes away. Rest in peace, Rich.

Cei-U!
I lower the flag to half-mast!

RIP Good Sir.

All-Star Squadron informed so much of my eternal love for DC Comics.

Very sad!
I love Rich Buckler's work. I feel like he's one of those underrated Bronze Age artists, and 68 is way too young to die. It's also nice to hear that he was a nice guy.