Forging her own Name: Stephanie Buscema Talks Comics, Illustrating, and Teenage Satan!

In her career as an illustrator, Stephanie Buscema has held on to one very key piece of advice that her grandfather, celebrated comic book artist John Buscema, once told her: “The most valuable thing he ever told me was to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing. Don’t be a sheep, make your own path. Those words and him teaching me how to use a paint brush are probably the two things that helped form who I am.” With that paint brush she has carved out her own place in the world of illustration, picture books, freelance work and comic books.Many will recognize Buscema’s style of illustration from several contributions she did for Marvel’s 2010 limited series Girl Comics, as well as her work in picture books.Her style hearkens back to an earlier era in comics and life in America, but with a fresh, crisp and playful sensibility.Buscema says that her style came from many different places and influences such as, “Art and illustration books, comics, old cartoons on VHS, monster movies, Golden books and picture books that had been passed down to us. As I got older I started putting the names of the artists next to the cartoons and books I was viewing-I started to look at at the work of Mary Blair, Charlie Harper, Eyvind Earle, Dan DeCarlo. As I dug deeper, I started to discover tons of fantastic art, and it was all made by hand. I knew then I had no choice but to learn how to paint. The rest just kind of fell into place!”Buscema’s take on super heroes, and super heroines especially, has garnered her a popular following and her own reputation in the industry.Getting her start by doing inks for her grandfather John, she quickly developed her presence in the comics world, working for DC Comics and Marvel.Many may assume that having a famous last name makes things easier, but, “It was and is more difficult then most people would assume, for a lot of different reasons. Firstly, The last name doesn’t mean a thing if I can’t back it up with my own work. I was always very paranoid that people wouldn’t give me feedback and be honest with me because I was John’s Granddaughter. I knew I had to work harder and prove myself because of this and I was/am more then happy to.”