Rich Buckler, Prolific Marvel and DC Comics Artist, Dies at 68: Buckler died Friday after a long battle with cancer, bleedingcool.com reported on Saturday. Marvel's official Twitter account confirmed the news in a tweet: "Marvel is deeply saddened by the loss of artist Rich Buckler. We offer our condolences to his family, friends, and fans worldwide."
I was always conflicted about Buckler's art. On one hand, it was always competent and told a story well. On the other, he was possibly the worst "
swipe artist" of the bronze era. You could read one of his stories and spot overt swipes from Kirby, Adams, Buscema, Aparo and others from page to page.
In fact, my first exposure to Buckler was a Batman story (Issue 265) where there were so many swipes, and Batman looked so different from panel to panel (even with Berni Wrightson doing the inking), that I assumed "Rich Buckler" was a psuedonym for a group effort, not unlike when "D Hands" would pencil or ink an issue.
