RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books John Byrne: The good years, the bad years, and what the heck went wrong?

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Given the Memorial Day holiday today (and in the weeks leading up to July 4th) , I thought I'd also mention Byrne's CAPTAIN AMERICA run, in issues 247-255.
Teamed with Roger Stern, penciilled by Byrne, with Rubinstein inks. A great little run.

I especially like the issue where Captain America runs for president in issue 250.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Captain-America-1968/Issue-250?id=9492

And also the story that partly re-lives Cap's World War II Golden Age glory days in issues 253-254, with an aged Union Jack, Baron Blood, and a mysterious series of vampire murders in the English countryside, coinciding with Cap's visit to the region.



I also loved the opening 3-issue story in 247-249, in a more SF vein, with Cap visiting Nick Fury and a hidden SHIELD tech center in the middle of Manhattan, with a lot of cool robots and futuristic high-tech machinery that Byrne excels at, along with the giant gargoyle-looking Dragon Man.



And the great finale in issue 255, re-telling Captain America's origin story, that again strokes he heartstrings of nationalism and patriotism at the core of what makes the character work. And a nice plus, most of the story is reproduced directly from Byrne's pencils, only partially inked, that also gives the art a nice additional layer of texture and detail, and somehow also adds to the story's Golden Age look and tribute.

This run was also reprinted in the CAPTAIN AMERICA: WAR AND REMEMBRANCE collected trade, with an additional 6 pages of Byrne pencils, for an issue had been left unfinished when Roger Stern and John Byrne both abruptly left the series, due to editorial interference, by either Jim Shooter or the book editor, or both. As I recall, Byrne quit, and then Stern left in solidarity with Byrne.
And then Stern took over DOCTOR STRANGE for a great run in 46-73.
And Byrne took over as writer/artist on FANTASTIC FOUR 232-293.
So in a way it worked out, but one can't help but wonder what might have been, if they remained on CAPTAIN AMERICA for another year or two, and finished the storyline they'd in interviews discussed having already plotted.

Roger Stern's best work was on this CAPTAIN AMERICA series, on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 224-250, and on DOCTOR STRANGE 46-73.
Two of the three of which he left because of ediorial interference (on SPIDER-MAN, Stern had planned to reveal the Hobgoblin's identity with issue 250, but after a year's worth of buildup, the book editor blocked what Stern had planned, so he left the series. )
Gee, why did Stern leave Marvel to write SUPERMAN? I can't imagine.