Reading some of the early Byrne/Claremont X-Men issues is how I got completely hooked on comics. I thought his art was fantastic and aspired to draw like him (there's still a bit of his influence, I think, in my own work, and noticeable among many pros today). I followed him to the Fantastic Four, and of course his work on Superman. While not as good, artistically, as X-Men, they were so well written (me not really being a fan of either properties, it goes to show how good storytelling can save anything), and since he was doing his Jack-of-All-Trades thing, I forgave the slip in art.

I'm probably one of the rare few who immensley enjoyed his West Coast Avengers run, as well.

And then came OMAC. This is still high on my list of favorite books. This is when I realized that there is a world of comics outside straight up superhero books, and began to get into some of the edgy stuff released by DC and Epic back in the 80s, as well as some indie stuff.

I followed over to the Next Men, which I liked a lot, but the art had slipped so much, this is when I realized it. Shortly after, I kinda dropped out of comics for a year or two.

When I came back, Byrne was still around, and I couldn't believe it was the same guy. The quality of art had dropped so dramatically, and his writing was so subpar, and so... old... it didn't seem right.

This is when I started talking with a few people and hearing the horror stories of how he treated his "fans", his fellow pros, etc. One year at the Mid-Ohio Con, my friend, a retailer, and I were in line to meet Sergio Aragones. Byrne was sitting at the next table, and saw my friend with his retailer name tag. He then proceeded to harass and hassle him, at first trying to get him to go over to Byrne's table (since no one was there). He moved on to annoyance and then insulting both my friend and Sergio Aragones, sitting no more than 10 feet away.

I've tried giving his most recent work a try, but it's so bland, sloppy and unexciting, I've given up.

But, I'll always have my X-Men books.